# How to spot a Rooster..



## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

Taking photos in the grow-out pen today and look at the strut on this one! He knows he's pretty! This has to be a boy... (silver penciled rock)

"Ladies?" 
"Here's lookin' atchyoo!"


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Agreed. Definitely cock of the walk.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Love the look. That's what you call strutting his stuff.


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## MikeA_15 (Feb 21, 2016)

Plymouth Rocks are a great breed with some of the biggest roosters. Teach him distance as he matures or he will get arrogant. They can pack a punch.


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

Sorry I have to stifle laughter to that one. His father is THE wussiest rooster I have EVER met. So much so that when he was running around with the main flock he didn't manage to gather any hens to his side of the barnyard even though he had very little competition. He's super shy, even now he's in with his three hens he doesn't even bother crowing. I heard him crow once... Hoping his offspring are just as gentle but we'll see! (I've had barred rock roos before - you're right, they're a little more - feisty.)


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## MikeA_15 (Feb 21, 2016)

WeeLittleChicken said:


> Sorry I have to stifle laughter to that one. His father is THE wussiest rooster I have EVER met. So much so that when he was running around with the main flock he didn't manage to gather any hens to his side of the barnyard even though he had very little competition. He's super shy, even now he's in with his three hens he doesn't even bother crowing. I heard him crow once... Hoping his offspring are just as gentle but we'll see! (I've had barred rock roos before - you're right, they're a little more - feisty.)


Hah. It goes to show there can be exceptions to the rule. It's one thing to deal with a small breed or Bantam with an attitude, but the big ones can hurt you. I had a very gentle Dominique rooster, then one who was a gangbanger.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

definitely looks like a guy.


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## Cockadoodledoo (Jan 28, 2016)

Can't wait to see my little Silver Penciled Rocks!! So cute!


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

Hehe, I am getting a kick out of the rocks but MAN do they feather out slow!! Everyone else the same age (Marans and whatnot) have been fully feathered for at least a week - the rocks just have wing feathers.... but they also seem to be completely indifferent to the cold. We had one cold day and they were just walking around like, "What's up? Why you all huddled like that?"


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## hildar (Oct 3, 2013)

He has no tail feathers. I always thought the ones with the long tail feathers at that age were cockerels. If I go by no tail feathers then I only have about 9 girls here that have tails. That would suck big time.


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

Not always the case at all, Hildar. Usually there's not really a noticeable difference, sometimes it's the opposite way round. My Orpington line for example is slow feathering, the cockerels have nothing on their butts for weeks.


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

Some breeds the hens have tail feathers first. Never heard of it the other way 'round. In mixed breeds all bets are off. This one's a Silver Penciled Rock, a breed I adore, but the one thing I keep finding out is they grow soooooo slow compared to the other breeds! They took TWICE as long to fully feather out and after that they stayed noticeably smaller than the rest. I've done four batches of these so far and it's the same story every time. Though weirdly they do eventually catch up, usually long after the rest are done growing. This one did end up a rooster. He's the one I kept as my redundancy rooster - strutting around in the general population now.


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## zamora (May 26, 2015)

What a cute little one!


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## hildar (Oct 3, 2013)

Fiere said:


> Not always the case at all, Hildar. Usually there's not really a noticeable difference, sometimes it's the opposite way round. My Orpington line for example is slow feathering, the cockerels have nothing on their butts for weeks.


I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens. I hope I don't end up with 40 cockerels though because that would be worthless to me. I saw a video that said if they have tails come in they are pullets. However the long tail has a 2 inch long tail already and with the white and black marking I am sure that is a cockerel. But most of my chicks don't have tails. If having a tail means girls I am not going to be happy. Not at all.

EE's are rumpy aren't they?

We have 2 Orpington's and so far I have not seen any tail feathers, We couldn't tell with Angelica's Orpington's until when the saddle feathers started to come in on her cockerel. Luckily though I already knew he was a cockerel, Cackle had dotted his head.


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## hildar (Oct 3, 2013)

WeeLittleChicken said:


> Some breeds the hens have tail feathers first. Never heard of it the other way 'round. In mixed breeds all bets are off. This one's a Silver Penciled Rock, a breed I adore, but the one thing I keep finding out is they grow soooooo slow compared to the other breeds! They took TWICE as long to fully feather out and after that they stayed noticeably smaller than the rest. I've done four batches of these so far and it's the same story every time. Though weirdly they do eventually catch up, usually long after the rest are done growing. This one did end up a rooster. He's the one I kept as my redundancy rooster - strutting around in the general population now.


My dad had barred rocks, and they were slow, he would always have the RIR's so we would have eggs before the barred got ready to lay. However back in those days I swear it took longer for chicks to grow then it does now. I know someone else told me they could remember that it took a longer time for them to get full sized. These ones I have now, are getting big already and wing feathers are coming in beautiful. Makes me wonder what happened to the slow growing chicks.


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

hildar said:


> EE's are rumpy aren't they?


Not unless they're bred with something rumpy, like an Auraucana, or have a fluke mutation. Hatchery EE generally look very similar to Ameraucana (which they are frequently sold as) due to the high influence of that breed's blood. Truthfully an EE is anything that lays a coloured egg.


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## hildar (Oct 3, 2013)

Fiere said:


> Not unless they're bred with something rumpy, like an Auraucana, or have a fluke mutation. Hatchery EE generally look very similar to Ameraucana (which they are frequently sold as) due to the high influence of that breed's blood. Truthfully an EE is anything that lays a coloured egg.


I remember that one Buff Orpington that we had that was a rumpy. I have never seen BO's with a rumpy other then that one, and that was a cackle chick too. That was Odd ball the one that got attacked by the hawk


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

I have a rumpy EE but it's due to injury. Poor thing got herself between two Muscovy drakes and they tore her back end to bits, now she doesn't grow feathers there. Not so much rumpy as bald with a deformed tail stub haha


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