Barred Plymouth Rock

[holsingerfamily]

At what age can you sex them? What are the differences between the roo and pullet? What age do the pullets starting laying? Thanks so much!

Any tips or advice?
Mine our 13 days old now

 

[Eggseronious]

Barred Rocks carry the sex link gene they got from the Dominique. It is best done at an early age this might not work on your chicks that are 13 days old. The shape of the light colored spot on the top of the chick’s head. At hatching the male head spot, for the most part, is larger and more scattered than the one on the female which tends to be small (though not always) and more compact -- free of black areas. Here is a link on sexing Dominique it will work the same on Barred Rocks. Great link! http://www.dominiquechicken.com/Sexing_Dominique_chicks.html

 

[WrenAli]

The spots don't always tell. I have one that is a roo that had a perfect small spot as a day old.

Roos tend to stand up straighter and have more white than pullets.

Not sure when they start laying though, I am fairly new to this all.

 

[Sahara]

Usually pullets start laying around 6 months old. That is not always the case but a generalization. My wyandotte didn't start laying until she was 8 months old.

 

[Davaroo]

Sex linked coloration is what you are after, I suspect. Usually, the male chick in the more common Barred Rock - f sexlink pairings has a white feathered spot on its head at hatching.

"The barring characteristic in BPR's is transmitted from the dam to the son... It is when BPR females are mated to RIR, NHR or WW males that the plumage and down differs. When BPR males are mated to RIR, NHR or WW females, the sexes cannot be distingusihed at hatching."**

Unless your birds are sex-links, the markings on a pure Barred Rock chick are going to be iffy to the inexperienced. The link for Dominiques offers hope, but the markings can run the gamut of variation. There seems to be little that is concrete, across the board.

After 13 days, your best course is to wait - you'll know in a few months which is which.

** Morley A. Jull, "Successful Poultry Management," 1943

 

[speckledhen]

Take three traits together to get about a 90% accuracy sexing the Barred Rock chicks from hatcheries these days. The darker down color, much darker leg fronts, and more regular, smaller headspots are usually, but not always, the pullets. There are individual variations among chicks that will often lead you to the wrong conclusion or have you sitting on the fence till that great big red comb pops up and he crows. And I've had them lay from 19-24 weeks, just depends, but most lay by about 23 weeks old.

Historical Document
Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station

SEX IDENTIFICATION IN PUREBREDS
BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCKS

It had long been recognized that the size of the light head
spots in Barred Plymouth Rocks varied in the two sexes. The
males tend to have larger headspots and the females to have
darker colored legs. However, this method has not been sufficiently
accurate to be of much commercial value.
Quinn and Knox (1939) attempted to separate the sexes of
Barred Plymouth Rocks by means of the intensity of the black
pigment in the down and legs. In different lots of chicks they
report 83.5, 86.1 and 91.8 percent accuracy.
Jerome (1939) describes a method of sex identification in
Barred Plymouth Rocks based upon the regularity of the outline
of the head spot rather than the size of the spot. Those chicks
having headspots irregular in outline and scattered in appearance
are males while the females tend to have headspots with
more regular outlines. The author claimed an accuracy of 90
percent or better when considering only the headspot and 95
percent if the color of the legs was included in the consideration.
The Canadian Department of Agriculture (Anonymous 1941)
issues an excellently illustrated bulletin describing the method.
It is stated in the bulletin that the method “is widely practiced
in Barred Rock chicks by commercial chick sexers.” Sex identification
is based upon outline of head spot, color of legs and
shade of down color. There are several types of male and female
head spots​

 

[holsingerfamily]

Thank you everyone

I just wanted to know the differences so as they get older I can keep a look out. They were hatched in an incubator and the lady said she did not know how to sex them cause she is a newbie too.

 

[Davaroo]

So, I guess what we've learned is that accuracy is "iffy," which by default means there is no accuracy. It would take much experience and a lot of "chick gazing" to even approach a good guess, it seems.

I note the reference from Cyn (thanks for that detailed reference, by the way!) quoted sample dates from the late 1930's. The breed was only 70 years old back then and the Kansas experiments were with purebreeds.

I wonder where we are in terms of breed purity, and thus the validiity of those experiments, some 70 odd years further down the line?

 

[Eggseronious]

The sexing in my post and link will run 90% true I've been accountable in selling chicks to make it a 50/50 batch. I forgot U asked about laying pullets if well taken care of expect 16-18 weeks.