Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Rooster-Girl

Hey, look at me, I've figured out how to post pictures again. Yea, Danni!

I also managed to get a few shots of my six-week-old Silver-Laced Wyandotte who crowed at me over the weekend. (See my earlier post for that whole story.)

Now, is he, or isn't he, a he?

Here's the little crower sitting on the window sill in the garage:

You can compare sizes in this next shot. In the middle, the accused rooster, who seems fuller and heavier to me. To the left, the sister Silver-Laced Wyandotte, to the right, a sweetie Barred Rock girl:

Note the profile differences between the two Wyandottes:

Observe the different stances. Po-Roo (for "potentially rooster") on the left has a much studier chest:

They both really liked standing on the garbage can, so this didn't help me determine a thing:

Here's a head shot of the Wyandottes. They're the same age, but note the greater comb and wattle development on Po-Roo to the left:

So what say you, the jury? Is the verdict still out?

19 comments:

  1. Yes, indeed. You could have a Wyondotte rooster there. Not definite yet, but the signs are there. Everything you noted and also compare the feathering on the legs. Can you weigh them and see who is heavier? When I saw the comb and wattles on the Po-Roo, I said, "Uh-oh, that sure looks like a little rooster" Will be a handsome one though. And Wyondottes are a pretty calm breed. You will know for sure in time. Yay, on the pictures! I like your pictures.

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  2. I still can't tell by the photos although it does look suspicious. We had 6 of one breed and one of them had a large comb. Sometimes you can tell by the tail feathers. Why no chicken butt photos? I want to see some tail!
    I'm funnier ;-)

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  3. I forgot to add that the garbage can photo and comment was a crack up. Ok you were funnier this time.

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  4. :O OMG! I know you weren't supposed to have Roosters, and I've never seen a baby rooster, and I feel very guilty for saying that if that is one, I can't wait to see him grow from baby to adult. YOu can smack me now!

    I can't tell the difference at all. His waddles look like my rooster's, just a lot smaller. Maybe that one is a girl and very fast to mature. Are the tail feathers longer than the others?

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  5. Awww! You're making me wish I had my chicks now. I have no idea if that's a rooster or not, but they are both pretty cool looking to me. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm going to enjoy reading yours for sure.

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  6. I would be looking at that one suspiciously myself. Comparing the two, they do look different. I have a Po-Roo Americauna. He/She has a long pointing tail and some seriously thick ankles.
    Hmmmm what will we do?
    I just don't want a roo!

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  7. if Po-Roo turns into Re-Roo (real rooster) and gets a little too cheeky, you can always grab him and hold him upside down (by the feet), while giving the slightest of shakes and a firm loud "NO." That's what my 87 year old grandmother did on the farm when I was little. She said it made the blood rush to their heads and away from er...other parts, making them temporarily smarter. Now only if I could hold my bf upside down from the ankles (kidding kidding.)

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  8. Yes, that's a rooster. The comb and wattle give him away. He's a nice looking bird.

    The first time I had chickens I thought something was being attacked. One of the hens was a roo and I didn't know it yet. When he tried to crow he sounded like he was being strangled. I ran out of the house three times before I finally saw the bird crow and knew what was going on.

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  9. Looks like a feller to me!!! But I aint got no chickens so don't take my word for it!!!
    Ha Ha Ha!!!!

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  10. Oh yeah, with the looks and behavior, If I were in your shoes, I'd be thinking I had a rooster too. But don't worry, as many said in the comments to your last post, not all roosters are bad boys. I've had some wonderfully, sweet roosters. In fact, they're my favorites on the farm. They have so much personailty, and they do a wonderful job of keeping the girls together, safe and well fed while free ranging. You'll see. A good rooster will make a particular sound when you bring out the treats, or he finds a bug and tell all the girls where it is. His behavior may seem a bit aggressive to you right now, but at this age your birds are working out their pecking order and he may just be feeling the need to establish himself at the top. But, if you do have a roo, and you keep him with the girls (which I always do) you'll definitely be able to tell who his favorites are. They'll be barebacks. If this bothers you, you could make saddles out of cloth for them as many people do.

    And, I'm not sure if anyone's told you this or not, but even if you have the supreme luck of having all girls, the chickens have a way of taking care of that. Sometimes, a female will turn male!! She'll crow, grow longer and more pronounced tail and comb and even spurs. Some she/he's even attempt to mount the other hens. The hows and whys of this are continually debated, but you may get a rooster, one way or the other!! :)

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  11. Yep, what everyone else said. He's a pretty boy.
    I've had wonderful luck with my first roo, Tuesday.
    Here's a wonderful website that gave me great ideas on how to be in charge of Tuesday from chickhood.
    http://shilala.homestead.com/roosters.html
    If you can keep your little guy, do. Roos can be a wonderful addition and make great watchdogs for the hens when you can't be there.

