Barred Rock Pullets?

[Pyxis]

So my neighbors are bad chicken owners and I'm slowly acquiring their whole flock, I think. I've posted a bit about it before but I'm not gonna go in depth here. Anyway, found these two lurking in the thick woods on my property that borders the road they live on. Had been hearing peeping from the woods for a week or so and thought I was so addicted I was hallucinating chicks. Nope, just these guys camped out in there trying to scratch out a living and not starve. My theory is the neighbors got them and tossed them out with their older birds without introducing them slowly and the older birds drove them off. Poor guys were starving when I caught them. All I know about their age is that they're just now starting to change from chick peeps to their big bird voices.

These are the best pictures I could get. Understandably, they're not overly keen on people right now:

Both have feathered legs that don't look overly large, and my roosters seem okay with them. The red comb on that one on the left has me a bit worried, though.


So do you guys think I have a couple of girls here? If so one will stay and the other will go to a new home. If they're boys, they both get the boot! Three roosters is enough

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

If they have feathered legs they are not pure BR's. May be a mix with BR.

 

[donrae]

The're mixed and I think they're both roos. Even the smaller one has a lot of comb. It might fool me, post again in 3 weeks or so.

 

[Fred's Hens]

The're mixed and I think they're both roos. Even the smaller one has a lot of comb. It might fool me, post again in 3 weeks or so.

Yes, they are mixes, crosses, thus most of the normal sexing cues used with purer bred BRs kinda goes out the window.

 

[Pyxis]

Well, if they're both roos I'll let them stick around long enough to put on some weight and then off they go. I'd give them back to my neighbor but I don't want them to just end up dead, so I'll see if there's any interest around here before I resort to that. I'm surprised my older roos haven't run them off. Well, at least I can say I helped them out if I can't give them a new home here.

 

[modchicken]

I actually think that you have 2 girls! There feathering and coloring looks like a girl. The look pretty round and dark. Btw, Im sorry that your neighbors don't take such good care of there chickens! Its great that you found those 2! Anyways, here's my old BR cockerel and my BR pullet for comparison-

Cockerel- much lighter then yours


Pullet- darker like yours and like BR girls

 

[Pyxis]

Good news on these two! They weren't from the neighbor I thought they were from, but rather from one who lives right behind me and takes good care of her birds. She reads this forum all the time, lol. The babies got scared during a big storm last week and she tried to catch them but they got away. She told me their father was a barred rock and their mother was a cochin, so they are indeed a mix. They went home today, so all is well.

 

[modchicken]

Great!! Glad they have a good home and that you found them and returned them!

 

[Ralph Moyer]

I think you have one of each. In the first photo with one setting and one standing, the one setting is a pullet. The one standing appears to be a cockerel. A pullet will usually have longer tail feathers at this age than a cockerel.

 

[sierras mom11]

I'm glad you found their original home, and I'd say they were both pullets. Comb is the last thing to look at on most breeds for sexing purposes, color, and sickle and hackle feathers are the 1st thing to look for. These were dark colored and had short round feathers on their bodies.