Rooster? Breed?

Stephanie8806

Songster
Feb 18, 2019
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Central Washington State
Hey there! So pictured below are two Rhode Island Red chicks that I got in a farm store haul just over 3weeks ago. But are supposedly RIR, they came from the same bin.

I think, regardless of the breed, the larger one is a rooster. It’s comb and wattles are already developing, it’s legs and feet are huge, and the body size is bigger and taller than even the Black jersey giant chicks I got.

I’m curious though, he seems so dang light in color compared to the little hen next to him. Is this normal for a RIR? Is there a chance he’ll darken up? The only other non-black chicks I got were “color-pack”, which are basically Easter Eggers but with Legbar genes instead of Amerucana. They are markedly more grey and have legbar type patterning. There was also an ISA brown bin next to the RIR bin, maybe a chance of a mix up?

Time will tell, of course, but I’m just curious if this is normal for a RIR, to maybe darken later? Pictures below are of the two chicks, the close-up is on the face of the probable roo.
 

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Hey there! So pictured below are two Rhode Island Red chicks that I got in a farm store haul just over 3weeks ago. But are supposedly RIR, they came from the same bin.

I think, regardless of the breed, the larger one is a rooster. It’s comb and wattles are already developing, it’s legs and feet are huge, and the body size is bigger and taller than even the Black jersey giant chicks I got.

I’m curious though, he seems so dang light in color compared to the little hen next to him. Is this normal for a RIR? Is there a chance he’ll darken up? The only other non-black chicks I got were “color-pack”, which are basically Easter Eggers but with Legbar genes instead of Amerucana. They are markedly more grey and have legbar type patterning. There was also an ISA brown bin next to the RIR bin, maybe a chance of a mix up?

Time will tell, of course, but I’m just curious if this is normal for a RIR, to maybe darken later? Pictures below are of the two chicks, the close-up is on the face of the probable roo.
The lighter colored one looks like a Buff Rock.

The darker one looks kind of like a Sussex, the legs are white, not yellow like a RIR should have.
 
The lighter colored one looks like a Buff Rock.

The darker one looks kind of like a Sussex, the legs are white, not yellow like a RIR should have.
I’ve had buff Orpingtons before, and buff rocks look similar. This doesn’t look the way my orps looked. I’m thinking now maybe a sexlink.

It’s hard for me to believe that in a bin of 50 chicks labeled as RIR from a big hatchery at a large chain farm store, I somehow ended up with both chicks not being the type labeled. I don’t think the dark one is a Sussex.

I just had an idea though... This bin of “RIR” was right next to a bin of ISA browns. I think maybe the labels got accidentally switched when they put the chicks on the floor. These chicks were clearly two different colors from the get go(light gold and orange), which is consistent with sex links.

I think I may have two Isa browns. AMD of that’s the case, the lighter one is most definitely a cockerel
 
I’ve had buff Orpingtons before, and buff rocks look similar. This doesn’t look the way my orps looked. I’m thinking now maybe a sexlink.

It’s hard for me to believe that in a bin of 50 chicks labeled as RIR from a big hatchery at a large chain farm store, I somehow ended up with both chicks not being the type labeled. I don’t think the dark one is a Sussex.

I just had an idea though... This bin of “RIR” was right next to a bin of ISA browns. I think maybe the labels got accidentally switched when they put the chicks on the floor. These chicks were clearly two different colors from the get go(light gold and orange), which is consistent with sex links.

I think I may have two Isa browns. AMD of that’s the case, the lighter one is most definitely a cockerel

They are most definitely not ISA browns.
The smaller one is a Speckled Sussex. The bigger one might be a buff rock. It is definitely a cockerel though.
 
I’ve had buff Orpingtons before, and buff rocks look similar. This doesn’t look the way my orps looked. I’m thinking now maybe a sexlink.

It’s hard for me to believe that in a bin of 50 chicks labeled as RIR from a big hatchery at a large chain farm store, I somehow ended up with both chicks not being the type labeled. I don’t think the dark one is a Sussex.

I just had an idea though... This bin of “RIR” was right next to a bin of ISA browns. I think maybe the labels got accidentally switched when they put the chicks on the floor. These chicks were clearly two different colors from the get go(light gold and orange), which is consistent with sex links.

I think I may have two Isa browns. AMD of that’s the case, the lighter one is most definitely a cockerel
Isa Brown males would be white, they're a type of Red Sex-link like Cinnamon Queens.

Still looks like a Buff Rock, & a Sussex to me.
 
I mean, I would love a speckled Sussex, they’ve been on my wish list for a while.... but there’s no sign of speckles on the true feathers coming in... I’ll take some better pictures in the sun now!
 
Largest is a red broiler of some sort, likely a Red Ranger. This explains size difference. Buff Rocks are decently uncommon and wouldn't be that much larger than a RIR. The smaller is indeed a RIR or Production Red, Speckled Sussex have a different appearance :)
 
So here’s some pics of the darker one in the sunshine. Some patterning in the wings, but it doesn’t look like Sussex patterning to me
 

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My thoughts on why the larger/lighter may be an Isa brown cockerel: from my understanding of Isa browns(and other red sex links) is that they are crossbreeds... which means that their appearance isn’t always consistent. They could display feathering traits of anything that had been a part of their genetic line. Yes, sex link Roos are generally lighter than the hens, but I have never actually seen a white one. As a new chick he was very nearly white, which would be consistent with the sexlinks. And as he’s growing he’s getting a bit more buff in color, definitely darker than he was just after hatch. Time will tell I suppose, and there’s only so much that I actually care, since I am not planning on breeding for any more than just my own backyard mixes... and I’m definitely not curious enough to pay for any genetic testing 😂

I’m very much appreciating everyone’s feedbacks and point of view! It would indeed be quite the strange occurrence if neither of my “RIR” chicks actually turned out to be RIR... even stranger still if they were two other completely separate breeds. I know mixups happen, but the odds on that seem a little far
 

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