Dad found a chicken in the yard…!

[fluffycrow]

I own a Production Red hen. She looks just like the photo in the Hoovers catalog.

I would implore you to take a second look at the photos posted by OP. I see some very distinct differences between your hen and the obvious cockerel in OP’s photos.

First off, the overall shape. Your hen is filled out, and looks quite “balanced”. OP’s bird is much more lanky, typical of a young bird, male especially. Taking a closer look at the legs, you can see that OP’s chicken has much bigger legs than your pretty hen; another sign of a young male. Lastly, you can clearly see male-specific feathering around the neck, saddle, and starting to grow on the wings.

I hope we can agree that the bird posted by OP looks like a juvenile. A juvenile with that kind of comb/comb colour and those legs is a cockerel

 

[Yardmom]

Looking at the stance and size of feet I'm guessing this is a young cockeral. I don't see any male specific feathers (and the lack of spurs has been mentioned). I believe the lack of male characteristics is because the bird is young. I would guess this to be a meat breed such as a red ranger.

 

[TicaCielo]

I would implore you to take a second look at the photos posted by OP. I see some very distinct differences between your hen and the obvious cockerel in OP’s photos.

First off, the overall shape. Your hen is filled out, and looks quite “balanced”. OP’s bird is much more lanky, typical of a young bird, male especially. Taking a closer look at the legs, you can see that OP’s chicken has much bigger legs than your pretty hen; another sign of a young male. Lastly, you can clearly see male-specific feathering around the neck, saddle, and starting to grow on the wings.

I hope we can agree that the bird posted by OP looks like a juvenile. A juvenile with that kind of comb/comb colour and those legs is a cockerel

Thank you for the compliment on Ruthi. I ran out to take a photo of her in the snow. Good timing cos its now sticking lol. She's a sweetheart and one of my favorites. The one the OP posted looks rather beat up to me. Whatever it is, I hope he/she finds a wonderful home.

 

[TicaCielo]

I my goodness i just noticed part of his/her beak is missing. Poor baby.

 

[TicaCielo]

I would implore you to take a second look at the photos posted by OP. I see some very distinct differences between your hen and the obvious cockerel in OP’s photos.

First off, the overall shape. Your hen is filled out, and looks quite “balanced”. OP’s bird is much more lanky, typical of a young bird, male especially. Taking a closer look at the legs, you can see that OP’s chicken has much bigger legs than your pretty hen; another sign of a young male. Lastly, you can clearly see male-specific feathering around the neck, saddle, and starting to grow on the wings.

I hope we can agree that the bird posted by OP looks like a juvenile. A juvenile with that kind of comb/comb colour and those legs is a cockerel

Oh fluffycrow, when I said "she" I meant my hen Ruthie looks just like the hen in the Hoovers catalog.

 

[JedJackson]

He is definitely a cockerel-- you can see male specific feathering coming in on his back in the second photo.

He could be a production red or New Hampshire, but my bet is on a red ranger. He looks chunky.

 

[FatherFalcon]

It’s a Rhode Island Red hen. RIR hens have wattles and there is no spur which would be present on a mature chicken. This is one of our own RIR hens

GORGEOUS…!!!!!

 

[FatherFalcon]

Thank you for the compliment on Ruthi. I ran out to take a photo of her in the snow. Good timing cos its now sticking lol. She's a sweetheart and one of my favorites. The one the OP posted looks rather beat up to me. Whatever it is, I hope he/she finds a wonderful home.

My Father had bought a large cage… he’s a chicken Papa now… I had also warned him about chicken math…
He now wants to get another chicken for company. lol

how young of a chicken do y’all think can pair with this Mystery Chicken…
He was talking about getting a chick! I told him not yet quite a good idea I think….maybe until he gets full validations of the bird.

 

[TicaCielo]

My Father had bought a large cage… he’s a chicken Papa now… I had also warned him about chicken math…
He now wants to get another chicken for company. lol

how young of a chicken do y’all think can pair with this Mystery Chicken…
He was talking about getting a chick! I told him not yet quite a good idea I think….maybe until he gets full validations of the bird.

Depends on whether it's a Roo or not lol. Maybe wait until you know for sure. You also have to integrate slowly and you're correct, a chick will not work and will possibly get killed. The rule of thumb for hens with roosters is 10 to 1. Whoever said its probably a red Ranger is probably correct. I've had chickens for over 25 years but took a long break and started again a couple of years ago so I'm relearning. There are so many knowledgeable people here who can help you with integrating safely. Chicken math is real lol. Last year I had 7 and I was just going to get a few more and now i have 22 chicks and my two year old 5 laying hens and the rooster lol. How on earth did that happen? Oh, and I was down to 5 laying hens because we had an American Eagle come and take one, and lost another one before that. I allow mine to free range during the day and lock them up at night on my 10 acres.