Barred Rock color differences in 4 week olds

[Krys109uk]

threehorses,
Cuckoo & barring are the same gene. Dilute is another gene altogether.
The difference being caused by other genes. Rocky has probably got rapid feathering which causes cuckoo effect.

 

[speckledhen]

Very nice coop you have!

Hey, even if he doesn't have great barring, if you don't particularly care about raising birds for show, no matter. I love my BR roosters and hens and if he is a friendly boy when his hormones begin raging, then you have yourself a great bird.

 

[threehorses]

I agree! The barring quality is really more show or breed improvement. I've had plenty of barred rocks whose feathers weren't to standard, but whose personalities (most important) and utility (less important to me, but still noteable) were probably the best of all the birds I've had.

I'm a huge BR fan!

 

[Galaxiedriver]

Thanks for all the responses to my color question.

We have no plans to show our chickens, just enjoy fresh eggs and a bit of farming like when I was a kid.

I feel good that after nearly 5 weeks we have had no issues at all and we are surrounded by all the nasty preditors, lots of them. I made the coop as preditor proof as could.

 

[threehorses]

I do hope that you update us all when your baby is older - a "before and after" photo would be wonderful!

I bet in all honesty that the little cockerel is going to be a good looking boy! Very unusual.

 

[Galaxiedriver]

I really like this site and all the good info here. I will be sure to keep you all updated on our progress with our brood.

 

[tadkerson]

Galaxiedriver,

Welcome to the forum. I too am from central Missouri- I live near Jefferson City and have visited Griffith Hatchery. I visited before Mr. Griffith passed away and the new owners purchased the hatchery. I was hoping that I would be able to purchase the hatchery but I missed the opportunity. I was going to produce unusual variates and provide them to the public.


Was the down color on the male chick the same as the other chicks ( black with a white head spot) and did he have tail feathers before the other birds. If he has the rapid feathering gene (Krys posted this), he would of had a tail way before the others even showed much of a tail. At two weeks his wing feathers and tail feathers would have been noticeably longer than the other birds.

Does the male bird have any white primary wing feathers? If he does- then he is carrying mottling which would explain his color. Mottled birds on extended black usually show a pied juvenile plumage but I do not see that in your bird. This picture below is if a barred and mottled bird I produced.

Normally barred males are a lighter color than the females because males carry two sex-linked barring genes. The barring gene expresses a dosage effect upon the plumage of the bird. One allele(gene) or one dose produces a bar that is so wide while two sex linked barring genes would be considered two doses and the bird has much wider bars.

Tim

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, Tim, I don't know if you recall, but I had an oddly feathered BR chick from my pure BR flock last year. It had an odd triangular shaped headspot and stripes on its back like a SLW (thought I'd picked up my SLW's egg rather than my Lexie's by mistake). And the barring was really weird. This chick sort of reminds me of that cockerel. I've never had one of those before or since that one bird. Genes can do strange things, certainly! I'd almost forgotten about him, but I looked up his pictures and here he is as a baby and a bit later, not quite like the one pictured by the OP, but odd nonetheless. Both his parents were hatchery stock, but have produced some fine BR progeny, other than this one oddball.

 

[Krys109uk]

Interesting Tim.

I also have some birds which are both mottled & barred which have a rather different phentype to yours. I've seen pics of other birds with a similar phenotype to yours. Which allele at the e-locus does your have & which rate of feathering allele? I'm wondering whether the e-allele &/or rate of feathering gene might have something to do with the difference in phenotype. Mottling seems an interesting gene.

Now you mention down colour etc. the OPs bird does seem to have a light face where he still hasn't completely feathered up.
My oldest mo/mo, B/b+ bird has similarities.

Here are some pics I took a bit ago. This bird, if I remember correctly was about 3 weeks.

This is the oldest bird of this genotype, if I remember correctly, this bird was about 10 weeks.

 

[walkswithdog]

Those are really interesting... and the pics are cool.

I have a question I have a Barred Rock/Partridge Rock or Barred Rock/Black Australorp cockeral. I thought barred pullet until the wild hackles and sickles and attitude showed up he was that dark.

But some of his feathers are solid black, or half (one side of a feather) black. I'll see if I can get his pic today. Is this a normal fluke or something more interesting?

He's huge and tall, but tending thin with a tail set like a BA. He was the last possible generation from my barred Roo, though I do have barred rock hens that would be a partridge rock roo over barred hen. Which should produce black bleeding red, not a barred son. Right?

Confuddled again...