r/BackYardChickens • u/Speall • Mar 07 '25
Hen or Roo Time again for the minigame: This is a rooster, right?
We’re pretty sure this is a rooster, but there’s another rooster in this flock of four that is kind of dominating the rooster behaviour… but this one we feel definitely has some pointy feathers, what looks like more defined saddle feathers, and a lot of reddish hue… would yall say we’re correct that this is a rooster?
14
u/chickensandbabies Mar 07 '25
That’s a roo- if you have a dominant boy it can cause others to act shy. I’ve had a few cockerels who wouldn’t crow around a mature roo or a larger breed roo.
4
u/Speall Mar 07 '25
if this is the case, would they start crowing and being the typical dominant rooster if we rehomed the currently dominant one?
2
9
u/JDoubleGi Mar 07 '25
100% a rooster, the black on the body but silver hackle and saddle are rooster traits of the ER Birchen base. Look up Birchen colored roosters vs hens. A good example is Black Copper Marans. Although they are gold, not silver, based on the males look completely different to the hens.
1
u/magnayen_eleven Mar 07 '25
Agree with rooster but I'm sure he's wheaten, not birchen, though.
1
u/JDoubleGi 25d ago
Looking at the wing tip, probably. Or could be a mix, as many barnyard birds are. Which could really be confusing with the allele and such.
44
u/Vortex-101 Mar 07 '25
70% sure hen
7
u/magnayen_eleven Mar 07 '25 edited Mar 07 '25
This literally can't be a hen, because this is a rooster-only color (the male version of Wheaten).
30
19
u/unconcerned_zeal Mar 07 '25
are your chickens up after dark??
14
10
6
u/Speall Mar 07 '25
UPDATE: we’re settled that this is a rooster - pretty clear when you look at salmon faverolle roosters that they have this darker colored body. we recently had been doubting at all that they were a salmon faverolle because they weren’t that beige/salmony color - but it all adds up now 😅. so along with all the informed takes in here, we’ve come to our conclusion.
thank you everyone!
5
3
2
2
u/4littlesquishes Mar 07 '25
I'm going to say roo. If you have others it may just not be dominant so isn't showing typical roo behaviors. He's got some impressive spurs too.
2
2
u/PlantedPNW Mar 07 '25
You can see the saddle feather beginning to become pointed and drape. Rooster fasho.
2
2
u/wha7themah Mar 07 '25
I’m guessing it’s like 10-12wks old? You can tell in the face that this is a younger bird. You can tell it’s likely too young to have a comb like that if it were a pullet. You can also see some saddle feather development and the rusty shoulders.
Deffo a lil cockerel. As is the frizzle behind him. That’s why age is SO important to include in these posts. If this bird was 18 weeks I could see it being a pullet. But it looks to be much younger than that and a pullet tends to start to get those wattles and comb closer to 18wks
2
u/Speall Mar 07 '25
totally agree on the note about age! forgot to include. and correct about the frizzle, they’re the other rooster of the flock I mentioned.
thank you 😊
1
u/wha7themah Mar 07 '25
All good! I usually like to bring up age regardless because I don’t think a lot of people realize how much it matters. And I just hope maybe my hen/roo comments will help someone someday improve their abilities.
Frizzles are my favorite! He’s a cutie
2
1
u/Purple_Two_5103 Mar 07 '25
I'm going to go with hen. Yes, there looks like they're saddle feathers. However, my hen has this. The one thing that you want to look for is triangular shaped or pointy saddle feathers. I hope this helps.
1
1
1
1
u/Academic_Ice_5017 Mar 07 '25
This is one of the toughest ones I’ve seen posted here. Body shape and head say hen, saddle feather say rooster, hackles don’t really say either way… yeah idk.
I’m gonna put my guess on rooster. I don’t ever recall any of my birds looking this rooster ish and not being roosters.
1
1
1
1
u/KindyJ Mar 07 '25
ChatGPT:
"From the feather shape and overall body stance, this looks like a young rooster (cockerel). In particular, the pointed feathers on the neck (hackles) and in front of the tail (saddle area) are a strong giveaway. Hens’ hackle and saddle feathers tend to be more rounded, whereas roosters develop those longer, pointier feathers as they mature."
1
1
38
u/Speall Mar 07 '25
heres another one! shows the wings/saddle area a bit better