this is Tonks...who is now making crowing noises

[boxermom&nowchicks]

Hi, all. this is Tonks who is suposed to be a pullet, but is now making crowing noises. can anyone tell me what gender Tonks is and what breed s/he is? Tonks should be about 16 weeks, to the best of my knowledge. We do have older pullets, about 22 weeks, i think and none of them are making these noises.




Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jenny

 

[nurse_turtle]

Dominique. Looks girly. I would expect her comb to be more pronounced at that age if she were he. Some hens "crow". Go figure.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

Tonks looks like a Dominique...he(or so I think it's a he) has a big waddles, but the comb seems funny. Has the comb been trimmed off?

Edited to say: If that is the natural comb, it may be a hen.

 

[nurse_turtle]

http://imagecache.artistrising.com/artwork/lrg//3/367/89J8000A.jpg

Known Dominique hen.

 

[speckledhen]

That is a Dominique cockerel, sorry. There is no doubt whatsoever. You can see the shiny, skinny saddle feathers on the back, plus the color is very light like a barred male in both Doms and Barred Rocks.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

That's odd! Learnin' new things all the time!

Definently a hen then!

 

[pips&peeps]

cockerel, the tail is starting to curl too

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

Would saddle feathers not stick up a bit? Those are in line with the body.

 

[boxermom&nowchicks]

yes, natural comb, no trimming of combs at our house!

 

[speckledhen]

Erin~TheChickenLover :

Would saddle feathers not stick up a bit? Those are in line with the body.

No, they don't stick up at all. The curve over the back in a fringe. In barred breeds, males have two barring genes which makes them appear much lighter than the hens, so the saddle feathers are not the only thing to go by here. Barred Rocks, of which I've owned many, are the same way, as are Cuckoo Marans.

See this Barred Rock male? He has a much more developed fringe of saddle feathers that you can easily see hanging off his back in the picture. They don't stick up, they hang over the side.

If you look at the Dominique hen in the link someone provided above, she is much darker than the male, plus no stringy, shiny saddle feathers.​