ISA Brown Rooster?

[JedJackson]

I think some of the hatcheries may have made some "Ooops" cockerels that are colored like pullets trying to get the male sex-links to be meatier since they sell them for meat birds. I was looking at the descriptions on some of the hatchery websites for their sex-links and it reads like they are using at least one hybrid to make them. I really wish I could find it, but I saw an e-mail somewhere that TSC sent back to a customer where they did admit to selling some this year.

It is very odd that it would have coloring so close to the pullets' coloring. But man, that breast is at least 4 times larger than the other pullets that are the same age. So something weird is going on there.

 

[KikiLeigh02]

@JedJackson this is the other one I saw:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...reed-suspected-rooster.1253141/#post-20107243

 

[JedJackson]

@JedJackson this is the other one I saw:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...reed-suspected-rooster.1253141/#post-20107243

Yes, that look very similar to the one here. I think they must be freedom rangers or something similar. They are beasts!

 

[Greenwillow6]

@JedJackson this is the other one I saw:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...reed-suspected-rooster.1253141/#post-20107243

Looks a lot like my Big Bessy

 

[drumstick diva]

agree with Jed Jackson

 

[MickWithChicks]

I thought the cockerels of red sex links were mostly white, with some red at the shoulders.

They generally are. Genetics are never 100% though, and every now and then the recessive brown genes comes up in males.

Here's my two ISA boys; true to expectations:

 

[Greenwillow6]

So I am pretty sure "she" is a boy. Bessy was Crowing again this morning and her tail feathers are very suspect. I called Tractor Supply and he said that their Pullets are only 90% accurate. So he says you are taking a chance. I don't remember being told that before I bought the girls however...

 

[Runt of the Flock]

females crowing? never heard that one before.. dear goodness, r we going to have transgender chickens next too??????????

 

[MickWithChicks]

So I am pretty sure "she" is a boy. Bessy was Crowing again this morning and her tail feathers are very suspect. I called Tractor Supply and he said that their Pullets are only 90% accurate. So he says you are taking a chance. I don't remember being told that before I bought the girls however...

She's 100% a he. ISA browns are sex-linked chickens, but sometimes those recessive brown genes come through. This is why nobody will give you a 100% guarantee on the gender. It's correct most of the time, just not all of the time.

Not sure what you can do about handing Bessy back if they claim they have the no-take-backs policy. You could buy a crow collar to shut him up and keep him if you can't have roosters in your area. Else, you might need to list him on your local classifieds. If you do, you'll need to understand that he'll likely be slaughtered and eaten though; people don't tend to keep ISA roos.

 

[Trish1974]

females crowing? never heard that one before.. dear goodness, r we going to have transgender chickens next too??????????

Yes, hens can crow. Especially if there is not a rooster in the flock. Not common, but it can happen.