Rooster Breed

[Wardbrook]

Any guesses at what this guy might be? He is about 2 years old I can’t remember what batch of chicks he came with so I have no idea what breed he might be. He is friendly and docile. Well maybe not friendly, I don’t handle any of my flock enough for them to act like pets but he is certainly not aggressive like many other roosters I have had in the past. He is quite large and impressive.
I do have a couple barred rocks which he looks somewhat like, but he has so much brown in his neck and his chest really isn’t barred and his tail seems wrong. So…any guesses?

 

[Yardmom]

I think that looks like single barring on a male. That would indicate mixed breeding. If you purchased him probably some type of black sex link.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Any guesses at what this guy might be? He is about 2 years old I can’t remember what batch of chicks he came with so I have no idea what breed he might be. He is friendly and docile. Well maybe not friendly, I don’t handle any of my flock enough for them to act like pets but he is certainly not aggressive like many other roosters I have had in the past. He is quite large and impressive.
I do have a couple barred rocks which he looks somewhat like, but he has so much brown in his neck and his chest really isn’t barred and his tail seems wrong. So…any guesses?

View attachment 4312260

He's a mixed breed.

 

[Wardbrook]

Oh I do think I got some black sex links around the time I got him. That’s a good call. I can’t imagine I bought straight run sex links, but maybe he snuck by with undersized or non standard markings.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Oh I do think I got some black sex links around the time I got him. That’s a good call. I can’t imagine I bought straight run sex links, but maybe he snuck by with undersized or non standard markings.

Sometimes feed stores do get in straight run sexlinks, & mislabel them as pullets cuz for some reason occasionally the boxes aren't labeled, or labeled incorrectly.

 

[debid]

It's pretty common for them to get straight run sexlinks and label them with their branded name rather than using the generic terms. Black Star, Majestic Marans, Golden Comet, Cinnamon Queen... Then, people who know will choose the females. I've walked through and thought the bin was barred Rocks but the sign said Black Star straight run. There wasn't a single female chick left in there.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I agree that he is a Barred cross, likely resulting from some sort of sex-link project. You mentioned you don't know "which batch of chicks he came in with", so I find myself wondering if you were purchasing from feed stores, private individuals or perhaps ordering direct from the Hatchery? The latter often results in extra chicks being included that we're not actually ordered, and that could explain how you would have gotten a male bird without having ordered one and without them actually having mistakenly sent a male sex link, rather he was just dropped in there with intention as a bonus/packing peanut/giving him out of the Hatchery because they had so many chicks beyond what had actually been ordered that day. For that matter, the same can result in this at the feed store level as those commercial orders sometimes get packong peanuts or chicks get misbinned (ie a headspotted male sex link is spotted and mistakenly dropped into the bin of barred pullet chicks)

 

[JedJackson]

Looks to be a Sapphire Gem rooster.

 

[debid]

Looks to be a Sapphire Gem rooster.

Aka blue sexlink and also sometimes sold straight run.