Barred Rock Pullet or Cockerel?

[rIrs roost]

That barred rock has WAY more comb and wattles than my 14 week old pullets... 

That's what I was looking at too.

 

[berettp]

I have a barred rock at twelve weeks that is identical to the one in the pic. I am being told it's a cockerel but I have not heard it crow yet. At what age do they start to crow?

 

[eleaserek]

I have a barred rock at twelve weeks that is identical to the one in the pic. I am being told it's a cockerel but I have not heard it crow yet. At what age do they start to crow?

It varies a lot. Some start crowing while practically still in the brooder, others wait until much later 18-20 weeks. But I think most fall somewhere in the middle, around 15weeks.

 

[DaraKing]

I have a barred rock at twelve weeks that is identical to the one in the pic. I am being told it's a cockerel but I have not heard it crow yet. At what age do they start to crow?

I'm the OP of the thread, and my barred rock in the first photos started crowing at about 14 weeks old, two weeks after I'd posted this thread. He turned out to a be a royal jerk of a bird, too! He'd bite me every chance he got, and was relentlessly pulling feathers from my three other girls. We can't have roos in the city limits and he was pretty loud, even with a no-crow collar on. I know that opinions vary about raising birds and the purposes for that. My husband and I haven't owned or raised birds before this year, it's all a very new experience to us. Including culling that cockerel. We're in this for the eggs, meat and fertilizer/composting, so our handsome barred rock was made into dinner and chicken stock.

 

[rebrascora]

Many thanks for posting an update. It's always interesting to know how these things turned out.

Your bird was certainly giving mixed signals at 12 weeks. The feather colour and comb and wattles were saying cockerel but the general shape of the bird suggested pullet.

It is a fact of life that there are far more cockerels than there are homes for them and as the vast majority of us are happy to eat chicken, there should be none here that condemn you for your actions and many that applaud you. Lots of people take the easy route and pass their unwanted cockerels on to someone else in the (often) vain hope that they find a happy life on a farm or with a new flock. The reality is that most of those birds will be slaughtered for meat. Farmers are not in the business of feeding animals that have no economic value, so most of those people who console themselves that their "accidental" rooster has gone to live the good life on a farm are kidding themselves.

It's also important not to pass on aggressive genes, so you absolutely did the right thing in slaughtering and eating him. He had a far, far better and longer life than the average broiler and a quick death at the hands of someone who cared for him.

Well done for dealing with a difficult situation in a responsible manner. .

;

 

[eleaserek]

Many thanks for posting an update. It's always interesting to know how these things turned out.

Your bird was certainly giving mixed signals at 12 weeks. The feather colour and comb and wattles were saying cockerel but the general shape of the bird suggested pullet.

It is a fact of life that there are far more cockerels than there are homes for them and as the vast majority of us are happy to eat chicken, there should be none here that condemn you for your actions and many that applaud you. Lots of people take the easy route and pass their unwanted cockerels on to someone else in the (often) vain hope that they find a happy life on a farm or with a new flock. The reality is that most of those birds will be slaughtered for meat. Farmers are not in the business of feeding animals that have no economic value, so most of those people who console themselves that their "accidental" rooster has gone to live the good life on a farm are kidding themselves.

It's also important not to pass on aggressive genes, so you absolutely did the right thing in slaughtering and eating him. He had a far, far better and longer life than the average broiler and a quick death at the hands of someone who cared for him.

Well done for dealing with a difficult situation in a responsible manner. .

;

Ditto!