[photoboy]

Hi all, I purchased two Polish girls (chickens) 4 months ago......I was told at least they are girls...but of late (in the last 2 weeks) they have started crowing like cockerels..eeek! Not ideal for our next doors at 5.30am this morning.
Two points of this post then, is this usual or have I been sold two males? And sadly I will have to re-home them, as although my neighbors don't mind my ex batt girls I think this will be a problem very soon they are in Devon if anyone could offer them a home.

[nuzuki]

I would personally eat them if youve spent the time and money fattening them up. Or you could offer them to a breeder? Or defeather them and use them for dog meat if you own dogs. I was after some polish hatching eggs in the summer and bought some via banburypotter on ebay and fertility was rubbish, not one hatched. If however some had of hatched then I would be interested in one of your boys for breeding purposes i.e. yours would hopefully have a differing blood line from mine.

What age were they when you bought them? A breeder would be able to tell the sex at 5 or 6 weeks but if you bought them before this age then its quite difficult to tell. If you look up a program called dirty jobs with mike rowe it shows him on a chicken breeding farm and shows an old guy who can vent sex the chicks at one day old which obviously takes a trained eye indeed. 

[photoboy]

thanks nuzuki. I'm afraid I am a bit of an old softy when it comes to animals so the eating and dog food ideas are not for me really but thanks! They were 2 months old when I got them, and was assured they were girls, and indeed still do look like females to me....is this possible?

[nuzuki]

If the person who sold you them is an experienced chicken owner then they would have easily known the sex by 8 weeks. Most chicken keeping books say it is easy to sex around 6 weeks and i've only been keeping chickens a year now but even I can tell almost certainly at 6 weeks and in most cases 5 weeks.

Its good your not into eating them as they seem to be very much an ornamental breed and less of a table bird. They probably would taste alright but just wont have alot of meat on them.

Is it possible to bring them inside overnight or put them in a garage? I know its a hassle but the only upside is you could keep them then buy some females to breed from. Its not everyones cup of tea though I understand.

[joyfull]

not necessarily nuzuki - I had an araucana that was sold me as a hen and at 9 months she turned into a he. I also had a silkie cross that I kept as he was cute and at nearly a year he turned into a she lost his long tail and was the best broody I had ever had.
Sexing depends a lot on the breed.
Anyway photoboy as you were sold these birds as sexed (some are sold as unsexed) then you should return them and either swap them or get your money back.

[nuzuki]

Thats interesting, I had no idea this could happen. I guess you learn something new everyday :blink:

[joyfull]

Some breeds can be sexed at day old (colour sexed hybrids) others at a few weeks when they get their proper feathers and others you just have to wait and see if they lay an egg or crow  .

[photoboy]

Thank you both, it seems they are both ineed male and rather noisy. So if anyone would like them.......

[joyfull]

nip on over to the swap shop (where every bird must be offered free or to swap for anything except money) and post a photo of them - you may be lucky and somebody may need one or two to bring in new blood to their stock