Calling all BR Experts....Roo or Pullet?

[dwdoc]

I have scoured the web and even BYC and have come across many answers. So now I ask the EXPERTS:

Is the description of sexing BR chicks accurate?


Instructions.

1.1
Look at the head spots. Barred Plymouth Rock chicks are hatched with dark spots on their heads. Males tend to have head spots that are irregular in outline and more scattered, while females have head spots that have a more even shape and distribution on their heads.

2.2
Check the size of the head spots by comparing chicks from the same clutch. Males tend to have larger head spots than the females. Though this is not a reliable indicator on its own, it can give weight to one sex or the other in conjunction with other factors.

3.3
Examine the front of the chick's legs near the feet. On female Barred Plymouth Rock chicks, there is a dark wash of color in this area, while the legs of males are paler.

4.4
Compare the coloration. The male Barred Plymouth Rock chicks are almost universally darker than the females.

5.5
Look for adult tail and wing feathers. Females Barred Plymouth Rock chicks will develop their feathers before the males do.

From -- http://www.ehow.com/how_6101169_tell-barred-rock-baby-chicks.html

 

[Happy Chooks]

Generally yes, but there can be exceptions. In section 1.1 they have light head spots, not dark. Males headspots are more irregular (or messy) and females are more defined.

 

[elabraleon]

Compare the coloration. The male Barred Plymouth Rock chicks are almost universally darker than the females.

Actually, it's the opposite. The males are LIGHTER than the females.

 

[speckledhen]

This article about sexing Dominiques is great, same rules as Barred Rocks, has great pictures.


http://www.dominiquechicken.com/Sexing_Dominique_chicks.html


Males are usually much lighter than females, but there are some exceptions. I myself have a male-colored BR hen and have seen a dark cockerel hatched from my hens by another BYCer. The article you posted got it backwards. And yes, the head spots are yellowish-white, not dark.

Historical Document
Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station

SEX IDENTIFICATION IN PUREBREDS
BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCKS

It had long been recognized that the size of the light head
spots in Barred Plymouth Rocks varied in the two sexes. The
males tend to have larger headspots and the females to have
darker colored legs. However, this method has not been sufficiently
accurate to be of much commercial value.
Quinn and Knox (1939) attempted to separate the sexes of
Barred Plymouth Rocks by means of the intensity of the black
pigment in the down and legs. In different lots of chicks they
report 83.5, 86.1 and 91.8 percent accuracy.
Jerome (1939) describes a method of sex identification in
Barred Plymouth Rocks based upon the regularity of the outline
of the head spot rather than the size of the spot. Those chicks
having headspots irregular in outline and scattered in appearance
are males while the females tend to have headspots with
more regular outlines. The author claimed an accuracy of 90
percent or better when considering only the headspot and 95
percent if the color of the legs was included in the consideration.
The Canadian Department of Agriculture (Anonymous 1941)
issues an excellently illustrated bulletin describing the method.
It is stated in the bulletin that the method “is widely practiced
in Barred Rock chicks by commercial chick sexers.” Sex identification
is based upon outline of head spot, color of legs and
shade of down color. There are several types of male and female
head spots some of which are shown in Figure 1.​

 

[punky rooster]

Quote:
In most lines the males are lighter than the females

 

[dwdoc]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
Actually, it's the opposite. The males are LIGHTER than the females.

Oooops I missed that one. Yes, the females are darker and the males are lighter.