How Can I Tell If My Chicken Is a Rooster?

If you have purchased chicks that are straight run or have obtained a chick from a source that did not sex your chick, you may wonder if you have a cockerel or a pullet (rooster or hen). Determining if a chick is a rooster or hen can be a bit difficult, especially if the bird is not a sex-link, that is, one whose color denotes its sex. The best way to determine if your chick is a rooster or hen is to wait until it is about 22 months old. If it crows, it's a rooster. If it lays eggs, it's a hen.

Things You'll Need

  • Chick or chicken
  • Pullet of the same age for comparison
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Instructions

    • 1

      Look at the bird's overall body structure if it is an adult. Roosters generally have larger combs and wattles compared to their hen counterparts. Their feathers are often more iridescent than the hens', and they have spurs, that is, a sharp protuberance pointing backwards partway up the back of their legs. They also usually have long tail feathers that arch back gracefully, but this depends on the breed of chicken.

    • 2

      Look at the bird's color, if it is a sex-link chick younger than 8 weeks. Rooster black sex-links will have a barred rock coloring (black and white checkered feathers) or, if younger than a couple of weeks, a white star or white splash on the head (a white color marking). In golden or red sex-links, the rooster is yellow or white colored.

    • 3

      Look at your chick's legs and compare them with pullets of the same age. A cockerel will have thicker legs.

    • 4

      Look at the chick's hackle feathers (feathers behind the neck). If they're pointed, the bird is most likely a cockerel; rounded, it is likely to be a pullet.

    • 5

      Look at the bird's comb (if it has one). A comb larger than that of a pullet of the same age may indicate the bird is a cockerel.