ok, first of all chicken questions are usually welcome here, there are several who love chickens.
to find out, do you have a small cage you can put the one in you are suspicious about in for the day to see for sure it is the one. Sounds alot like a rooster to me. We had one that hung around the nests all the time, but of course could not lay any eggs.
good luck

I also strongly suggest that you get a book or two, and read up on chicken care. The Storey Publishing books are good, and I am sure others will be suggested. That way, you will have some idea if a given behavior is normal, odd, or should be a cause for worry, as well as possible remedies for your worries.

Any chance you could post a picture? it might help us determine if it really is a roo.

-Sheila

ps. don't apologize, this forum has lots of chicken folks :)

If the word "chicken" "hen" or "roo" is in the title, those who are tired of chicken questions can skip it. The REST of us want to know!

Hens can have combs and spurs, but roosters can't lay eggs.

Try Shellybabe's suggestion - it's your most certain way to get an answer. :)

Some additional info would help us offer an opinion. How old are they? How many eggs are you getting a day from them? Does the bird in question have the narrow pointed sickle feathers in a ruff around its neck and on its back like a saddle? What's its tail like? All these things can be indicators when a chicken's gender is in question.

I agree, your description is rather vague to offer any type of meaningful answer. Seperate to see if it is laying, to try to get an answer. Hens do sometimes develop spurs, and may crow. It's usually, but not always a sign of advanced age, and of course most hens have combs too. A photo would help.

Be careful of auctions. As you're finding out, you never know what surprises you'll bring home, some of which you'd really rather not.

One malcontent who's tired of discussing chickens here, but who refuses to offer a single other subject, now has people apologizing for discussing chickens on the Farm Life forum. If you want to ask about chickens here, go ahead. If there's anyone who wishes to talk other farm issues, their topics are welcome too.

I have a great pic, but I don't know how to upload it to this list. I uploaded it to the GardenWeb photo gallery: Home/ pets.

The birds are about 5 mos. old, just started laying about 3 weeks ago. We have 3 birds, 2 that look about the same (like the one on the left of pic) and this other one with similar markings, but different 'features'.

We've been getting 2-3 eggs at a time. It seems like one bird is laying 2 at once and one is laying one. This she/he is often in the nest box with an egg.

I found it!

I bet Patrick and other chicken pro's can tell.

-Sheila

ps. Looks like a roo to me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to picture

I don't see sickle feathers, looks like a hen, maybe a crossbred.

Chickens lay one egg every 25 to 26 hours. If you are getting 3 eggs in one day, collecting at the same time then you probably had 3 hens laying.

If a hen is getting ready to lay an egg, and it gets dark, she will hold it until the morning. Hens don't lay eggs at night. That is why, you don't always get 3 eggs every day from 3 hens. Their cycle of lay is more than 24 hours, so sometimes they lapse over until the next day.