Barred Rock, hen or rooster?

[Hpychf1]

Our chicks are 3 months old and the barred rock has always been a little bigger and more aggressive. This morning I woke up thinking, "What the h*** is that noise?!?!" After some searching, I realized our BR was cock-a-doodle-doing! I then read that some hens will do that also. Can someone more experienced than I tell if our hen is actually rooster? Thanks for any input!

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Looks like a rooster to me. Sometimes when there is no rooster in your flock a hen will crow to state dominance as she is the alpha hen. But he looks like a rooster. Look at his hackle and saddle feathers they will be pointed that is a characteristic of a rooster.

 

[hdowden]

that looks like a blk sex link not a barred rock and yes that is a cockerel

 

[juliechick]

that looks like a blk sex link not a barred rock and yes that is a cockerel

Agree, it's a Black Sex Link cockerel.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Not a Barred Rock, but certainly is a cockerel!!!

 

[Hpychf1]

Thanks, I thought it was probably a rooster. Based on much younger pics I had posted previously, the general consensus was a BR, so I assumed that's what he was. Now I'm off to research black sex-link. One of these days I'll figure out exactly what I have, lol. Thanks again!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Without seeing the females of this cross, in other words, the females hatched with him, there's no way to say for certain that the cross was a sex link cross. Sex linking is mating in a deliberate cross in order to sex the chicks at hatch. If you put a red (gold) rooster over a barred hen, the resultant chicks can be sexed at hatch. The male chicks will have a head spot and will eventually feather out similar to their barred mother, with red-gold leakage, however. The female chicks will not have a head spot but as they age, their all black fuzz will give way to red-gold leakage in the head, neck and breast area, with the red coming from their red father, of course.

For certain, your cockerel is a barred cross of some kind. It is a mix. With precise, it is impossible to say exactly what was crossed to make him.

 

[Hpychf1]

All these chicken breeds are very interesting and maybe a little confusing. I looked back at pics of when he was little and he was solid black, no white spot, which I had also read was on black sex-linked roos. He was the only black one in the bin, so we grabbed him just cuz he was different.

 

[BookWorm243]

Very handsome fella

 

[ChickenPeep]

Looks like a rooster to me. Sometimes when there is no rooster in your flock a hen will crow to state dominance as she is the alpha hen. But he looks like a rooster. Look at his hackle and saddle feathers they will be pointed that is a characteristic of a rooster.

Agreed.