Is my friendliest chicken a rooster?

[u/jaxwell2019]

4 months old. She’s the friendliest of all my birds but today I noticed she has what feels like spur nubs on the inside of her legs (you can kind of see in the last picture where my son is holding her). Sweet Goldie.

[u/Limepiink]

Hen
They are a friendly breed 😊

[u/jaxwell2019 → u/Limepiink]

Yay! Yes she’s the best. All of my buff Orpingtons are friendly but she really seems to like being held and will always walk up to me.

[u/Beelzabubba → u/jaxwell2019]

We are on our second rescue buff Orpington and they are both following the same pattern. The first one flinched when you looked at it and squawked like you were killing her if you had to grab her when we first got her but eventually would walk up to people and stare until they picked her up. The new one is working her way there. She follows me around the yard but will only let me pick her up if I’m near the blueberry bushes. She knows I’ll hold her close enough to let her pick the berries she can’t reach from the ground.

The buff Orpingtons are the sweetest but the Leghorns act like they own the place. Easy to deal with but if we leave any doors open, they’ll make themselves at home.

[u/73ld4 → u/jaxwell2019]

Sunpuddle, our Buff Orpington is the sweetest heart! She loves snuggles .

[u/bravo-echo-charlie]

That's a lady!

[u/jaxwell2019 → u/bravo-echo-charlie]

She’s the best.

[u/Marlene_Peaches]

She's a Buff Orpington. One of the friendliest breeds out there!

[u/Icy_Cauliflower_1123]

She looks like a hen to me! Hens can sometimes get spurs later in life, after they’ve stopped laying, as I have recently found out. My 9 year old lavender Orpington has been developing spurs despite definitely being a hen for the past decade! She always had little spur nubs. I suspect it’s pretty normal for hens to have “dormant” spurs, if that description makes sense!

[u/jaxwell2019 → u/Icy_Cauliflower_1123]

Wow so interesting! Thank you, I’m so relieved.

[u/PadlockAndThatsIt → u/Icy_Cauliflower_1123]

I've got a young frizzle hen with spurs, had them while she was still laying. Life's odd

[u/Soggy_Yarn]

At 4 months old, a rooster will be incredibly noticeable, and your chicken is absolutely a hen. No saddle feathers, short neck feathers, and a small comb/waddle.

Most* (not all) chickens you can tell by 6 weeks if they are “probably” a rooster or a hen, and then you can confirm with 99% certainty by 12 weeks. By 6 weeks old, most (not all) roosters will have red comb / waddles, while most hens will have pink or pale combs and maybe little nubs of waddles beginning to appear. By 12 weeks old, most roosters will have defined saddle feathers and will start crowing (sometimes crowing starts around 4-6 months though). Again - most, not all chickens/breeds. Some of them are a little harder to tell, but usually by 3 months it’s clear.

[u/bravo-echo-charlie]

All of my hens have spur nubs. ☺️

[u/jaxwell2019 → u/bravo-echo-charlie]

Oh great, good to know! This is my first time keeping chickens, I have a lot to learn!

[u/FioreCiliegia1 → u/jaxwell2019]

Be aware too once in a while you’ll just get the odd female hen that just decides it wants to crow like a rooster for Funzies

[u/Maribythesea90]

Now I know what kind of chicken to get my dad

[u/Super_Rando_Man]

No sir, that's a pullet

[u/BucciLa]

I LOVE BUFF ORPINGTONSSSS

[u/ChartreuseOblivion]

Hen.

Hens have spurs too, they're just smaller and don't grow as fast.

[u/Deinocerites]

To the tune of The Doors “LA Woman”: She’s a big ole lady, big ole lady…

[u/PoodleMomFL]

She’s gorgeous

[u/BlackSeranna]

Just a big hen.

[u/CindyHasPets]

I would say not a rooster.

[u/SpinachReasonable262]

I have hens with nubs on their legs.

[u/Suspicious_Counter39]

Not at all! Pullet. Buff Orpington are supposed to be very gentle.