Telling gender in BRs(an idea)(PICS!)

[77horses]

Hi!
I was just looking at some BR pics, and i couldn't help but notice something. If you look at the BRs beaks, the female has some black on its beak and the male's is all yellow. I looked at several pics and all of them had the same results.
Could this be a way to tell gender between BRs?
Here's two pics(one of a roo and one of a hen) Look closely at the beaks. see the difference? Female has black on beak, and male has all yellow. Look at some other pics, or look at your own chickens and see if the females have black on beaks and males have all yellow.
Just an idea.

Female:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Barred_Rock_hen_in_backyard.jpg


Male:
http://www.helmsteadstables.com/BRRoo3.07.2.jpg

Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[77horses]

and this pick of a baby BR chick could be a female(see black coloring on beak) http://foodwineartdesign.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/chick3.jpg

again here, black colored beakfemale)
http://www.mypetchicken.com/images/product_images/Large/Studio_BarredRockHen_1042_b.jpg

another roonotice only yellow beak) http://www.flytyingforum.com/uploads/gallery43f9ec6449931.jpg

 

[ella]

All barred chicks are to a degree color sexable. Females are darker with a smaller more defined headspot, male are generally lighter with an irregular spot. It's about 80% accurate.

http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/pr_histpubs/Pubs/SB307.PDF

I know there's a site some where with pictures...

 

[speckledhen]

That second one, the rooster, belonged to my friend, Kate, and is the daddy of several of my hens. Sadly, he passed on suddenly this year, right after my Hawkeye did.
I've never known the beak color to be a trait that was linked to the sex of the bird. I'd have to go back and look at other pictures to see, though.
There are three other traits that, taken together, can tell you the sex. The large, splotchy headspot with lots of frosty areas on the back of the head usually means boy. Smaller, with more defined edges on the headspot says girl. USUALLY. The males are overall lighter in appearance due to the white bars being wider. And pullets often have a very dark wash down the leg fronts, darker and more consistent than males, whose legs are much yellower.

 

[Kev]

Good observation. There's a reason-it has to do with the gene for barring. It also suppresses pigmentation in the skin(their legs and beaks would be solid black if it were not for the barring). It also has a dose effect, both on the barring and reducing skin pigmentation.. it is also sex linked which means roosters can either have one or 2 copies of barring while hens always can only have one, tops.

This is what you are seeing.. these roosters have clearer beaks due to having two copies of barring(which is also clearing the skin of pigmentation) while the hens have only one which only does a partial job at clearing the skin. You also will notice roosters have cleaner yellow legs while hens very often have speckled legs or a black line running down the front and down the toes.

A rooster with just one copy of barring can and do look like those hens..

 

[speckledhen]

I did find one picture of a brother and sister I hatched last year, the pullet is on the sawhorse and the boy on the ground. Both beaks are clear on this pair. Like all traits, it may work for you some of the time, but not always; for example, many know my Lexie, who looked very much like a cockerel till she was almost three months old. They can fool you!

 

[77horses]

ohhh i see. I was just curious to know if that was really a way to tell gender.
I noticed that the female chick is darker than the male chick, who is more gray. Is that a way to tell gender sometimes also?
(cute chicks!)

 

[speckledhen]

Yep, the overall more silvery gray appearance is one way to know the boys from the girls.