Help - are these hens or roosters?

[FarmerChick]

OH OH
I get ya...the kennel will be available to stick in these chickens...LOL
I saw female and thought you new they were hens..
LOL

so confusing..HA HA HA

 

[SheriM]

I'm confused. I posted a reply with a new picture but it's not here. Unless I accidentally put it in the wrong place, I guess it's gone into the ether. I'll try again.

It was a lot of work, but we managed to get the dog kennel moved and set up for the chickens. Here are my 3 mystery guests enjoying their freedom at last.

I'd still be interested in opinions on their gender, so maybe this picture will make it easier. I have some other pictures but haven't had time to load them into Photobucket yet.

 

[dancingbear]

See the droopy, curved feathers just before the tail? Those are rooster indications. Also look at the feathers in the cape/neck area. Roos have pointy tips on those feathers, hens feathers are more rounded at the tip. If you see feathers that come to a split point, either in the neck and cape, or in the saddle, having two distinct sharp-angled points, you have a roo.

Sometimes in very young birds, when they first feather out, pullet feathers will look somewhat pointy, but by the time they're growing out curved sickle feathers, like your two in front there, they've become more definitive. I can't see the back end of that third one well enough to tell, but the white one in front is a boy, and I'm pretty sure the black one is, too. The third one in back, looks like the feathers in the cape have rounded tips, that one could be a girl. It's hard to tell the shapes of the tips feathers by a photo, though.

 

[SheriM]

Thanks, DancingBear. Your description of what to look for helps a lot! I'll take a closer look at them this morning. From what other people have said, I'm assuming now that the two with white are roos. It's really only the black one that's questionable now. Here is a close up of its neck feathers. They look pretty pointy to me.

 

[big brown horse]

I'm dealing with the same thing here, so I am really paying attention. Do you mean the feather itself is POINTED or the group of nape feathers form a point?

 

[dancingbear]

The individual feathers are pointed. Most will have a single point, some may have a double point. That might be due to breakage, I'm not sure, but I have some beautiful shimmering rooster feathers with two points. Mostly collected either from molting birds, or when I butchered. I use feathers in crafts, so I look at them up close a lot.

The tail feathers, the droopy sickle-shaped ones, aren't pointed. But the neck and saddle feathers are, and usually the capes.

If you have any adult roos, take a close look at their feathers. When I'm trying to determine gender with younger birds, I still look at adults for comparison sometimes, and I've been doing this for years. It took a long time for me to figure this part out, I think I read it somewhere a few years ago, Then it still took awhile to get really familiar with the differences.

 

[big brown horse]

Thanks! Going outside to check now.

I have Ameraucanas in question. I have blue wheaten and wheaten, the roos are very distinguishable by color, but the blue wheaten hens are starting to look like wheaten roos now!

They are also doing that silly cock fighting dance. Is that also a sure sign?

 

[dancingbear]

Thanks! Going outside to check now.

I have Ameraucanas in question. I have blue wheaten and wheaten, the roos are very distinguishable by color, but the blue wheaten hens are starting to look like wheaten roos now!

Uh oh, sounds like ya got roos! Ever look at Feathersite.com? Yo can look up the breed in question, usually find the color too, and look at the pics of hens and roos. I find it very helpful, sometimes!

They are also doing that silly cock fighting dance. Is that also a sure sign?

That doesn't mean much, hens can do that too. They have little dust-ups now and then. They just don't get so set on doing each other any real harm, like roos tend to do.

 

[reinbeau]

Be careful sexing EE's or Ameraucanas, they all look roo-ish - you won't be really sure of them until they crow or lay an egg!

 

[big brown horse]

Be careful sexing EE's or Ameraucanas, they all look roo-ish - you won't be really sure of them until they crow or lay an egg!

Great. :/ I did look up the breed's colors, but the blue wheaten and the wheated hens and roos mix me up!

After my inspection yesterday, some have pale pink flat combs and some have bright red raised combs. (One of my Ameraucanas doesn't have the beard typical of the breed, is that common?)

Whoops, I think I hijacked this thread...sorry.