Breed?

[vermis14]

I'm not sure what beed of chickens I have. Roo? he is the father of the chicks and the hens are barred rocks. Hens hatched 18 eggs about 1/2 are barred rocks like moms but the rest are these black chicks so not sure if they are taking after dad and if so will their colors change? The picture of the 3 is the chicks they are about 5 weeks old about 1/2 look like the one laying down (barred rocks) the rest look exactly like the other 2.

I don't believe any of the chicks belong to the red hen as she didn't hatch any and none look like her when she was a chick but would like help on what breed she is as well.

Not really concerned about the sex will find that out when they are old enough to tell, not a concern to us at this time.

 

[donrae]

Actually, sexing the chicks is easy from the information you gave. That rooster, over a barred Rock hen, should make sex link chicks. The barred birds are males, and the solid birds are females. Same basis as the hatchery black sex links/Black Stars. Neat, huh?

that's assuming all the chicks had a barred Rock momma, it won't work with other colors.

Your hen in the last picture looks like she herself is a black sex link hen. If any of the chicks are hers, they wont' be able to be sexed by color, they'll be pretty much black, and as they get older they'll get some gold or silver color on the hackles and wings for males, at the throat and chest for females.

As far as your rooster, I'm thinking he's a mixed breed. If he's supposed to be a purebred, the best thing that fits is a birchen Marans.

 

[vermis14]

Thanks Donae..when the chicks first starting changing I thought the same thing all of the black birds were female and all of the barred were the males, but the more research I did the more unsure I was of it.

I don't think our rooster or red hen are purebred we just got eggs from a local farmer, and that is where the rooster and the red hen are from. The barred rock hens that I have came from a friend and they look just like the little barred one in the first picture I posted and I know they are hens because they laid all of the eggs.

Another question I have our black silkie hen will be laying eggs and the rooster bred her as well is there a way we will be able to tell the sex of them by color when they are about the same age. I'm hoping there not all black but it would be okay if they all were.

 

[donrae]

Nope, your silkie hen's chicks won't be sex linked at all. They'll pretty much be black, with maybe some leakage as they age. You'll just have to wait for other signs of gender, like combs, leg thickness, crowing, etc.