What gender is Coal?

HIEDIAROBALX

In the Brooder
5 Years
Coal is my favorite chicken. I am not sure if he is a rooster or a hen. He is a Black Australorp. He is the only chicken in the flock that does not run when I try to pick him up. He (what it is called now) is four months old. He has little nubs of spurs (I think) and he does not crow like the other rooster. He is not aggressive like him either. However, he makes a croaking noise that sounds like a crow when he "talks". He also has a bigger comb and wattle than the hens, but is his body is smaller than some of them (particularly Shadow).

Whenever I used to put him with the other roosters, they used to attack him and another BO rooster named Big Daddy. One of the Buff Orpingtons died when it was a chick (Tiny) and three them were bullies (roosters named Sulfur, Gold, and Banana) along with a Black Australorp rooster named Carbon who is also a bully. We gave the three bully BO roosters away because they had bitten Coal in the neck (you will see on the pictures). Big Daddy was the only BO rooster left. He and Coal were inside of the coop with the hens (Licorice, Shadow, and Sushi) before he attacked Coal and made him fly out. Coal was then chased by the four bully roosters and bitten on the neck. Big Daddy then tried to bite a hen. We put him outside with the bully rooster and they started to attack him and pull his feathers. They stopped attacking him after a while and we gave away the three aggressive BO roosters early in the morning.

Then, Carbon and Big Daddy were left outside of the chicken coop, away from the hens (they would try to kill Coal if they weren't separated). That night, Carbon killed Big Daddy (the only remaining Buff Orpington) and was EATING him. Buff Orpington feathers were everywhere. They were on the outside of the coop and were on the inside. Big Daddy's stomach had a hole in it and the internal organs could be seen. His head and neck did not have any feathers or skin, nor did it have eyes, a comb, and a wattle. We have been keeping Carbon away from the other chickens after this. Whenever we try to put him back with them, he attacks Coal.

Anyways, here are the pictures of Coal:







 
Sorry for the two threads :(
barnie.gif
This is the main thread.
 
Sometimes hens have big combs and waddles, it is easy to mistake them for roosters. With the pictures you have posted and the demeanor you are mentioning I think that Coal is a hen. I am going by the feather shape and tail feathers. Hopefully someone a bit more experienced will chime in here- but I am not seeing any signs of a rooster. Hopefully you have your rooster situation under control now.
 
So, the bird is 16+ weeks old in these photos? Can you get a shot of the bird in a natural standing position that shows the whole bird?
 
Thanks for sharing, I stand by my original thought that Coal is a hen, especially now that I have seen these photos- hope you get eggs soon!
 

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