Thoughts... :)

[LuisaD]

So I bought these 8 little suckers at the auction last month (they told me they were 5 weeks when I got them and I have had them for 4) and I believe 5 of them are roos, but they are not crowing yet just super aggressive... Everyone else who sees them thinks they're hens, so I figured I'd let the guessing begin... This looks like a hard breed to sex... They're barred rocks!!

 

[Lothiriel]

I'm not seeing any that have any of the male characteristics. Males are usually much lighter in color. At this point they all look like pullets to me.

 

[hdowden]

do you have any pics from when you got them? i'm thinking those that are very red might be cockerels and i do count 5 but the combs are small and there is little wattle development and if they were 5 weeks when you got them and you have had them for 4 that would make them 2 months and 1 week old and for them to be that red this young i will have to stick too the 5 cockerels if im counting right

 

[LuisaD]

aah!! Can't find them... but I would think so too I caught them jumping around eachother like roosters but my hens did that too sometimes... but they're pretty nasty, so I think they're roosters too!! I don't know how old they were when I got them.. it's just what the guy said... but they had peach fuzz on the neck but had feathers almost everywhere else!

 

[BlazeJester]

Those don't look like barred rocks to me. I've had them twice now and they're much more "kettle shaped". These are much too lean and they don't appear to have straight combs, at least from what I can tell in these pictures - can you get close enough to any of them to take a close-up of someone's comb?

Male barred birds are USUALLY much MUCH lighter in color. You'll be able to tell better when the saddle and hackle feathers start coming in - the barring is much closer together on those feathers.

Bad breeding for sure, and probably something else mixed in which is why your barring color is messed up - at least the bars are still identifiable. Some get so bad they just look spotted.

 

[kentuckysilkies]

I can't see the combs very clearly, but they look like rose or pea combs. If that is the case they are not Barred Rocks, perhaps Dominiques if rose combs. The stance and colors do not match BRs or Doms. They look more like some asiatic breed in stance like Asils. More pics, especially closeups would help.

 

[BlazeJester]

Bingo. That's what I was thinking but forgot to say. Too leggy for production breeds.

The stance and colors do not match BRs or Doms. They look more like some asiatic breed in stance like Asils.

 

[donrae]

I agree they're not barred rocks. I suspect someone hatched out some sex-links and dumped the roos at the auction. Truthfully, most of them look like roos to me. I've seen sex-link cockerals have the darker barring that makes you think they're female. Please keep us updated, I'd like to see how they turn out!

 

[donrae]

Added--by sex-link I don't mean the commercial cross, they really look leggy like a game cross? or something like that. I'm not as familiar with non heavy breeds.

 

[LuisaD]

I'll take some more in the morning and post it!! I thought their form and attitude was a bit off too, but thats why i figured they were roosters... I only got them cause i liked the pattern and my favorite hen growing up was a barred rock...