how do i tell the difference?

[birdbrain5]

i posted before and asked this question: i hatched cuckoo marans and barred rocks together and planned to take them out as they dried to keep track since they look so similar and im not experienced. well they hatched over night and i never got the chance to see who was who and take them out as they hatched so now i dont know who is who! i was told that the marans will have pink legs and the rocks will have yellow. my older maran birds have pink legs but i still cant tell with the chicks now

anything else i can do? i planned to sell the maran chicks and keep the rocks for now but i cant sell them if i dont know what they are! lol

they all seem to look yellow to me!

 

[FMAFarms]

Oh boy. They are very, very similar as chicks, I'm afraid. And the pink vs. yellow thing won't work, because the legs will look peachy until they start feathering. You may have to wait a few weeks until they're feathered in order to tell them apart. The Barred Rock's bars will be a more consistent pattern, the Cuckoo Marans' bars will be more of a hodge podge jumble. But as chicks? Creamy spots on their head, white spots on either side of their beak, light underbellies, and black for both of them. I was once told to watch for their pin feathers coming in. The Cuckoo supposedly will have a solid black feather while the Barred Rock will have bars. But I've never even noticed that. Good luck!

 

[birdbrain5]

oh boy

ive really done it this time! looks like im keeping these babies until they feather out more.. yikes. i wish someone had a way to tell!!

 

[N&MSchroeder]

I don't know if this helps or not, but my BR (Beatrice) had/has a white stripe across the end of her tail. Her stripes were also more distinctive. This is how I told them apart when they were younger and Cuckoo Chanel

has always had a darker head (still does) and more white underneath.