Barred Rock Puzzler...Is She Trying to Freak Me Out?

[speckledhen]

If this is a male, then it has only one barring gene, I'd think, being this dark. Makes sexing so much harder!

 

[bmax]

I have no idea but we have one just like this! My 9 year old son is looking with me and he said, "Hey she stole our chicken!" LOL! i will be interested to see if roo or pullet!

 

[speckledhen]

It's unusual for a male to be that dark, but it did happen once in my flock. Check out this thread about lockedhearts' rooster, RuPaul. He is super dark, but the current chick in question did not come from the same parents.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=3703191#p3703191

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, no! What if Fern was sitting on a Delaware egg that resembled her usual egg? Sometimes they look similar and on very rare occasions, a Delaware will lay in the nest that Fern always lays in. I was positive it was hers, but if it was a Del egg, that would mean that this is a BR/Del cross and could be male! Aw, crap, that would mean that both broodies hatched all males. That's never happened before. Crossing fingers that she is just a weird little purebred BR girl and not a crossbred male. Now, I have to wait longer to find out. But, the black wash down the leg fronts is messing me up here. Not sure if a male BR x Delaware would have that. No, can't be. A BR or Delaware male would have a larger comb than that at 4 weeks. Maybe.

Yes, I think it would. This is just a precocious girl, yeah.


Here she is today.

Here is her brother, a week older than she is: