PLEASE help me with gender of my 4 week old bantam barred rock.

Three4me

In the Brooder
6 Years
Mar 11, 2013
41
0
32
Pacific NW
I am a chicken newbie and this is my only barred rock so nothing to compare it to other than online pics.
I got it at 2 days old from our local farm store and today it is 4 weeks 2 days old. I am so confused and probably in denial because I can only keep hens where I live and this one is my favorite out of all of my peeps.
I have done hours of reading on this forum and also the web about the differences between genders in barred rocks but just not sure. At 2 days old it didn't have a very large head spot, it was more of a smudge and did not extend down the neck. It wasn't well defined which I now know to look for when choosing a girl. It did have the dark leg wash and the chick was pretty dark in coloring, not greyish like some I have seen.
It seems slow in the feathering department though and doesn't have much of a tail. The bars are pretty distinct on the wings, but the white sections are narrower than the black. The comb is still yellow and not very big but I do see tiny pink wattles growing.

I am hoping you guys can just look at the pics and be able to tell me the gender. Please put an end to my confusion. The waiting and not knowing is driving me crazy! Sorry the pics aren't great, he/she was sleepy.

Wattles coming in. Is this early for it to be getting wattles if it were a hen?

Still partly naked in the chest area.

Dark legs and feet.

Comb is still small and yellow but I know that can change quickly.

Short little tail. Lots of new feathers coming in on the back.


Lots of barring on the wings but the black is a lot wider than the white.

Do you guys think roo because of the barring? Thanks for taking a look at "Edith"....wondering if I need to change the name to "Ed"?
 
You have a little pullet. The girls are darker than the boys, so the black being wider is a good sign. She also has no red at all in her comb and her legs are dark..two more pullet signs. I have 13 of these little guys in my brooder the same age as yours. It's pretty easy to tell the boys and girls apart.

She looks sleepy. :)
 
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Thank you! I feel so much better to get an opinion from someone who has experience. I only have 6 chickens that are all different breeds of bantams and it is so hard to compare when you don't have more than one of the same breed. Definite newbie mistake! Lol...
 

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