Wondering if one of my 13 week old chickens is a rooster.

[jvargas487]

hey everyone, this my first time having raising chickens. they are Black australorps and they are about 13 weeks old now. I bought them when they were just two weeks old. been searching the forums on how to tell if its a hen or a roo, I still can't really tell. Also I live in the los angeles county are of California and I bought a chicken coope put it together and realized the entrance to where the chickens go and sleep the door way does not have a door to lock them in there, just a ramp for them to go in and out. is safe to leave them with door? The part where the can be outside is enclosed and they are protected from out side prey. which I believe will be just racoons and maybe possums. we do have cayotes that sometimes roam around at night but they have no way have getting in the backyard. Thank you all for taking your time to help me out.

Sorry the pictures are a little blury they would not stop moving lol and they have been inside the house since they were 2 weeks old I hope the can get accustom to being outside now.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Looking to be 2 Cockerels but I'm no expert

 

[jvargas487]

I hope at least one of them is a hen lol

 

[ChickNanny13]

I know that feeling

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Those aren't austrolorps. From the color of the legs, with the barring, it looks like cuckoo marans... and if they are, then they're pullets. I don't see any male feathering, and they don't have the typical barred cockerel coloring either.
Congrats, you should be getting some dark brown eggs in a couple months.

 

[JedJackson]

I agree with Frazzemrat. They are not Australorps, which are pure black with no white in the plumage. The picture color is not very good, but maybe you can tell us if the legs are really as white as they look, or if the legs have some yellow in them. Comb color is also hard to distinguish.

Cuckoo Marans is probably what they are, but there is also the possibility that they are California grays or mixed breeds. I think one at least is a definite pullet, and the other one is a probable pullet.

You will most definitely need a door on your coop if you have raccoons and coyotes around, as those two are the primary ground predators of chickens in the Western U.S. (apart from dogs). You need to make sure nothing can get in or out of that coop except when the door is open. You will also need a complicated latch for the door-- raccoons can easily open most latches. They are very smart. I keep locks on my coops for this reason, and keep the keys on my car key chain at all times, plus extra keys in a kitchen drawer.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Dang, I missed the part about the door.... Absolutely! You need some way of closing them in, either a big run around the coop that is completely predator proof, and/or you need a door on the coop. I have both. I don't trust that I found all of the ways in to my run, and want as many layers of protection I can get.

 

[arhartman]

It sounds like the run is fully enclosed, just the coop doesn't have its own door? As long as no predators can get into the enclosed area, that's what matters. I close my run but leave the coop door open most nights because it's so warm, closing them inside the coop just seems too hot. Just make sure nothing can open the run latch, or dig under and get in.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Cuckoo marans pullets

 

[jvargas487]

Thank you everyone for all your help. They have whiteish legs with black coloring all around it but more black coloring in the front of there legs