When do you know hen/rooster

[h0m3gr0wn]

When do you know if you have a hen or a rooster? Then, how long do you have to find it a home before it starts crowing? We live in a city that doesn't allow roosters, we are wanting to hatch our chickens and just don't know what to do with the roosters that we hatch.

 

[my sunwolf]

You can attempt to sex most breeds of chickens at about 5 weeks based on comb development and a few other factors.

You will know for sure when they start laying or crowing

Sex-linked chicks you can tell male or female at birth, but then you'd still have to find something to do with the roosters.

If you can stomach it, it's pretty delicious to butcher your excess roosters before they start crowing... though depending on the breed they can be a bit small. My roosters started crowing at about 3 months, so they weren't really big enough for a good meal by the time they started crowing. Some roosters start earlier, and some much later. It might be very difficult to find homes for them. I've gotten rid of a few on craigslist, but most people aren't looking for a rooster, they're looking for laying hens. As I always say, you have to do a lot of "rooster planning" before you start hatching out chicks, especially if you aren't allowed to have roosters.