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  12. I don't know anything about roosters, but based on my opinion, it looks like a rooster...if my opinion means anything! :D

    My trip is going well, btw, thanks! :-)

    ~Mellimaus

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  13. Hi Jen, yep, that's what I thought. He's still a funny guy, though. I held him for a bit last night, and despite an initial vocal argument, he eventually settled down and seemed to enjoy it. :-)

    Hey sugarcreekstuff! Butt photos, huh? Ok, I'll get right on that. You nasty girl. ;-)
    Oh and...Yay!! I'm the funniest! (TOLD you!)

    Hi maternalgardens (Cathy) - I wouldn't smack you - I'm actually kind of excited to see how he grows up...but more than a little nervous about my husband's reaction to realizing we've got a ROOSTER!

    Hi chicken momma - I was so tickled to find another blog talking about chickens and yours looks really interesting! It won't be long, it sounds like, until you've got your own "girls"...the feathered ones!

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  14. Hmm...the evidence looks damning!

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  15. Hmmm... looks suspicious. But you know how I was about accusing my chicks of being roosters. I'm still extremely pleased and surprised that I didn't end up with any roos at all. yay!

    So, I don't have much to offer in the way of confirming or discounting possible roosterdom of your SLW chick.

    But I do have a bunch of my personal photos to share that might help you in our rooster research:

    9 week old (pic of both SLW chicks)
    http://laughingorcaranch.blogspot.com/2007/12/garage-chickens9-week-update.html

    11 weeks old (scroll down for close-ups of SLW)
    http://laughingorcaranch.blogspot.com/2008/01/encouraging-chickens.html

    15 weeks old (close up of a SLW yawning)
    http://laughingorcaranch.blogspot.com/2008/01/opera-fowl.html

    20 weeks old
    http://laughingorcaranch.blogspot.com/2008/03/im-all-cooped-up.html

    **Notice that my two SLW pullets did not get any wattles or pea comb until they were at least 15 weeks old.
    And they have never made any crowing attempts either.

    Good luck!

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  16. I loved farm mom's comments! They were so reassuring. The little crowing monster doesn't have to be evil. Can't wait to see him again.

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  17. Hi goatgirl - Oooh, I can't wait to see what your Po-Roo Americauna looks like...Did I tell you that I'm certain now that I didn't get an Araucana, like the feed store said it was? She's def a Americauna or an Easter Egger - she's got a tail!

    Hi em - your comment made me giggle! I will def try what your grandma did if it comes to that!! :-)

    Hi robin!! I haven't heard him do the crowing thing since that one time. Maybe he/she just had a frog in its throat? :)

    Hi eve, yeah, we'll I DO have chickens and I still don't know for sure...ha ha ha

    Hi farmmom - I've actually seen pictures of these saddles!! They are the funniest looking things. Did you get some for your hens?

    Hi marigold - Watch out for your human mama and tell her to be more careful in the barn!!

    Thanks ceecee - I'll take a look at that site. Your comment on Laughing Orca's blog about "crockpot camp" just CRACKED me up!! You are FUNNY!! :-)

    Hi abby (mellimaus) - I saw a picture of the view from your hotel room.. it looks WONDERFUl! :)

    Hi christy - it sure does look like I'm in for it, doesn't it?

    Hey twinville - so I know you didn't wind up with any roos, but are you noticing any of your hens assuming the "rooster role", like others have been mentioning sometimes happens? Isn't that the craziest thing to think about?

    Hi zitrone-mama, you're going to be so surprised when you see all of them again...they're HUGE! And..they LOVE mashed potatoes! They went crazy for their first taste of them tonight...it was so cute.

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  18. You said:
    "Hey twinville - so I know you didn't wind up with any roos, but are you noticing any of your hens assuming the "rooster role", like others have been mentioning sometimes happens? Isn't that the craziest thing to think about?"

    No, none of my girls act like roosters or try to step into a rooster role. They are all very 'girlie' and if anything, treat ME, like a rooster (squatting down for my hand to 'mount' them, and just hanging out with me wherever I am)

    I do have two pullets that are bossier and peck at and chase away other pullets that get in their way, especially around the feeder or in a special spot to lay down in the sun.

    But otherwise, no rooster behavior in my flock at all.

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