When do you know if the hen is a rooster?

[icefolks]

We are obviously new to the chicken scene, had 6 girls, Lily definitely was a Willy with loud " er, er, er .er.errrr s " throughout the day. Now Jane at 17 weeks will stretch her neck out and let loose with a few "er ,er, errrs". No big comb or large tail feathers and isn't aggressive towards the others as Lily/Willy was. Is there any was to tell for sure? We are only allowed to have hens in the city, no roosters.

 

[Higins00]

Can you post a picture? You can usually tell by the tail feathers, comb, thicker legs, and of course the crowing.

 

[Chick CJ]

A picture is definitely in order. But, hens who have had roosters around them will sometimes pick up the slack when the rooster is gone. The thing is I think a hen crowing and a real crowing rooster probably sound very different. I have a bantam barred rock who has never been around a rooster but does this crow thing everyday. It's like she is the "announcer" of everything that happens in the yard! In the beginning, it made me think she was a rooster, but then I went on youtube and listened to real crowing and could really tell the difference. Hope you can post a picture!
CJ

 

[Pinky]

When you can post some pictures you could post them here and we could help you. If you can pick your birds up you can check their Hackle(neck feathers) and saddle(feathers on the back by their tail.)feathers. Roosters will have pointy feathers in these places and hens will have rounded ones.

 

[Monk422]

We just got rid of a young rooster (4 mo.) because he started crowing! Can't miss that sound! Also his spurs had just started growing. I didn't know about feathers or saddle but the sound is impossible to ignore. Our girls can be loud, but they don't crow.

 

[SnowyHen]

Is there a way to tell if its a rooster when their only a few weeks old??? I ask because I have been getting my chicks from a feed and tack store, and they never know if the chicks are male or female. Last time I bought three chicks from there, and found out a few months later that I had a rooster in my flock. Is there a way to tell that early, when they still only have down?

 

[magicpigeon]

This would be better off in the breed/gender forum...

 

[SnowyHen]

Oh sorry...

 

[magicpigeon]

Quote:
Yes, if they are sex linked, can be feather sexed and/or vent sexed.
Redder combs and wattles, longer legs and bigger feet and demeanour are some other variables. You should be able to find more informative threads on this by using the search function

 

[SnowyHen]

Ok thanks!