Is an all black barred rock possible?

[SRHelton]

So,I hatched out a batch of chicks and both parents are barred rock, all started out black and white as biddies but as they got older , one in particular turned all black, and I'm curious as to what happened? Is an all black barrel rock possible?

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

Your male is single barred and is a mixed breed. Your Barred Rock females are single barred because barring is sexlinked and is carried on the Z chromosome. In birds females are ZW and males are ZZ. Males receive a Z from each parent but females only receive a Z from their father. With single barring, barring is only carried on one Z making him pass a barring gene to only 50% of his offspring. With these combination of these traits, 25% of offspring would be double-barred males, 25% single barred males, 25% single barred (barred) females, and 25% black females. Your girl is the latter of the possibilities Hopefully this helps clear it up!

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

It looks to me like your rooster is only carrying 1 barred gene rather than the 2 barred genes a 'purebred' barred rock rooster would carry. That means he can pass on a solid gene, and all barred hens only carry 1 barred gene, so they will always pass on a solid gene to their daughters. The reason I think this is because in the photo, it looks like your rooster and hen have about the same feather pattern.
Black chicks often have very dark combs and legs, but that doesn't mean they're melanistic. As she gets closer to laying, her comb and face will get just as red as any other chicken.

Here is a photo of a barred rock rooster and a barred rock hen, where you can see how different the two should look:

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Wow! That’s some clean barring, where did you get those?

Thanks, yes they're pretty spectacular. I hatched them from a local breeder (who has unfortunately since passed away). I'm in New Zealand, we don't have any hatcheries for heritage breed birds, they can only be had from breeders. I was very lucky that one of the best breeders of barred rocks lived in my region.

 

[Yardmom]

If it is truly all black it is not barred. It could still be a Plymouth Rock though. Pictures of parents might help spot if one of them is mixed, or if it is a genetic twist.

 

[SilverBirds]

Are melanistic chickens possible?

 

[Flockking]

The rooster isn't pure Barred Rock. He's a mixed breed.

X2
Notice his comb
Barred rocks have single combs
Plus he has other colors on him

 

[SRHelton]

X2
Notice his comb
Barred rocks have single combs
Plus he has other colors on him

Oh. Ok I see what you mean. Thank you

 

[ColtHandorf]

OP, the rooster is not a pure Plymouth Barred Rock. His comb is not single, but modified. And he's not light enough to have two copies of the barring gene.

It looks to me like your rooster is only carrying 1 barred gene rather than the 2 barred genes a 'purebred' barred rock rooster would carry. That means he can pass on a solid gene, and all barred hens only carry 1 barred gene, so they will always pass on a solid gene to their daughters. The reason I think this is because in the photo, it looks like your rooster and hen have about the same feather pattern.
Black chicks often have very dark combs and legs, but that doesn't mean they're melanistic. As she gets closer to laying, her comb and face will get just as red as any other chicken.

Here is a photo of a barred rock rooster and a barred rock hen, where you can see how different the two should look:
View attachment 3439693

Well said.

 

[Flockking]

Can we see photos