Sexing Barred Rocks

[BY Chicken Lady]

Thanks chicken lady I was afraid of that

Well don't do anything rash...sometimes they can look one way or the other at this early age. Give s/he a little more time. If it is a he the comb will start turning much more red. My girl BR had a little comb too, but hers stayed very pale and was not as long as his.

 

[radio2]

Well don't do anything rash...sometimes they can look one way or the other at this early age. Give s/he a little more time. If it is a he the comb will start turning much more red. My girl BR had a little comb too, but hers stayed very pale and was not as long as his.

When will I know for sure? at what age?

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

When will I know for sure? at what age?

My boy is 12 weeks old right now. There is no mistaking him for a cockerel at this point, but actually by the time he was 9 weeks old we knew for sure. Give it another couple of weeks to see what happens. By the way, if you are not allowed to have a rooster and fear the neighbors will complain, don't worry. My boy doesn't cock-a-doodle-do yet, so no one, except chicken people who visit, can tell that he is a boy. I don't have any restrictions where I live, but even if I did, I wouldn't be concerned about getting caught at this point.

I am actually looking forward to his first attempt at making the 'wake up call'.

 

[Rolltidern]

Ok, so my barred rock now approx a month old, going to post a few pics, poor quality probably. I can take more if someone suggests what views they need to see. What a difference a week has made in her/his feathering, getting alot more.

 

[Rolltidern]

Sorry, phone would only let me post one pic @ a time

 

[Chikenbutwut]

Do Barred Rocks feather in slower than let's say, EE's and Welsummers? I read that good Barred Rocks feather in at a slow rate, but mine is from a hatchery (My Pet Chicken specifically, who get's their birds from Meyer as I understand). I had two, one died at 3 days due to shipping stress (I assume). The one I have left is feathering in quite a bit slower than the EE's and Welsummers I have from the same order. They're all bantams and were sexed, and are "suppose" to all be pullets, but you know how that goes, it's not 100%.

I know my Blue Wyandottes feathered in much slower than my Columbian Wyandottes. At first I was afraid I had all cockerels in the Blues, until I learned some breeds can feather in slower than others. At a little over 2 mos. old I can now see that I have only one cockerel out of all the Blue Wyandottes I ordered straight run (at least I'm pretty sure I do...I need to get pics posted up of my older chicks and ask in another thread). That's why I'm asking if Barred Rocks feather in slower. Since I lost my other chick, I have nothing to compare the remaining one to. It has the dark wash down the front of it's legs and is dark in color at 3 wks. old. It's just now getting a sprig of a tail (and, of course, has it's wing feathers in). The feathers that are coming in do look nice and dark. It's just the slower feathering than the EE's and the Welsummers in that same shipment make me wonder if this is perhaps a cockerel. I know time will tell, I'm just curious is all. I would post a pic, but I'm not computer literate in that aspect, lol, and would have to wait until my hubby, who is more computer literate, gets home from work.

 

[Chikenbutwut]

Ok, so my barred rock now approx a month old, going to post a few pics, poor quality probably. I can take more if someone suggests what views they need to see. What a difference a week has made in her/his feathering, getting alot more.

Hmm...mine actually looks much like yours (they're close to the same age too).

 

[mithious]

Hmmm...mine are 2 weeks and 4 days and they are already getting their body feathers. I tried to get pictures, but no luck, they were either blurry, or dark...so hard to see the feathers. But their wings are all feathered and tails growing well. Their bodies look really funny with the feathers growning in though LOL.

I have 15 BR's only.
6 Dominiques coming next March! ( part of my breeding program)

 

[mithious]

Sorry it's so blurry but no one stands still! These are all 2 weeks and 4 days old from hatch!

 

[mithious]

one of my cockerels