Switch 'r Roo?

[1hawaiian]

I ordered (4) one-month old Production Reds hens from a hatchery.

Two weeks later... one of my hens is looking a bit different...

Is my hen a Roo

 

[maybejoey]

I think you got your self a roo. But get pictures of the chicken you suspect is a roo from the side to be sure.

 

[CMV]

Looks roo-ish to me, too. Some clearer pics of the whole body would be helpful.

 

[donrae]

So it's about six weeks old? Prolly a roo. If it's older, could be a hen starting to mature.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Don't know what anyone is seeing that makes it a roo. The coloring is a hen & sex links have all kinds of different comb development. Can't wait to hear what she turns out to be.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Cindy, a Production Red is not a sex link. Exactly what it is depends on which hatchery it comes from, but they are red chickens. One hatchery claims theirs are Rhode Island Reds crossed with New Hampshires, for example, but others produce Production Reds differently. It is just a sales name that should signify a hen that will lay well and is probably a cross of some type. But they should not be a sex link.

One of those has a comb and wattles much more developed than the others. The comb and wattles look a little redder too. I agree a full body shot, including the legs, would help us be more sure, but that one does look rooish to me.

1Hawaiian, if that one has legs heavier than the others, I'd really guess roo.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Every "production red" I've seen has been a sex link. What the heck would be the purpose?? Thought they only made mutt chickens so they could tell roo from hen and sell pullets for more. Learned something new, what a waste of effort.

 

[sourland]

Although the sex link productions birds have the added benefit of being easier to sex at hatching another main purpose of crossing two varieties of chicken is the resultant hybrid vigor.