Sight Sexing Barred Plymouth Rock Chicks at Hatch

[Faraday40]

The Barred Rock hens (mated with a solid color orp roo) can only pass the barring on to her male offspring. In other words, you created sex-linked chicks. If you're right about the parents, then the black ones with head spots should be male, and the solid black ones should be female. This only works for the 1st generation & also only if you're sure the parents are purebred. (Ie - EEs are lovable mixes, so you can't be certain of what's in their genetic mix.) Also the lav color can only be passed on if both parents are lav. If only one parent is a lav, then the chick will look black but can carry the lav gene. (exception is if the other parent happens to carry a recessive lav gene.) Hope this helps.

Of course all chicks are cute, so congratulations on your latest hatch!

 

[daxigait]

The Barred Rock hens (mated with a solid color orp roo) can only pass the barring on to her male offspring.  In other words, you created sex-linked chicks.  If you're right about the parents, then the black ones with head spots should be male, and the solid black ones should be female.  This only works for the 1st generation & also only if you're sure the parents are purebred.  (Ie - EEs are lovable mixes, so you can't be certain of what's in their genetic mix.)  Also the lav color can only be passed on if both parents are lav.  If only one parent is a lav, then the chick will look black but can carry the lav gene. (exception is if the other parent happens to carry a recessive lav gene.)  Hope this helps.

Of course all chicks are cute, so congratulations on your latest hatch!

. Thanks, I know the Lavender is pure (, his girls are not laying yet-next month). My only question is if any of the blacks are from my mixed roo and the Barred rocks since I don't know what that yields.
Thanks for the information. Here is the other roo. I really don't think he is part EE they were wrong on his gender too

 

[Faraday40]

Easter Egger is a general name for any chicken that has some blue egg genes in it.
Obviously, his face, wattles, & comb look nothing like an EE, but his coloring looks like one we had. (Brownie was our all-time fav roo.)

 

[daxigait]

Wow he was pretty. Mine does not even have colored legs, but he is very good with the hens and the hatch I just did had 52 of 54 fertile.

 

[daxigait]

OK guys. I think this is a black sexlink chick(cockerel). They hatched Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I know my Barred rocks crossed with my Lavender roo will make sexlinks, but with a second roo (who could have bred them but would not make a sexlink) there is some question. I think he is barring which should not happen with the mixed roo right?

 

[daxigait]

Here is one with the wing.

 

[Faraday40]

With most chicks, there is no way to tell until they get to be 4-6 weeks old. The Doms & Barred Rocks are some of the few exceptions. That's why people use them to make sex linked hybrids.

It's very possible you have a male with the beginning of barring. I usually like to wait until I see other traits to confirm. (Look for outgoing behavior, thicker legs, hint of pink on comb, faster comb development, etc.)

Last spring I played around with making sex links by hatching my CCLs eggs. (My only roo was a lav orp). I accidentally incubated a few EE hen's eggs since they were also blue. Since I thought the chicks with head spots were male & I had more chicks on the way, I simply gave away all the white head spot chicks at hatch to anyone who would take free males. All but one of the remaining chicks were female. That last male probably came from my EE hen. The females were diff combos of black & brown. Some had crests, some did not. I will likely experiment again in 2016 because every pullet from that batch went to good homes where they are adored for their green eggs.

BTW- Your brownish chick with the golden red face (in the background) is simply beautiful.

 

[daxigait]

Thanks.
The one in the background is one of two chicks I traded two of my red gold ones for since I got a ton of the half RIR chicks. They are both copper maran EE crosses for olive eggers. Now fingers and toes crossed that they or at least one of the two is a pullet.

 

[Seatrout00]

I have been reading that BR hens as chicks will have darker legs/feet and a more prominent spot on the head - and as they grow older, the ladies will be black and white while the males will be gray and white. Is this what you all find?

 

[Faraday40]

I have been reading that BR hens as chicks will have darker legs/feet and a more prominent spot on the head - and as they grow older, the ladies will be black and white while the males will be gray and white. Is this what you all find?

Pretty much. Of course it's not always clear, so you have to kind of guess on some. The females' head spots should be an even compact circle while the males have fuzzier edges / irreg. shape. It can be very subtle at times, so looking at other traits helps.

When they get their feathers, the females have more black (so they look darker) and the males have more white (so they look grayish). Of course at that time, the combs start developing, so that also helps confirm your prediction.