Sexing Barred Rocks

[Rolltidern]

Thanks for your help! Hoping its a girl, we can't have Roos & he will have to be returned :-(

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

Thanks for your help! Hoping its a girl, we can't have Roos & he will have to be returned :-(

Keep us posted! I will be wishing for a girl so you get to keep her. I am fortunate that I don't have rooster restrictions here, so my surprise boy gets to stay. Thankfully all of the other 7 chicks are all pullets, I certainly don't need more than one roo!

 

[TREX]

I only have one barred rock (approx 4-5 weeks old) & was wondering if anyone could tell me if its a hen or roo? One of my chicken keeping friends says its not even a barred rock. This is our first attempt at keeping backyard chickens so any help is appreciated. Thanks!!

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here is a photo of one of my BR pullets at a few days old. Bought the same day they came in to the feed store from the hatchery Feb 22.

 

[TREX]

@ Rolltidern
here she is approaching the 3 week mark(a few days shy maybe ) This pic was taken on march 12th.(Shes roosting on my sons tummy,lol!)Your baby seems to be around this age from looking your pics.

 

[TREX]

Rolltidern here is my BR pullet right at 4 weeks old. There is a huge difference in the way they look in just the week or 2 since I had taken the last pic of them.This pic was March 25.Give it some time and your baby should start looking like this soon. I agree with the other posters that someone gave you the wrong age for your baby.

 

[Fred's Hens]

The speed at which a Barred Rock feathers in is dependent on a couple of things. First, the temperature at which chicks are brooded can have an effect on feathering. Hot brooders can discourage faster feathering while cool/cold brooders encourage faster feathering. All things being equal.

However, and this is important. Better breeding, with the sharper, crisper barring of bred-to-standard Barred Rocks feather in extremely slow!!!

We've seen 6 week old heritage birds still be mostly naked, while we've seen hatchery stock feather in faster than lightening. Faster feathering is often the result of intentionally mixed breeding. The birds mature much, much faster, feather in quickly, and begin laying as early as 20 weeks. Of course, such birds don't have very good baring, have high, pinched tails and usually have quite messing barring.

The heritage, true bred Barred Rocks don't often begin to lay until they are 36 weeks old. They are also almost half again as big and weigh a few pounds more.

Hatchery Chicks at 5 weeks.




Here is the same pullet, shown above, at point of lay, at 19 weeks.





Heritage, true bred Barred Rocks at 9 weeks




As juveniles at 19 weeks. Nowhere near point of lay. LOL

 

[Fred's Hens]

Here's my current, favorite little trio. A cockerel and two pullets. Anybody want to guess the age of these half nekked dinos? LOL

 

[Rolltidern]

I am thinking my brooder might be a little too warm but was trying to keep it warmer because I have a gold laced cochin & Easter Egger that are small (all same size three weeks ago). The difference in the two EE's is crazy, one is big & the other one has to be a runt!

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

I am thinking my brooder might be a little too warm but was trying to keep it warmer because I have a gold laced cochin & Easter Egger that are small (all same size three weeks ago). The difference in the two EE's is crazy, one is big & the other one has to be a runt!

It is crazy, my Black Australorps were complete opposite in size. The small one looked like a sparrow at 3 weeks, lol, and the other one was like baby Huey compared to her siblings. Now they are almost 11 weeks and you almost can't tell a size difference in them. Guess "Tiny," as we named her, was just slow at getting started.

 

[mark9199]

Some help, please. This is my first flock (of three) and I've been assuming that Phyllis, my BR, is a hen. Since she's been the more aggressive of the three, I wonder a bit. Can anyone verify what she/he is and say why they think what they think so I can learn. Thanks! These were just taken, at about 12 weeks of age: