hens or roos? barred rocks-at 17 weeks and 15 weeks

[raygirl4386]

i have 2 barred rocks that im hoping are pullets and not roos, the other day i saw and hear one crow and the other was trying to but didnt sound anything like a crow. they are dark in color with black on the front of thier legs, but they also have big combs and waddles which in my research i guess is normal for barred rocks. oops forgot to take photos shall do that now =)

 

[raygirl4386]

 

[raygirl4386]

in the 3rd photo is my favorite one and she (or he) has black on the front of the legs just cant see it in photo and also is a little darker in color in person. she is also in the first photo but just her tail.
the other one is in the 2nd photo.
what do you guys think?
i watch on youtube that hens can crow? is that true?

 

[NJchixs]

The one up front in the last photo looks like a cockerel to me.

 

[raygirl4386]

here are some better pics of them.

 

[donrae]

Those are cockerals, and I don't think they're barred rock, I think they're sex-link (non barred roo over barred hen), that's why they're darker than you were thinking they'd be if they were barred rock roos. But see the longer, drapey feathers on the neck and starting in front of the tail? Those are boy feathers.

And hens can crow, but it's quite rare.

 

[speckledhen]

I agree with donrae. Those are not BRs, at least not all of them. A couple appear to be black sex link males, could be all, but not sure how many I'm seeing. That one in the last picture you posted before this post of mine, closest to the camera, is a BSL, I do believe. After raising hundreds of BR chicks here, you just get to know the off-barring when you see it. It can be subtle, but solid black tail feathers can also be a sign or extra light hackles can also be a sign of a BSL as opposed to a BR.

On one of them, the tail feathers completely fade out to black in places, a sign of a cross.

 

[raygirl4386]

specklehen are they both boys then? they were sold to me from a chicken swap as barred rocks, so thats why i thought they were that. just need to know if i need to find these 2 or maybe one a new home =( neighbors are WAY too close for roosters

 

[raygirl4386]

i only have the 2 chickens in the last post of pics the first 3 photos are older and i only kept 4 out of the orginal 6.

 

[speckledhen]

I see no females in those last pictures, sorry to say. Look at the back, just in front of where the tail rises. See that fringe of skinny feathers that hangs over both sides? Those are rooster's saddle feathers. Look at your birds and any that have those are males.