# How To Tell Male/Female Fantail Pigeon



## Hemp

I heard a few things

the males neck is bigger the male coo-coo's more
just want to know for sure what i got anymore tips?
and great site still looking around just joined.


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## JGregg

Well.....Males tend to mate with anything all of the time.

They also bite, a lot. And they wing-slap (little buggers!).

That's what mine do!

I love my two little boys even though they misbehave.


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## Lin Hansen

Hi Hemp,

Welcome to Pigeons.com. 

As many of our members will tell you, it's not always easy to determine which birds are male and which birds are female....many members have been fooled.

I found a previous thread which provides a lot of information as to the differences between the sexes....just click on the link:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=5146

If you would like to view more previous threads on the subject.....click on the "Search" option at the top of the page and type in "sexing birds." Previous thread which have discussed this topic will come up. The link I gave you though, I feel, is one of the better ones.

Linda


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## Birdmom4ever

I think it can be even more difficult with fantails, which tend to be gentle pigeons by nature. I've noticed I can't seem to determine their sex until they are older than my rollers. 

Even experienced pigeon people sometimes have trouble with this. We have a beautiful little American fantail hen that was given to us by a friendly breeder at a show last fall. Her coop card said she was a young hen, and we had a young cock that needed a mate. The breeder and my hubby got to chatting and he offered her to us. I was thrilled, as I'd noticed her when we were walking around looking at all the pigeons earlier. But the final day of the show when we went to pick her up, her owner looked a little sheepish and said the bird had turned out to be a cock after all. We were disappointed but decided to take the pigeon anyway, as it was a lovely color (dilute cream bar). Took it home and kept it in quarantine for four weeks. At the end of the quarantine I put "him" in the loft--and the bird promptly began courting with my young cock--it was a hen after all!


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## ZigZagMarquis

... if an egg comes out of the bird, its a hen.  





JGregg said:


> They also bite, a lot. And they wing-slap (little buggers!).



dunno, I've gotten some pretty mean bites from my hens and wing slaps too, but that's when they've been on their nest and I was coming to check out their babies or clean or such.


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## re lee

Fantail hens willmost often have a more refined smaller head. Smaler tail then a cock Be less wide thru the front. and smaller beaked. But with the trend of refining the fantail more down to a little smaller in size of body and It gets a little harder to be sure sometimes. A young cock may not show his cock type actions until 4 to 6 months of age. So you get fooled sometimes. And I loo9k towards the skull head refinement to aid in guessing a young hen or cock. And of coarse body size. And some hens have great tails. But most often cocks will carry a little bigger tail. I have seen birds that I would consider behind the program. Meaning they have not been bred towards improvement to the standard. That is hard to tell by looking which is which. As cocks and hens are about the same size small tailed. Just basicly a backyard fantail. Something pretty to look at But not bred towards showing. In that case like Zig said if it lays an egg its a hen. But watching the bird soon tails with age.


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