Determining the age of a chicken can be tricky, especially if you obtained adult birds from a source other than hatching them yourself. While there’s no precise way to identify a chicken’s exact age, there are several clues you can look for to make an educated guess.
Examining Feathering
One of the best ways to estimate a chicken’s age is to look closely at its feathering. As chickens mature, their fluffy baby down transforms into real feathers.
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Chicks start growing feathers around 6-8 days old The first feathers come in looking patchy and haphazard,
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By 2-4 weeks old, most chicks have entered the uglier “teenage” phase when they are shedding down and growing in pinfeathers. They’ll look disheveled and messy.
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Between 6-12 weeks chicks will go through a series of mini-molts as they gradually acquire their mature plumage.
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Roosters develop long, pointed saddle and hackle feathers. Hens have softer, rounded feathers.
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By 12-20 weeks, pullets and cockerels will have a nearly complete set of adult feathers.
Changes in Body Size
A chicken’s size and proportional development can also give clues as to age:
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As a baseline, most chicks weigh around 1.4 oz at hatch and reach 1-2 lbs by 12 weeks old.
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Chicks have disproportionately large feet and long skinny legs as babies. Their legs fill out and scale appropriately as they mature.
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Gangly adolescent birds will eventually grow into their frame, taking on a filled out, adult appearance.
Comb and Wattle Development
The size and color of a chicken’s comb and wattles correspond with age.
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Baby chicks usually have small combs and wattles that are barely visible.
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In cockerels, the comb and wattles become more pronounced at a younger age than pullets.
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As birds mature, combs and wattles grow larger and turn red. Older chickens may have large combs with scarring.
Behavioral Changes
You can gauge chicken ages based on behavior:
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Young chicks focus on survival. They don’t establish a pecking order until 6-12 weeks old.
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Cockerels act more assertive and bold. Pullets are more timid and deferential to flockmates.
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Crowing starts around 7-12 weeks in cockerels.
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Mature hens and roosters have more distinct personalities and roles in the flock.
Plumage After the First Molt
A chicken’s first full molt occurs between 12-18 months old. Once a bird has gone through this milestone, you know they are at least a year old.
Egg Production
The onset of laying offers clues about a hen’s age:
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Most breeds start laying around 16-20 weeks old.
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Young pullets lay smaller and occasional eggs at first. As they mature, eggs get larger and more frequent.
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Hens 2 years old and older tend to lay less frequently than younger birds.
Spurs
Spurs offer evidence of a mature bird:
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Hens may start growing spurs around 3 years old. The longer the spurs, the older the hen.
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Roosters develop spurs at a younger age than hens. Longer spurs indicate an older rooster.
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Some breeds naturally have larger spurs than others regardless of age.
Condition of Shanks and Vent
You can gather hints from a chicken’s legs and vent:
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Older chickens have thicker, rougher-textured shanks vs. younger birds with smooth, shiny shanks.
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The skin around the vent will appear moist and pinkish in younger birds, drying out with age.
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Older hens may have loose, stretched out vents from egg laying over time.
Record Keeping
The most foolproof way to know a chicken’s age is to record data yourself:
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Keep detailed notes about hatch dates and developmental milestones.
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Track dates of first egg, first molt, spur growth, and other aging factors.
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Band chickens’ legs with colors indicating hatch year.
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Maintain thorough health and breeding records for each bird.
While there’s no infallible way to pinpoint a chicken’s exact age, paying close attention to physical characteristics, behaviors, and egg laying patterns can provide a good ballpark estimate. Keeping methodical records from day one makes aging easiest of all. With a little practice, you’ll be able to look at a bird and make a solid guess about how old it is.
From chick to pullet
Once a chick has molted and lost its down, it enters the transitional period between chick-hood and adulthood, the chicken equivalent of teenage years. Hens over the age of 12 weeks are in this phase, and are known as pullets. This period of their lives usually lasts until 20 weeks old, though it can be longer. The name ‘pullet’, though, is generally used for any hen under one year.
