I am raising six Americana chickens. They are four months old, and I cannot tell roos from hens yet. No crowing, no large combs. Anyone have ideas as to how to begin to determine their sex?
Thanks
How to tell a Roo?
They'll be crowing very soon! It is about time.
Are there any that are prettier or bigger than the others? Those are probably male. The males have more luxurious looking feathers and are more likely to have a greenish sheen on back feathers ( although that is not an exclusively male thing by any means.) I would say that most males are slightly larger than their female counterparts at this age. Since all your chickens are the same breed, you should be able to get a side by side comparison.
Okay, here is a really basic, but important question. Did you order them straight run or single sexed? It is possible that they are all hens, of course.
I have 9 silkies that were born at the end of April and I can't tell at all who is who yet. I also have 3 that were born in early March and the rooster of that group is crowing. He just started this week and is very recognizable as different than the hens. It will happen soon, I promise!
Here is a headshot comparison. Mine are Amerucauna/EE's and some came from Ideal and some I hatched from eggs I bought. They are between 12-16 wks in these pics.
Julie
**Well I tried twice the pic isn't showing, guess there must be ANOTHER picture glitch on the forum**... bummer. Will try to remember to come back and do again..
This message was edited Aug 12, 2007 10:43 AM
try again
wow, I tried again and not even the "post" itself showed up.
ugh
Julie
lets try again....
Those are nice looking birds, jab91864! Are they Wheatens? Mine come from a batch a friend ordered, straight run.
No not wheaten. The solid white is one of two that I hatched from eggs I bought. The other two are part of the batch of straight run I bought from Ideal.
Julie