Is this really a Barred Plymouth Rock Pullet?

[FaithWalkFarms]

This is my brother in law's chick -- which we are raising in our coop.

It's a week & 2 days old, and was a feed store purchase -- the feed store gets their chicks from Ideal.

My BIL was told it was a BPR pullet ... but I have my doubts. BUT, since I'm as green at this as he is, I don't know either way.

There isn't a very distinct barred pattern coming in on the feathers -- and under the garage lights, the black feathers coming in have a blue/green sheen to them. At first we thought that maybe the barred pattern is something that would appear over time, but I've read that actually it is apparent nearly immediately.

It's also MUCH slower in the feathering out process than our other chicks (mixed breeds).

And, for a week old, the comb seems pretty apparent already. Is that normal for girls???


Here are pics (no "free standing" because s/he won't stand still for them):

 

[roostersandhens]

She looks alot like my Barred Rock X Black Australorp chick.

 

[farmer boy]

looks like a cockerel

 

[FaithWalkFarms]

looks like a cockerel

That's been my other fear ..... Sigh.

 

[mshuntjump]

definite cockerel.

 

[PoultryGirly]

It looks EXACTLY like my Plymouth Barred Rock pullets when they were chicks. When it's a little older, you will be able to tell the gender by the coloring. The males are lighter with more barring and the females are darker with less barring.This might help: http://www.ehow.com/how_6101169_tell-barred-rock-baby-chicks.html

 

[FaithWalkFarms]

It looks EXACTLY like my Plymouth Barred Rock pullets when they were chicks. When it's a little older, you will be able to tell the gender by the coloring. The males are lighter with more barring and the females are darker with less barring.This might help: http://www.ehow.com/how_6101169_tell-barred-rock-baby-chicks.html

That's helpful!!! Did your girls have such a pronounced comb at this young of an age?

 

[sillycmoy]

My rescued Barred Rock chick had huge combs at 2-3 weeks old, that when I posted a pic on here to see what I had everyone said it was a Roo. Now 6 weeks old, and has grown into the comb, and its still yellow. Still not sure if its a Pullet or a Roo, but with the coloring, I'm hoping its a Pullet.

Here is a picture at 2-3 weeks old when I rescued the chick


The Barred Rock is the front one



Here the same chick at 4 weeks






Same chick at 6 weeks, and its still yellow, just this week started to have a very faint pink on the base, and no wattles.

But who knows, maybe she really is a he, and my 5 year old calls her Wreck it Ralph, because this chick has to knock everything over, loves to jump/fly up on everything. But super friendly.

 

[farmer boy]

yours looks like a cockerel sillycmoy wattles don't always come when the comb turns red so

 

[MontanaDolphin]

I think sillycmoy's looks like a pullet...only because it looks like one of my pullets. I could be wrong of course, but seriously...it looks like one of mine!

This is Athena and Boring Girl at 4 weeks:





Here they are at 5 weeks:






Here they are at 6 weeks (sorry bout the blurry pic):





Here they are at 7 1/2 weeks (these were taken today):





For comparison, here are pics of my cockerel Pixie, who was slowest to develop his comb and wattles:

4 weeks:



5 weeks:



6 weeks:



7 1/2 weeks:




As for the OP's chick, I think it's way too soon to tell. Only ONE of my 6 chicks followed the rule of thumb for Barred Rocks. That would be Zeus, my biggest cockerel. When he was picked out, he was a lighter color than the rest (a smoky gray) and had no leg wash. The other three cockerels I have were supposed to be pullets. They all looked like pullets until they reached 3-4 weeks of age. That's when I started to question their gender. I thought for sure Boring Girl was Boring Boy for 4 weeks. He turned out to be a she.
Wait a few weeks and you should be able to tell for sure!