When do cockerels start to crow?

[Chickchick121]

When will cockerels start to crow?? We got 8 chickens that were supposed to be 12 and 16 week old pullets but think we may have up to 3 roosters. I have seen that you want 1 rooster to 10 hens so was wondering when cockerels make it known.

 

[NatJ]

When will cockerels start to crow?? We got 8 chickens that were supposed to be 12 and 16 week old pullets but think we may have up to 3 roosters. I have seen that you want 1 rooster to 10 hens so was wondering when cockerels make it known.

The age of first crow is very inconsistent-- some start younger than yours, while some others wait 6 months of more.

If you post pictures, people here can help check the genders for you.

 

[Chickchick121]

 

[nuthatched]

I've heard as young as 3 weeks, so anywhere from three weeks to a year. (Again year is really slow though.)

 

[Chickchick121]

The age of first crow is very inconsistent-- some start younger than yours, while some others wait 6 months of more.

If you post pictures, people here can help check the genders for you.

Thank you. I posted pictures in this thread

 

[NatJ]

Thank you. I posted pictures in this thread

Hmm. I see why you suspect some males.

We got 8 chickens that were supposed to be 12 and 16 week old pullets

At age 16 weeks, some of those red combs might be pullets getting ready to start laying.
At 12 weeks, they're more likely to be males.

I'm pretty sure I see at least one male (all red, white feet, no other chickens in the photo.) In addition to his red comb & wattles, he appears to have male-specific saddle feathers (skinny, pointy feathers growing just in front of the tail, that will hang down on both sides as they get longer), and he's got darker red patches on his wings (more common on males than females.)

The red bird with a black tail and yellowish legs and a scraggly tail also looks male to me, for the same reasons (picture after the other one I mentioned, with a gray chicken behind him and some other ones in the background too.)

The last two photos (3 birds total) all look female to me.

For the other ones, I'm not sure but maybe someone else with better eyes will be able to tell. That gray one particularly has me puzzled: I'm seeing the big comb and wattles, but the feathers are looking female to me right now. But 12-16 weeks is right around the age that pointy male saddle feathers start to grow, so the bird might be a male that hasn't grown them yet, or might be a female that never will grow them.

Other people may be able to spot details that I missed, or things might become clearer over the next few weeks.

(And of course if you do find one crowing, you know about that one!)

 

[Chickchick121]

Hmm. I see why you suspect some males.



At age 16 weeks, some of those red combs might be pullets getting ready to start laying.
At 12 weeks, they're more likely to be males.

I'm pretty sure I see at least one male (all red, white feet, no other chickens in the photo.) In addition to his red comb & wattles, he appears to have male-specific saddle feathers (skinny, pointy feathers growing just in front of the tail, that will hang down on both sides as they get longer), and he's got darker red patches on his wings (more common on males than females.)

The red bird with a black tail and yellowish legs and a scraggly tail also looks male to me, for the same reasons (picture after the other one I mentioned, with a gray chicken behind him and some other ones in the background too.)

The last two photos (3 birds total) all look female to me.

For the other ones, I'm not sure but maybe someone else with better eyes will be able to tell. That gray one particularly has me puzzled: I'm seeing the big comb and wattles, but the feathers are looking female to me right now. But 12-16 weeks is right around the age that pointy male saddle feathers start to grow, so the bird might be a male that hasn't grown them yet, or might be a female that never will grow them.

Other people may be able to spot details that I missed, or things might become clearer over the next few weeks.

(And of course if you do find one crowing, you know about that one!)

Thank you. That is so helpful

 

[3KillerBs]

This one has definite male saddle feathers.

The dark one in the back right is suspect, but I can't see it clearly enough to tell if the saddles are round or pointed.

 

[Chickchick121]

This one has definite male saddle feathers.

View attachment 2943994

The dark one in the back right is suspect, but I can't see it clearly enough to tell if the saddles are round or pointed.
View attachment 2943995

One of the pictures is that one by itself

 

[NatJ]

This one has definite male saddle feathers.

That's the main one I noticed too (but I couldn't figure out how to make the picture show up in my post-- which makes yours much easier to understand!)