I have 4 chickens that we bought as chicks (not straight run) and are now 4 1/2 months old. I was sure we had all hens...until today. We have one production red that I bought as a sexed chick who has been developing a red comb and waddle for quite a while. Our other hens have a little bit of red comb but not much, but I chalked it up to being different breeds. The PR's tail feathers are a slightly long and instead of being reddish they're an iridescent blue/green. It has always seemed to be the more dominant of the 4, but lately seems to be getting more aggressive. It'll pick fights with the others and when it does it's neck feathers stick out and it jumps in the air. And now it is biting and latching on to the back of the necks of the others. Then today, besides it's normal clucking, it let out a series of noises that sounded like an attempt to crow, along with sticking it's neck way up and kind of flapping it's wings. I thought for sure if I had any roosters I'd know by now, but I just read on the internet that roosters can be 4 months old or older before they start crowing. I live in an HOA & trying to keep my chickens on the down low, so I definitely can't have a rooster & now I'm worried. Does anyone know if hens ever make a noise that sounds like an attempt to crow? Other than waiting to see if she/he does legitimately crow, is there any other way to tell if it's a rooster? I've attached a photo...rooster or hen? What do you think?
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Sorry, I'm pretty sure that's a rooster. Especially if the comb and wattles have been growing for awhile. At 4 1/2 months a pullet's comb might just be starting to turn red.
Also, those iridescent black tail feathers, the pointy red feathers near the tail and his upright stance.
I had a hen that crowed a little, but chances are if it crows it's a rooster.
Also, I have found the sexing to be only 90% accurate.
Here is a picture of my production red pullet at 26 weeks of age.
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Do you still need a home for your extra rooster? If so I may have someone who'll take him. He replied to my craigslist ad looking for a home for my rooster, but I'd just given it to someone else. He said he has a home in Prescott with chickens and needs a rooster and would give it a good home. He's going back up to Prescott tomorrow. I can send you his email address if you'd like.
I'm afraid you're right. We had more attempts to crow this morning. Your photo of your production red pullet is exactly what ours has looked like, and so we assumed we got lucky and had all hens. In the past 2 weeks things have changed dramatically. And it's starting to look more & more like your photo above. Also, he is developing saddle feathers...the short feathers draping off the back, which the internet site I went to said is a clear sign of a rooster as hens don't have saddle feathers. Soooo......I'm now looking to rehome a rooster. I'm so bummed. She...I mean HE...is very sweet and smart. I was thinking she'd probably be my best layer. Oh well...I called a friend who has hens and lives in an agricultural area so roosters are ok, hoping she would take him, but she said she doesn't have enough hens for a rooster. She said there should be at least 10 hens to 1 rooster, otherwise the rooster will beat up the hens and also become aggressive to people out of frustration (apparently they like to keep VERY busy!).
Christie...you said you sold your rooster. Did you sell it to a farm or just post something on here or craigslists? If anyone knows someone who would give him a good home where there are enough hens to keep him busy, I'd appreciate it.
Here's a good one of a rooster we recently sold. My eye says it's a rooster. I'm not convinced the sexing is 99% accurate. More like 90%. Notice the large comb in addition to the green tail. Plus the neck puffing is a strictly rooster behavior. The best sign before 4 months is increased size compared to hatchmates.
Technically my HOA doesn't say I CAN'T have chickens. It says that "pets" can be kept in reasonable amounts as long as neighbors don't complain, they aren't a nuisance or health issue. So, unless a neighbor complains, I think I'm good. Yes, they can make noise some times, but no worse than the kids screaming in their back yard next door, or the occasional dog barking. They've been outside in the coop and free ranging for 3 months. We keep the coop clean and it's below fence level. Doing all we can so the girls are not a "nuisance". I don't think our neighbors even have a clue...unless there's a rooster crowing! I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
My hens are also loud. There is alot of LOUD clucking in the mornings. Good luck keeping them on the DL.
It looks just like my Rhode Island Reds minus the black tail. They have quite large crop and waddle. I recently introduced some chicks and saw my RR hens acting like you described above, jumping sticking their feet out and puffing their necks. They lay me eggs more days than not. As far as the noise I do have some noisy girls. It's not a crow but it is equally as loud and more of a clucking some times more on the side of a scream. Not sure how DL you will be able to keep them. I would wait him/her out longer before making any decisions. Good luck! (I may have gotten a rooster by mistake as well. A White Phoenix. But its younger than yours. It's twice as big as it's same breed sister.)