Recently One Hundred Dollar a Month Reader, Heidi from Darrington, WA sent in pictures of her hen, in a desperate plea to find out if she actually is dealing with a rooster. She wrote,
Is my girl Wynonna actually a Willy!!?!!….. I can’t tell, but she is awful bossy an starting to make some horrible racket in the morning!! This is my first batch of chicks… :).
I’ve been in this dilemma myself before. To be honest, I am not entirely sure I can tell the difference at first either. I even did a little research when we got a batch of chicks last fall on how to tell which chicks are roosters, and for awhile, I’ll admit, for me at least, it’s a crap shoot on knowing for sure.
I figured, why not ask YOU what you think. Check out the pictures and weigh in, does Heidi have a “Wynonna or a Willy?”
~Mavis
Constance Wheeler says
At first look, it seems to be a roo. But cannot see the saddle feathers and tail feathers clearly enough to be sure. Also, it’s getting longer feathers on the back of the neck as some roosters will do. I’d say Roo too !!
Julie @ Garden Delights says
I hate to say this, but I do believe you have a roo. We went through this last year. We live in a subdivision, and I always warned the kids that if we ended up with a rooster, it would have to live elsewhere. (We were lucky and have friends with farms.) No matter if you order all pullets, there’s always a 20% chance you’ll get a roo. Here’s what we noticed with “Pixie”–more assertive, longer tail feathers, and then, sadly…the practice crows that sound more like croaks! I think we were in denial for a long time, because now, when we look back at photos–it’s so apparent. I hope I’m wrong! 😉 Good luck!
Cecily says
Does she/he have elongated saddle feathers? That is the most definitive way to tell as dominant hens will sometimes crow and some breeds of chickens have large comb hens.
Judy says
I’ve raised chic’s for near 30 years and I say you definitely have a Willie!
I usually can look at a chickens feet when their babies and call putt the roos because they have bigger feet, longer and thicker legs and they are always bossy and more curious then the hens.
Sarah G says
You have a rooster. We had the same problem with the same breed this year – our Silver Laced Wyandotte “hen” looked exactly like yours and turned out to be a rooster. We contacted a woman at Bothell Animal Control who collects roosters once a week and a place in Tulalip picks them up from her. If you want the contact info, let me know. I have no idea what happened after he was taken….in my mind he is out on a green pasture with his rooster friends and I try not to question that too much! 🙂
Amy says
You definitely have a cockerel.
He’s a very handsome Spangled Hamburg. They have a lovely huge rose comb.
Roos stand up nice and tall the have a “neck” then back when hens heads just slope down to their backs.
Roos always get their colors first. Always the white or bright colors come in first where as hens get their dark colors first and then their light feathers.
Sarah says
Sorry to say but you have a Willie. Very nice looking, but he will be crowing soon.
Emma says
At this age you just need to check the feathers at neck and saddle (the back before the tail). Roosters have pointed feathers here always while hens feather have a rounded tip. But look carefully as hens can have arrow shaped colouring but you will see the feathers actually extend in a curve past this
Liliana says
It looks like a hen to me. Maybe you have different types of chicken in the USA then we have here in Romania, but it looks like a hen to me.