Gender Terms for Chickens

When those fluffy little babies peck their way out of their eggs, both sexes are termed chicks until secondary sex characteristics appear. It's hard to tell the difference in chick genders unless you have a lot of hatchery experience. Soon enough, though, telltales appear and you can identify your chicks by gender.

  1. Pullet

    • Pullets are female chickens less than one year old. However, most chicken breeds begin laying eggs around the age of 5 months, so some people refer to pullets as young female chickens who have not yet begun laying. If you show your chickens, you must compete in pullet classes until the bird's first birthday. Pullets almost always produce more eggs in that first year than in subsequent years.

    Hen

    • Hen are either female chickens over the age of one year or those who begin laying eggs. They're also known as layers or laying hens. As hens age, their egg-laying becomes less frequent. Commercial laying hens are generally sent to slaughter by the age of two or less, because their production has dropped. Backyard hens keep laying until the age of five or older, sometimes just one or two eggs a week, until they are "spent" hens. That means they no longer produce eggs or produce quite infrequently.

    Cockerel

    • Cockerels are male chickens under one year old. Most cockerels don't get to the next stage -- rooster -- because they are generally slaughtered by the time they reach a certain weight. Depending on the breed, that's between the ages of 11 to 24 weeks of age.

    Rooster

    • Also known as a cock, roosters are male chickens over the age of one year. It's easy to tell the difference between a hen and a rooster, as the latter has large wattles and a prominent comb, as well as the upright cocktail. He's also probably crowing. Roosters are noisy and frequently aggressive. If you want to raise homegrown chicks, you need one. If you just want eggs, you don't. If your let your hens free-range, a good rooster is quite useful. It's his duty to protect his hens, so he'll take on predators even if it means sacrificing his life for his females.

    Capon

    • A capon is a neutered male chicken. You're probably familiar with neutering pet dogs or cats, but why would anyone bother performing this surgical procedure on a chicken? Caponizing is actually an ancient practice begun because castrated male chickens grew heavier, faster. It's not done as frequently today, because genetic advancements resulted in chickens that grew into slaughter weight quickly. However, capons have more body fat than intact males, so are preferred by some palates. If you want a pet chicken, a capon is also a good choice. They aren't aggressive, like many roosters. Male chicks are neutered between the ages of 2 weeks and 4 weeks. Capons don't develop much in the way of wattles or comb, but their hackles and tail feathers grow longer than roosters.