4.5 week old Barred Rock... Roo or Pullet?

[speckledhen]

Is that comb really that bright pink? If it is, I doubt pullet. More likely a crossbreed cockerel, but pictures can be deceiving.

A 12 week old BR pullet doesn't have as much color in the comb as that chick does. BR cross cockerels will be dark like pure BR pullets, even with dark on the legs, but they'll get comb color very early.

 

[emcgrath27]

She looks like a she! Congrats!

 

[PDDSinger]

Her comb is my concern as well. She is SUPPOSED to be a pure bred BR, sexed. The feed store is reputable and knowledgeable, so I doubt they buy from 'shady' hatcheries. Then again, they sell Easter Eggers as Americaunas. Anyway, here is another picture of her. I feel the picture is a true representation of her coloring also. Her comb is more red than all the other chicks I have (but I don't have another BR) and her wattle/cheek growth is more pronounced than the other chicks. Are you still thinking a Roo?

 

[speckledhen]

I almost think you may have a sex link cockerel from the bright pink comb at that very young age, which would have looked just like a BR pullet. I hope I'm wrong, but I've never seen a super bright pink comb and wattles on a less than 5 week old BR pullet, and there have been hundreds hatched and raised here.

If that's a pullet, that is a pullet with more pink in the comb for that age than I've seen in all the years I've raised BRs here.

The black sex link male would explain the dark color and red comb on that chick.

Here are a brother and sister Barred Rock pair who are 6 weeks in this photo-see the pullet's comb color? There really is none.



Here is my 12 week old BR pullet--see, still no pronounced color in her comb, even now:

 

[PDDSinger]

That is not the response I was hoping for, lol! I guess time will tell what I have?! When should I really, REALLY know what gender and breed she is? What age, I mean? Also, your 12 wk old BR has yellow legs/feet. My he/she chick has black/green legs. That's not helping her chances of being a BR, correct? Thanks for your help, btw.

 

[speckledhen]

Yours appears to have yellow legs, just very pale yellowish with a dark wash down the fronts, which usually makes them appear more greenish than yellow.


I was hoping you'd say the comb wasn't really all that pink, that it was just the camera or the way the picture took or something, but since it's really very pink, it seriously makes me doubt it's a BR pullet, but a BR cross cockerel (which a black sex link would be).

Once I had an accidental crossbreeding of Silver Phoenix over Barred Rock hens, making an unconventional black sex link. We didn't know it until the combs turned pink at 4 weeks old, like your chick, and the barring was really off, too. Until then, we thought they were just BR pullets. Here's a picture of the Phoenix x BR cockerel for you so you can see what I mean; they even had the dark wash down the leg fronts like a regular BR pullet.

*I hadn't raised hundreds of BR chicks at that point, or the weird sketchy barring would have tipped me off sooner that something wasn't right with these Phoenix cross chicks, LOL*

 

[Vickilynn45]

Yours appears to have yellow legs, just very pale yellowish with a dark wash down the fronts, which usually makes them appear more greenish than yellow.


I was hoping you'd say the comb wasn't really all that pink, that it was just the camera or the way the picture took or something, but since it's really very pink, it seriously makes me doubt it's a BR pullet, but a BR cross cockerel (which a black sex link would be).

Once I had an accidental crossbreeding of Silver Phoenix over Barred Rock hens, making an unconventional black sex link. We didn't know it until the combs turned pink at 4 weeks old, like your chick, and the barring was really off, too. Until then, we thought they were just BR pullets. Here's a picture of the Phoenix x BR cockerel for you so you can see what I mean; they even had the dark wash down the leg fronts like a regular BR pullet.

*I hadn't raised hundreds of BR chicks at that point, or the weird sketchy barring would have tipped me off sooner that something wasn't right with these Phoenix cross chicks, LOL*

Crud... that looks like mine....

 

[speckledhen]

Sometimes, it's really hard, with the bad quality BRs hatcheries are putting out today. Their barring is atrocious in some cases and I suspect they are actually crosses in others. Even my hatchery hens were much better looking than many I've seen of late that were supposedly straight from some hatchery.

If the barring looks more like dotting than barring and/or very "ghosty" and the comb is red at 3-5 weeks old, you can almost bet you have a crossbreed cockerel.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong about the chick in question here! Please keep us updated on it, will you? I'd like to see how it turned out since no one else but me thought it was male.


By the way, I had three of those Phoenix cross cockerels, but they also had a sister. She was solid black, like you'd expect from a black sexlink female.


ETA: My DH just walked in and saw your picture and said, "oh, no, that's a cockerel". So, I guess that's two votes for male right now, sorry. Time will tell!

 

[PDDSinger]

Your reasoning for a X cockerel does seem sound, I agree. In a last vain hope, I looked at my photo and then ran out to check on Hoechi's comb again... which still looks red like the photo, lol! I'll post back a photo when he/she is a bit older, so you can have a look at the 'progress' Thanks again for all your help and time. This forum and it's participants' expertise is greatly appreciated.

 

[Curious1234]

So...any updates???
I too am worried about by barred rock girl...