Red Earlobes means what?

[ArraAchicksMama]

Hello! One of my girls, a 9 week-old Barred Rock's earlobes are bright red. What does it mean? I have 5 Barred Rocks and she's the only one with bright red. Others are pink-ish or some sort of white...

Thanks for your help!

 

[cavemanrich]

Usually the brighter RED, points to Cockerel.
Post some pix. Others much more experienced in that breed can answer with more certainty.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[Loving my girls]

It’s the cross breeding that makes the ear lobe = egg colour less accurate these days. Generally it is still true but there are wildcards.

So she could lay any colour really,

 

[ArraAchicksMama]

It’s the cross breeding that makes the ear lobe = egg colour less accurate these days. Generally it is still true but there are wildcards.

So she could lay any colour really,

I didn't even know about the egg color thing

 

[NanaThomas]

I have 4 Black Star pullets with red earlobes and a fifth with white earlobes. All 5 pullets lay different variations of brown eggs, some are shiny, some are dull, some have splatter spots. Great friendly personalities!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

In many breeds, red earlobes = brown eggs, white lobes = white eggs. Hmmm. I have EE that lay blue eggs and I can't even tell you what color their lobes are! Sorry! I do know that White Leghorns have white lobes.... edit: and lay white eggs.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hello! One of my girls, a 9 week-old Barred Rock's earlobes are bright red. What does it mean? I have 5 Barred Rocks and she's the only one with bright red. Others are pink-ish or some sort of white...

If a 9-week-old chick's comb or wattles are bright red it often means it is a male. A close-up photo showing the head so we can see the comb and wattles can really help. So can a shot showing the legs and posture. A male often has thicker legs and a more upright posture.

Is this chick the same color as you others? Since males have two copies of the barring gene the BR boys' feathers are often lighter than the others, not as black. It can be pretty noticeable.

There is no genetic connection between the color of the earlobes and eggshell color. By coincidence it often works out that way with many common breeds but that's just coincidence. Since yours have varying colors the breeder is probably not using earlobe color as a selection criteria when they select which chickens get to breed. Nothing unusual about that.

The reason red earlobes are red is that the skin is really thin and clear so you can see the blood underneath. The reason white earlobes are white is that instead of being clear there is some white pigment in that thin layer of skin. This is the simple answer. With chickens there are always exceptions so it is never that simple.

For determining sex I'd look a lot closer at the color of the comb and wattles than the earlobes.