I am a newbie chicken owner - we have four chickens - 2 Barred Rocks and 2 Buff Orpingtons. I am pretty sure one of the Barred Rocks is a rooster - he/she hasn't begun crowing - yet - but this morning his vocalizations began sounding like he has laryngitis which is how ny two sons sounded before thier voices changed. They are both about 8 weeks olds - pictures attached. Do I have a rooster?
Thanks for the replies - one of the chickens (2nd picture) is a little 'meatier' than the top picture but otherwise they are about the same size. I have been trying to get them both in the same picture but so for their cooperation has been lacking!
From those pictures I can't tell with 100% certainty but they both look like hens to me. They are the same size, right? The feathers look female to me.
I had one that turned into a rooster, but I couldn't tell for much longer than 8 weeks. Your chicken's tail feathers look like a hens so far. My rooster was much larger than the others, had longer tail feathers and eventually started crowing. I had one hen that made weird sounds too and she ended up being a hen. So....have a little more patience and wait for the tell tale cock a doodle doo, or at least a cock a doodle. :)
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