Black stripe on front of shin and toes...Does it mean female for BR?

[teddiliza]

These are probably 1 1/2 weeks old.

Tell me if you think the one on the left is female based on the stripe on the legs and lateral toes.

Does the striping hold true for female Barred Rock?

I've had 2 different opinions on head spots, thought I'd ask about the stripe next.

It's so much fun guessing!


Thanks.
Teddi.

 

[skeeter9]

Not necessarily. My BR cockerel has gray down his legs. I think some lines of BR can be sexed that way, but obviously not all of them! Very cute babies, by the way!

Lori

 

[speckledhen]

It doesn't always hold true, but it isn't based on just one trait. You add the dark color wash with the smaller headspot and the darker fuzz color together to equal pullet. EVEN THEN, they can fool you. Usually, though it will be a pullet madquerading as a cockerel, like one of mine did for three months. She had a huge, irregular headspot, not much dark on her legs and a much lighter color. So the sexing rules are about 90% right on the BRs.

 

[scgamecock]

I've got two 10 week old chicks that I thought were both pullets right from hatching and now I think one is either maturing faster or it's going to be a roo.

 

[speckledhen]

I've only had one cockerel fool me into thinking he was a girl. He matured very slowly, but I never was 100% sure either way for weeks. At least with BRs, it's easier, but not foolproof.

 

[teddiliza]

HaHa.

It sounds like you get what you get, unless you are a professional vent reader, and even then...

Thanks for responding to all my silly questions that the books just don't touch on.

Teddi