Hen or too? Barred rock chick advice needed

[Crazy_chicken_gal]

Hi everyone, I know my Dottie is very young at 2 weeks to tell, but her comb is much more pronounced than the others in the flock. She also sometimes will flap her wings to do the chest bump with other chicks. This is making me nervous she’s a roo. Do young hens exhibit this behavior as well? She’s a total love and has so much personality so I will be heart broken because we can’t keep a roo. Thoughts on her development so far?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Too young to tell. Both sexes will chest bump to establish a pecking order.

 

[Kiwiluff]

I have one male, this is him at a little over 2 weeks for comparison if that helps. I didnt notice any behavior differences but his comb came in much quicker and larger, while he was the last to get tail feathers

 

[Caroline0615]

Our males typically have a larger white spot on their head!

 

[Crazy_chicken_gal]

Dang, I think he might be a rooster. The white spot is very large on his head and his wings have one white bar as of now (at 2 weeks). We will wait and see since he is so young! I'm sad if he is, he (but hopefully she) is so friendly and loving with us, but is definitely establishing dominance in the flock. I really wanted a barred rock . Thanks for your input all.

 

[ShrekDawg]

My Barred Rock had a very large comb and wattles and she was definitely a girl so I say there’s hope for her yet! She looked similar to yours at that age and also stood up really tall a few times at like two weeks and acted very bold but was definitely a girl. I think it’s just the breed’s personality.

I also had a BR cockerel (young rooster) and his comb was a lot bigger and more red at that age. At 3 weeks it was really red.

Yours also looks very dark whereas the males will be more white/lighter than females because they only have one barring gene instead of two.

So I say there is hope for yours yet and I would just wait it out and see.

You should be able to tell for sure by 8 weeks and have a pretty good clue within the next few but I really think it’s a girl. That comb is still very yellow/pale. My boy was very red and very large very early on.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Speaking of wattles, I also don’t see any wattle development yet on this chick and my boy definitely had those too at that age.

 

[Crazy_chicken_gal]

Thanks everyone, I feel better that there is still hope! Here are some other pics.

 

[TillyPeeps]

I believe that's a girl. A male will have larger white baring.

 

[Crazy_chicken_gal]

I believe that's a girl. A male will have larger white baring.

Thank you!! Is the sparring / flying towards others and chest bumping normal chick behavior for all? I feel like at week 2 they've gotten so crazy with each other and chirp loudly when they bang into one another. It's freaking me out! lol