Black Sex Link Rooster..?

[Ajeffreys]

We picked up this bunch of “female” sex link at Tractor Supply to get a backyard flock started and I’m thinking one of our ladies is a lad! The combs are more developed than all the others and it’s the only one with white on the feathers. The rest of the black sex links are solid black. Do we have a little rooster in our hen house?

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Cockerel

 

[SavKel&RynKel]

Cockerel

X2

 

[HenHouse4Life]

Yes, looks like a cockerel. That comb looks awfully pinkish already at such a young age.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

We picked up this bunch of “female” sex link at Tractor Supply to get a backyard flock started and I’m thinking one of our ladies is a lad! The combs are more developed than all the others and it’s the only one with white on the feathers. The rest of the black sex links are solid black. Do we have a little rooster in our hen house?

Yes, this is a cockerel. Frustrating given that ther while point of sex links is guaranteed sexing, so I am curious if they were marked as pullets. Male black sex links has a dot on their head (indicating barring genetics), females do not.....so either he was an extra sent from the hatchery or someone REALLY screwed up.
Tucking the little gem of how to sex them yourself (spot/no spot) will enable you to head off future issues such as this as you can't always count on retailers to know.
Were it nor for the comb I'd be inclined to say a mixup of breed(ie barred rock rather than sex link), rather than gender....but that's a lot of pink comb showing

 

[MinervaELS]

Are you sure it's a sex link? It doesn't look like one. It looks more like a barred rock or similar. Do you have pictures of the others? I believe they cull the black sex link males after hatching so it is more likely that you have a different breed. The question is whether just this one is a mix up or if all of them are different breeds.

 

[Ajeffreys]

This is our first time owning chickens so I’m a little new to all this. But they were marked “black sex link pullets” at the local Tractor Supply. Now that we know the dot means male.. that explains a lot. We even named her Dottie because of the dot on her (his) head! Haha. Here is an additional picture of him standing next to his room mate. We also have some golden comets

Are you sure it's a sex link? It doesn't look like one. It looks more like a barred rock or similar. Do you have pictures of the others? I believe they cull the black sex link males after hatching so it is more likely that you have a different breed. The question is whether just this one is a mix up or if all of them are different breeds.

They told us this breed was a hybrid of Rhode Island Red and Barred rock. So that might explain the looks I guess?

 

[MinervaELS]

I do think it's a male, but I don't know about the breed. Barred rock chicks have spots on their heads, so it could be one of those. It looks like you have a really random assortment there... is that a white one in the back as well? Do the other two black ones have orange on them?

 

[Ajeffreys]

The one in the back only has white on the tail feathers. The rest od her feathers are golden. And our black ones are just solid black right now. I don’t see any orange.
These are more pictures of the group. What we are supposed to have is
8 golden comet pullets
4 Black sex link pullets

 

[junebuggena]

I do think it's a male, but I don't know about the breed. Barred rock chicks have spots on their heads, so it could be one of those. It looks like you have a really random assortment there... is that a white one in the back as well? Do the other two black ones have orange on them?

Male Barred Rocks have 'lighter' barring, due to having two copies of the barring gene. The chick in question is definitely a male black sexlink, with his single dose of the barring gene.