We thought our 17-week old "Malita" was a girl, but a neighbor thought he heard her trying to crow..

Roosters may or may not become aggressive once their hormones really get going. And they're more likely to be aggressive with little kids than with adults. If you do keep him, there needs to be extremely close supervision of your 3 year old. Any attacks would be at face level for a toddler.
 
I see what you mean by the tail and the hackle feathers. So much for ordering three pullets from a friend of a friend, lol.

Here's another question: should Malita Pat actually prove to be a roo, what are the disadvantages to having one other than crowing that might annoy neighbors? MP actually has a very sweet personality at this point. Eating him/her is out of the question as he/she is a pet for our 3-year-old.

Thanks for your input, everyone.
It's a cockerel. Be very careful and always supervise when your 3 yr old is around him. As he becomes older and his hormones start to kick in, he could become very aggressive, especially around children. Do you have hens also? A rooster's job is to protect his hens at all costs. Some rooster's can be very calm around people, whereas others will attack anyone he sees as a threat. Definitely do some research on aggressive roosters if you decide to keep him. I had one that would charge at me as soon as I stepped foot into his coop and run, and then I have had others that are as sweet as a kitten....lol Good luck with him. He is very beautiful!
 
Back in the summer, I heard that the Swedes have begun widespread use of the gender-neutral personal pronoun "hen". I find this beyond appropriate for Malita Pat.

I'll be keeping a focused eye on hen for increased aggressiveness. Thank you all so much for the heads up.
 
Howdy. If you are in a city, roosters are likely illegal due to the crowing and neighbors won't be too happy, as you mentioned :) Even if you are in the country...your sweet cockeral will soon mature and start mating with your hens, so you will have fertile eggs, but there should be more than 2 hens and 1 rooster in a flock....he will likely be too hard on the hens. A rooster can be a good protector of his hens from predators (and humans!), but might not be a good fit in your case...since you want a pet for your kid. Roosters are great in the right setting. Sexing chickens always leaves room for error and you should always have a plan if you end up with one by accident. If you can't process him for sentimental reasons, you may want to find someone else who wants to put him on their table. Good luck!
 
I appreciate all of the thoughtful advice, everyone. I have now made a contingency plan should MP indeed prove to be a roo, which is looking more and more likely.

Will there be one specific moment in which I will know that he/she is male? I have observed females of other species expressing dominance over female house mates by mounting them, so I'm not inclined to trust that particular incident should it occur....
 
Back in the summer, I heard that the Swedes have begun widespread use of the gender-neutral personal pronoun "hen". I find this beyond appropriate for Malita Pat.

I'll be keeping a focused eye on hen for increased aggressiveness. Thank you all so much for the heads up.

"Hen" is "them" in Dutch...

Just tell yourself that all chickens roost, so all chickens are roosters. Get in the habit of calling your bird a rooster.
 
Will there be one specific moment in which I will know that he/she is male? I have observed females of other species expressing dominance over female house mates by mounting them, so I'm not inclined to trust that particular incident should it occur....
If he crows (like a real crow) you can be pretty sure ;)

Hens do sometimes crow, but in my experience it's because they're mimicking another rooster. And it sounds like there's no other roo to imitate...
 
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