Pullets are considered adults when they lay their first eggs, which occurs somewhere between 18 and 25 weeks. Male chickens – cockerels, or roosters – reach adulthood when they start to crow and show an interest in the hens, usually by chasing them. This occurs at around five months old, although some breeds are later developers.
At this point in a chicken’s life, when it has finally become an adult bird, it is hard to pinpoint exactly how old they are. If your hens are not laying eggs yet but have all their adult plumage, they are most likely somewhere between 12 and 20 weeks old. Young hens of this age will tend to have smaller combs than fully adult birds.
From pullet to adult hen
If you are keeping multiple hens, it can be hard to tell if an individual bird has started laying or not. Pullets will have small, dry and pale vents in comparison to hens, and this can be used as a way of telling whether or not they are laying.
During this post-20-week period, both the pullets’ and cockerels’ combs and wattles will gradually become brighter and more pronounced. Birds with less vibrant combs and wattles are most likely to be aged around 12-15 weeks. It is during this prime egg-laying stage of a chicken’s life that their combs and wattles will be at their most vibrant – as a hen ages, it slowly loses the red color.
Hens increase their body mass as they mature, and most have reached maximum plumes at nine months old.
The Simple Way to Tell How Old Your Chickens Are
FAQ
How do you tell how old your chicken is?
It’s tricky to pinpoint a chicken’s exact age, especially once they’re adults, but you can make educated guesses by observing their physical characteristics and behaviors.
What is the 90/10 rule for chickens?
The “90/10 rule” for chickens refers to a feeding guideline that recommends 90% of a chicken’s daily diet should be a complete feed, while the remaining 10% can be treats.
How old are chickens sold at Tractor Supply?
They are about 3/4 weeks old. (I’m assuming) We got them from Tractor Supply on May 18th. They didn’t tell us how old they were, but by sizing, I’d say they were only a few days old when we got them. This is our first time as chicken owners.
At what age can you tell if a chick is a hen or rooster?
Just fyi. You can usually tell the difference between a hen and a rooster by 13-16 weeks of age.May 12, 2025
How do you tell the age of a chicken?
To tell the age of a chicken, especially if it is more than one year old, your best bet is to rely on an educated guess. There is no reliable science to identify the age signs of your chickens. What you may consider ‘normal rules’ of aging may not even apply to other breeds. For estimating the age of your chickens, consider the following: 1.
How can you tell the age of a baby chick?
You can also tell the age of a baby chick by its behavior. One or two-day-old chicks may not show too much about their normal behaviors. However, in a couple of weeks, you may see different behavioral traits on display, such as posturing. A fresh or young chicken egg has a shell that appears thick.
How old are chickens today?
Let’s get started, so you can determine how old your chicks are today. There are four main life stages in a chicken’s growth: chick, pullet or cockerel, adult (hen or rooster), and senior. Most chickens live between 6-8 years, though some breeds age faster or slower than others.
How do you know if a chicken is fully grown?
Another great indicator of a fully grown chicken’s age is their legs. While pullets and cockerels still have soft legs that are pale in complexion, fully grown chickens will have legs that have started to become more rough to the touch and will have a brighter yellow pigmentation. At this point, your chickens should also be at their full weight.
How do I know if my chicks are aging?
If you know these stages, as well as certain physical characteristics, making an accurate guesstimate is easy. If you see your chicks come fresh from the egg, aging them is easy. For the first several hours after hatching, chicks look damp, as if they had fallen in a puddle. Laying under an incubator or with their mom will dry them out.
How do you know if a chicken is a chick?
Another way is to look at the color of the chicken’s feathers. Chicks have yellow feathers, while older chickens have white or gray feathers. Finally, you can look at the chicken’s wattles and combs. These are the fleshy protrusions on a chicken’s head. Chicks have small wattles and combs, while older chickens have large ones.