Hatchery Barred Rock?

[MontanaDolphin]

My BR's are 11 1/2 weeks old. I have four cockerels and two pullets. The cockerels' big boy feathers are beginning to come in...tail feathers are getting long, hackle and sickle feathers are showing up. This is my first set of chicks ever, so I have 11 1/2 weeks of experience with Barred Rocks.

I thought that Barred Rocks are black and white striped. But one of my cockerels has a green sheen to the black stripes on some of his tail feathers. Also, one of my cockerels has a brown tint to some of his tail feathers, plus one or too with a green sheen. He also has quite a few feathers that have a large amount of white. Here's some pics to show what I mean.

Zeus...with brown tint to some feathers and other feathers with a LOT of white. One or two of his smaller feathers has a green sheen on the black stripes.





















Here's the cockerel with the green sheen:

















So what does this mean? Are they not pure barred rocks? Or does it just mean they are low quality barred rocks? Any help is appreciated!

 

[scratch'n'peck]

My Barred Rock pullets have a bit of green iridescence in their dark stripes. I don't think that is unusual in black plumage of any chicken breed. Mine are just hatchery pet quality and I don't show my birds so I really don't know much about the strictness of breed standards. That said, I think they would be considered pure bred pet quality Barred Rocks.

I hope your two pullets don't get too much attention from the four cockerels once their hormones kick in.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

LOL it's funny you should mention that about the cockerel's hormones...another poster made a comment about it in another thread. Three of the four cockerels are going to be dinner between 18 and 20 weeks of age, so my pullets will be safe. I have 6 more pullets that are almost 8 weeks old, so Zeus...the cockerel I'm keeping...will have a harem of 8.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

It sounds like they should be a happy flock then.