how do i sex full grown chickens

[robertnew2chickenstothill]

ok i am new to this and i have 9 birds 1 rooster and 8 hens. and i was wondering how to sex them. sorry no pics yett.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Wanna try your question a different way? If you know you have 8 hens and a rooster, you already know their sex? No?

 

[ChickenWisperer]

Well... if you know that you have 1 rooster and 8 hens, why do you need to?


Cocks are larger, have spurs, crow, have VERY red combs, and mount hens. Their combs are typically much larger as well.

Hens are smaller, exhibit hen-like behavior (nesting, egglaying, brooding, egg dancing), and typically have smaller/less red combs.

 

[Pinky]

Roosters will have shiny feathers. Their tail will have sickle feathers(The long curved ones), his saddle feathers(the ones on his back) will be pointy, and his neck feathers (hackle feathers) will also be pointy and shiny. Hens have rounded saddle and hackle feathers. Both roosters and hens can grow spurs.

 

[bethandjoeync]

how old are they? your rooster should have shiney tail feathers and pointed feathers on his head and neck and back

also, roosters crow and hens lay eggs

 

[robertnew2chickenstothill]

ok well i started out with 11 i dont think the guy i got them from checked them befor he gave them to me beacuse i had three roosters so i gave the other 2 away now im not 100% on the 8 hen i have had them for 4-5 days and every day i get 5 eggs and i seperated them and three are not laying so i wanna check the sex . the guy told me what i have but he could be wroung

 

[scbatz33]

what breeds are you supposed to have? Then you can look at pics to help tell what's what. Also, how long have you had them? Moving birds from one "home" to another can cause them to stop laying.

 

[hennyannie]

If you have had them 4or5 days all of your hens may not be relaxed at the new place yet, they will lay soon.

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

How old are they? Some take longer to start laying than others. If they are only just lod enough that you can tell the roosters apart, give the pullets some time. They might be late bloomers.

 

[cackydoodledoo]

Some pullets are slow to lay. Depends on the breed. I have some EE's that were almost 8 mos before they started laying. I have some that I have multiples of and one will start before the other. Give them some time to adjust and they should start laying. I have 24 chickens that are old enough to lay eggs but only am getting 12-18 eggs a day. Follow the advice above on the feathering and you should be able to tell. Or take picks and post them and we can help you out much better that way!!!