Things You'll Need
- A chicken
Instructions
Check the chicken's lower legs, called their shanks. Older birds tend to have larger and rougher shanks than younger ones. A younger chicken's shanks are smooth.
Examine the length of the spurs, if they are still present. Smaller spurs will usually indicate a male under 1 year of age, unless they have been removed, in which case they would also be small.
Take note of the size of the eggs, if a female, as well as whether she is laying eggs and how many. Most hens begin laying eggs at between 5 and 6 months of age. The first eggs a chicken lays will be small and soft, increasing over time in size, with production diminishing. A hen will lay more eggs during its first 2 years, tapering off dramatically after about 3 years. Hens that are over 5 years may still lay an egg or two several times a month, but generally their production is significantly limited by that age.
Check for loss of coloring, if a hen. Before beginning to lay eggs, a hen will retain her yellow color. This color gradually diminishes, beginning after a couple of weeks, around the vent, eyes and earlobes. After a couple months, the beak will also lose it's color, followed by the legs and feet, after about 6 months of egg production. The yellow color will return at the end of the hen's productive life or after a moult, in the same order in which it disappeared.
Take note of the way the chicken molts. A chicken under a year old will not molt out its chicken feathers.