Hi, everyone! This is my first question ever, but its pretty vital! We had just gotten three chickens from one of my best friends and his family, and we went them in with a coop we built ourselves, and they were really pleased, but we didn’t get any eggs for several days. Finally we got one from the black one (I don’t know any of the breeds, if that helps) and then they started laying. Midge, the one that I’m questioning her gender, had a tumor on her toe that fell off after being pecked at by the other chickens, but it mostly came off on its own. Then, she was kinda sickly and the other two saw that as a weakness and started attacking her, so we separated them. We only get like one or two eggs a day, and I’m not sure that we’ve ever gotten an egg from Midge and we’ve had them for a few months, now. It’s wierd, and now Midge is back with the other chickens and she’s healthy and strong, but she still hasn’t laid any eggs and she’s really tall and skinny, but she’s kind of a scavenger, so she gets plenty to eat. Her tail feathers are a small questioning, her comb and wattle aren’t that huge, but she makes a lot of noise that’s different from the other two, but it doesn’t sound exactly like a CROW, although I’m an amateur. Is she a rooster? I’m really beginning to quesiton it, especially since the black hen is starting to brood the eggs she laid, although I don’t reckon they’re fertile. Please help! I’d really like to know!
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first of all the tumor was probably a sickness called bumblefoot. and the breed could be a black astrolorps. 3 of all if its a hen making a wierd noise it could just be making an egg. it is painfull so they make loud wierd noises befor and after laying and egg. also hens have been known to crow like a rooster. the only way to find out is to wait till it gets older and see if it lays eggs or grows spurs.
Call around your vets (or feed stores that sell chicken) and see whether they would be willing to "examine" your chicken and get to the bottom of this.
Hens will get broody and try and lay on eggs even without a rooster present. New hens will even sit on eggs for about a month, and then as they mature they’ll gain the knowledge of knowing that their eggs will not hatch unless fertile. Some hens will even kick out an egg they sense will be terrible, or if they know that certain egg is not fertile. I’m glad the tumor is gone from your chicken and that they are feeling better! Here’s how you can tell if the chicken is a male or female:
Male:
* large comb
* large wattles
* spurs above feet
* biggers legs and feet
* two of the tail feathers on top will be a lot longer then the rest -
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:tDZBFpLmgUXngM:http://bridgettesdetroitwedding.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/rooster1.jpg
Female:
* small comb
* small wattles
* no spurs
* smaller legs and feet
* even tail feathers -
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:1sEhtD6lFEjcmM:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/22819_005hen.jpg
Chickens will lay between seven or eight months depending on the breed. Midge could be a rooster, if the description equals that that I typed. If it’s not a rooster, it could just be that it’s a younger chicken then the rest of them and just hasn’t started laying yet. If they’re all around the same age and Midge is a hen, she should be laying soon.
Hope this helps!