rooster?

The first time we brought home chicks we all hoped they wouldn't turn out to be roosters. Our little urban set-up couldn't hide the inevitable crowing, so any chicks that looked like they were male had to return to the farm. One little guy remained ambiguous for a few months until one September morning when we (and our neighbors) awoke to quite a few loud cock-a-doodle-doos. I quickly brought him inside, but he would not stop. He was determined to show off his new talent and I was determined not to have a visit from animal control. He stayed in the closet until he joined a large flock later that evening.

Now we are lucky enough to have plenty of space for our barnyard explorations and think it would be rather nice to have a rooster to protect the ladies while they're foraging around the property. 

We have three Ameraucana chicks that are close to being sexed. The Ameraucana roosters are beautiful, so we're hoping one of these might be a male.

picture courtesy of Hidden Falls Farm

The kids have been guessing, I have a pick, how about you? Which of these chicks will be a rooster?

Leave a comment stating which chick you think is most likely to be a rooster:

chick #1
chick #2
chick #3
none of the above

The people who pick correctly will be entered in a drawing for a Tangelo Studio, Papier-mâché Hen. The chickens have an inspection coming up, so I'll post the results on July first.