Please help me figure this one out!

[Hedgeland Farms]

A friend surprised me with a cockerel.
He looks like a barred rock. She said he's a Dominque but I thought those had rose combs. If he is Dominque, chances of him throwing a rose comb?? She said he could and that she wants a chick if he does. She said she saw dad and he also had a straight comb.

I think he's a barred rock since the person was also selling a pair of barred rocks. The person she got him from told her all of this info, and said rose combs are rare ....I don't think that's correct...

Just trying to figure out this lovely gift!

 

[Rose Quartz]

That's a barred rock. The rose comb gene has a partial dominance so if he had even one gene with the rose comb you'd be able to tell. This guys comb isn't entirely straight, but it is only a single comb.

 

[I Like Turkeys]

Rose combs are a dominant trait, so if a chicken has the genes for it, they will show it.
This guy won’t produce chicks with rose comb unless you purposefully breed him to a hen with a rose comb, unfortunately.

Ive heard the main difference between Dominiques and Plymouth Barred rocks is that Dominiques have triangular barring while Barred ocks have straight barring, but I’ve never owned Dominiques and only owned hatchery quality barred rocks so I can’t guarantee that’s the case. Barred rocks definitely don’t always have straight barring, at least.
i agree with Rose Quartz because of this, probably just a barred rock.

 

[Rose Quartz]

this is a picture of a young hen I had that had half single, half rose comb.

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

Thanks so much!!!
I am perfectly fine with a barred rock! It was a sweet surprise!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

View attachment 3470241

this is a picture of a young hen I had that had half single, half rose comb.

This looks more like a pea comb to me, are you sure you aren't getting the two confused? The gene for pea combs is partially dominant, with two copies making a smaller, neater comb and one copy making a taller, less neat comb. The rose comb gene is fully dominant, one or two copies expresses the same way given the same combination of other genes present.




As for the bird in the original post, there is a colloquial term, 'Dominecker', that some apply to all black barred birds but especially to Dominiques and Barred Plymouth Rocks. I wonder if perhaps the person your friend got these birds from is one such person that refers to these birds this way and that's where the confusion is coming from? A Dominique should never have a single comb, it shouldn't be rare for them to have a rose comb, and a single-combed bird will never throw a rose combed offspring unless bred to a bird with a rose comb.

 

[Rose Quartz]

This looks more like a pea comb to me, are you sure you aren't getting the two confused? The gene for pea combs is partially dominant, with two copies making a smaller, neater comb and one copy making a taller, less neat comb. The rose comb gene is fully dominant, one or two copies expresses the same way given the same combination of other genes present.




As for the bird in the original post, there is a colloquial term, 'Dominecker', that some apply to all black barred birds but especially to Dominiques and Barred Plymouth Rocks. I wonder if perhaps the person your friend got these birds from is one such person that refers to these birds this way and that's where the confusion is coming from? A Dominique should never have a single comb, it shouldn't be rare for them to have a rose comb, and a single-combed bird will never throw a rose combed offspring unless bred to a bird with a rose comb.

That's entirely possible lol

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

So (another) dumb question as I feel like I know the answer.


This bird and my barred rock hens will have barred babies, boys being double barred. As for head spot, I'll have to wait and see??

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

The barring gene is sexlinked, so males can have up to two copies of it, but females can only have one at most. So yes, in pure Barred Rocks, the males are double-factor barred, which is why they look paler than the females, from that extra dose of barring. All chicks that inherit barring will have a head spot. Sometimes it's faint, and other genes can make it even harder to see, but it should be there if the chick inherits barring.

 

[Rose Quartz]

There's a way to make an approximate guess if it's a boy or girl with the head spot, until you get used to it it's really difficult. I'd suggest go based on leg color if you want to guess at genders the girls will most often have a black wash over their legs and the boys usually won't. There are always exceptions though.

What you're looking for with head spots is one spot for a girl 2 for a boy but spots are sometimes hard to see where they end and where they begin, so leg color and down color is taken into account too.