Is Pip a boy or a girl?

Sometimes it's hard to tell if a chick is a boy or a girl.   Boys are called cockerels until they turn one year old, and then they are called roosters.  Girls are called pullets until they turn one year old, and then they are called hens.

Lately Pip is acting a little bit like a boy chicken. She is chasing around the others a lot and pecking at them, and in general is being pushy and just a little bit mean.  Pip is also starting to look like she might be a cockerel. The comb is the piece of red flesh on top of a chicken's head.  It is much larger in cockerels and roosters than in pullets and hens.  Feathers on male chickens are also pointier and fancier looking.  Their feet are also much thicker.

Pip's comb is turning a bit redder and bigger, and some of her feathers are starting to look a little pointy, but it's too soon to tell. Her feet are kind of delicate and don't really look like a cockerel's.  I've shown pictures of her to people who know a lot about chickens, and most of them say they can't tell yet. Some say she's a pullet, and others say she's a cockerel.  Time will tell!

Unfortunately if Pip is a cockerel, I will have to give him away.  There are a few reasons we cannot have a rooster.  One is that they make noise when they crow. Another is that they don't lay eggs!  We really want to have a lot of eggs.  Often times the roosters become aggressive, which means they might bite or attack people.  (Pip has already bit me for no reason.) And the last reason is that most of our chickens will be small. They are called "bantams".  They might have a hard time if they were living with a standard size rooster since there are so few of them.

Here are some pictures of Pip from this week.  What do you think?  Is Pip a boy or a girl?