Barred Rock or Maran?

Ok, I am confused. Is my chicken a Barred Rock or a Maran? I am new to breeds but would like to know exactly what breed my Dixie Chic is. Thxs This is Dixie Chic.

Firstly, is she a pure breed.... ie is she from a hatchery or local breeder or was she bought at auction/swap or from a backyard breeder, where her breeding may be unknown and could well be mixed. Her legs appear too dark for a barred rock, so I would lean towards Marans but in the USA Marans normally have feathered shanks, so my gut feeling is that she is a cross breed mutt.....no offence intended..... my farmyard is full of mutts and I love them.

She came from a farm where the owner raises them. Local breeder I believe. Not a hatchery as I stated before. She is 13 weeks old now. I was told she was a Barred Rock but because of her legs. I was told she could be a Maran. I wanted to know just in case someone ask me about the breed. I am in love with her regardless. Lol

If her legs aren't yellow she is not a barred rock. Not all Marans have feathered legs, either.

Now an eye opener for newbie chicken owners...... Anyone who owns chickens, hatches eggs and sell chicks, can call them selves "Breeders". I have been breeding chickens for 40+ years and would never classify myself as a Breeder.

IMHO a "Breeder" has learned everything that they can possibly learn about the breed they are breeding. They have obtained the very best breeding stock they can afford, and they are very conscientious about culling to choose only the best examples of the breed to breed forward.

There is the chance she is a crossbred mutt, because a lot of people are not able to tell the difference between different breeds of "barred" breeds.

If she is a mutt, you are not the first person that bought a chicken that was not what the chicken was presented to be. And sometimes the person was not intentionally misrepresenting the chicken, they simply did not know any better.

She will probably be a great layer, what ever she is!

x 2 Enola tells it like it is.

Even in dogs, if the person has a female that got bred accidentally or otherwise, they think that makes them a breeder. Nowadays a lot of 'designer breeds' - just plain mutts sell for more than a well bred pedigree animal.

enola said:

If her legs aren't yellow she is not a barred rock. Not all Marans have feathered legs, either.

Now an eye opener for newbie chicken owners...... Anyone who owns chickens, hatches eggs and sell chicks, can call them selves "Breeders". I have been breeding chickens for 40+ years and would never classify myself as a Breeder.

IMHO a "Breeder" has learned everything that they can possibly learn about the breed they are breeding. They have obtained the very best breeding stock they can afford, and they are very conscientious about culling to choose only the best examples of the breed to breed forward.

There is the chance she is a crossbred mutt, because a lot of people are not able to tell the difference between different breeds of "barred" breeds.

If she is a mutt, you are not the first person that bought a chicken that was not what the chicken was presented to be. And sometimes the person was not intentionally misrepresenting the chicken, they simply did not know any better.

She will probably be a great layer, what ever she is!

Click to expand...

X2 on enola's post.

Don't even get me started on dogs and horses.

I love to call people up and ask them the sire and dam of the horse they have for sale for $2,000. Some of them don't even know what a sire or dam is.......

And dogs...... Are their eyes checked? They look good to me! How about OFA on hips? Is OFA a disease? But, they want $1,500 for this dog!

Back to discussing chickens !

enola said:

Don't even get me started on dogs and horses.

I love to call people up and ask them the sire and dam of the horse they have for sale for $2,000. Some of them don't even know what a sire or dam is.......

And dogs...... Are their eyes checked? They look good to me! How about OFA on hips? Is OFA a disease? But, they want $1,500 for this dog!

Back to discussing chickens !

Click to expand...

lol

Thanks everyone. Enola her legs are white. Looks like she needs a tan. So would I just say she is a mutt when asked what breed she is? Ha Ha ha

I am looking at this on a phone, but her feather pattern looks more cuckoo than barred. You may has ever a very nice little marans pullet.