Barred Rock Chicks Roo or Pullets

[ricochetrascal3]

Hello,
I am new to backyard chickens. When I was a child my family always had hens but I never payed attention to the difference in the sexes of the chicks. I recently purchased day old female Barred Rock chicks from my local feed store, but I question if they are all truly females. The legs are not all dark in color which is a trait I heard female Barred Rocks have. I have 3 or them and they should be 9 days old. If anyone can please help me determine their sex, I would greatly appreciate it. I have a 4 year old daughter who is loving taking care of the chicks. I want to find out if I have a roo because my town code doesnt allow us to have roosters. I don't want my daughter to become attached to one if it is a rooster, as I will need to rehome it.

Chick 1

Chick 2

Chick 3

My daughter with one of our Comets

Thank you,
Laresya

 

[Blackberry18]

It's too young to sex for sure, but I find that the best method for tentatively sexing Barred Rocks at this age is to look at the head spot. Males have much larger spots than females. Looking at yours, I'd say that they're all cockerels, but head spot sexing isn't always accurate. But getting males at a feed store is pretty easy, unless they label them as "Pullets". You can be sure once they're older; cockerels develop combs at 3 - 5 weeks, and the male feathers are very bright and barred, whereas the pullets have darker, less barred plumage. You can be sure of gender at 10 - 12 weeks.

 

[ricochetrascal3]

Thank you for the information. I was kind afraid they might be Cockrels. Time will tell. The feed store did purchase them from Mt Healthy Hatchery. I was told they have 90% accuracy for pullets but there is no guarantee. I am new to owning chickens and have no knowledge of any other the hatcheries. For the moment I will push the comets on my daughter as they have more feathers and are friendlier, I am thinking they are femals. Thank you again for the information.

 

[Michael OShay]

They are too young to sex at this point. The spot size hints at cockerel, but the blackwash on the legs hints at pullet. Neither of these are infallible and obviously the chicks cannot be both at once. I would post their pics again in about 5-6 weeks. By then they will be fully feathered and their gender should be obvious. Male chicks will have lighter barring and female chicks will have darker barring.

 

[ricochetrascal3]

Thank you Michael, I will definately repost them in 5 weeks to see what everyone thinks. I will keep my fingers crossed for hens until they mature. They are all mushy sweet chicks who love to cuddle.

 

[Blackberry18]

Thank you for the information. I was kind afraid they might be Cockrels. Time will tell. The feed store did purchase them from Mt Healthy Hatchery. I was told they have 90% accuracy for pullets but there is no guarantee. I am new to owning chickens and have no knowledge of any other the hatcheries. For the moment I will push the comets on my daughter as they have more feathers and are friendlier, I am thinking they are femals. Thank you again for the information.

Yes, the "Comets" are females. Golden Comets are actually just a hatchery name for Red Sex-Links (chicks that can be sexed at birth by down color). Males are silver-white, while females are reddish-gold. So, yours are obviously females. Good luck, Sex-Links are great!

 

[Michael OShay]

Thank you Michael, I will definately repost them in 5 weeks to see what everyone thinks. I will keep my fingers crossed for hens until they mature. They are all mushy sweet chicks who love to cuddle.

You're welcome.

 

[Michael OShay]

Yes, the "Comets" are females. Golden Comets are actually just a hatchery name for Red Sex-Links (chicks that can be sexed at birth by down color). Males are silver-white, while females are reddish-gold. So, yours are obviously females. Good luck, Sex-Links are great!

Agreed; Red Sex Links are laying machines. You should get loads of large, brown eggs from them. )

 

[Chick whisper]

Considering that you have 3 barred rocks that all look the same and they have a 90% chance that they are pullers...my guess would be that they are pullets, but like everyone else said, it's hard to tell until about 5 weeks old!

 

[ricochetrascal3]

Thank you all so very much. I am so excited about this website group. It has so much information for the new chicken owner and you are all so very helpful! I cant wait to watch my chicks grow and start laying.