Time to play- Is she a he????

[dsqard]

I agree that it is a pullet and it looks like the eggs should be coming soon. Watch for squatting and listen for the egg song. You may or may not get those before your first egg but they are good indicators as well if you do.

 

[sourland]

Your barred rock is a pullet, and she is about to start laying. Go and check the coop right now- or any hiding place in the yard.

 

[j mo1]

Trust me I've been looking in the cube everyday... I dont let them out of the run till ~2:30 nowadays to avoid potential hide n seek for the eggs. Ive even checked the run for broken eggs fearing that they may have turned into cannibals. I figured I'd be eating eggs a month ago.

Hurry up already!

 

[OlyChickenGuy]

Now maybe I'm just a devil's advocate, but I'm going to argue male. Yes, barred Plymouth Rocks are one of those breeds that are apparently very easy to sex due to colouration and all that, but I've had experience with quite a number of chickens that have their combs and wattles explode in, but don't get saddle feathers, sickle feathers, or pointy neck feathers, or even start crowing until they're nine or ten months old! My boy, 3/4 Rhode Island Red 1/4 barred Plymouth Rock, didn't start crowing until he was about seven months old and his two brothers didn't follow suit until they were nine and ten months old - but, I spend a lot of time with my boys and make sure they feel very comfortable and happy. Bo, my boy, gained all of his rooster-y qualities, feather-wise, very early, whereas it took his brothers quite awhile to follow suit. Jules didn't start looking like a rooster until he was ten months old! No spurs, no pointy feathers, hen-tailed, and all that. Their father was the same way.

My indication that this would be a boy is to look at everyone else's combs and wattles - they're tiny and still a pale pinkish colour! However, you say the comb and wattles seemed to "come out of nowhere" which is a much more hennish quality, since ALL my boys, regardless of how long it took them to start crowing or growing in distinguishing feathers, began growing in noticeably larger combs and wattles at about three or four weeks of age, but I don't often see girls with quite that large of combs and wattles.

In short, your chicken there could go either way, but my experience says boy. Then again, my experience with Plymouth Rocks is in mixed-breeds and a bundle of chicks I've been watching develop in my house mate's flock. Good luck, and lots of love always goes a long way, even with your boys. :3

 

[MaransGuy]

While I can always accept the possibility of that "one in a million" scenario, that is a pullet. She will likely be laying very soon. Some hens mature faster than others and the rest will likely follow soon.

 

[donrae]

Quote:
Just saying, they can lay anytime of the day, esp when they first start laying. Hide and seek eggs are part of free ranging. I just discovered a nest of over a dozen eggs on top of the haystack, I thought they were just tapering off for the winter.........

 

[j mo1]

Quote:
That was my initial concern. I actualy gave a neighbor a barred rock and its comb/wattles are larger as well. The gifted BR has no saddle feathers on it either and "she" squats at the drop of a hat but my neighbors have no eggs yet either so cant officially verify.

 

[awesomefowl]

She. She looks just like my Mary Lou, who also has a 'rooster comb'!

 

[flockman]

I vote pullet. Most of my chicks I can guess by 2 wks. I look at stance and behavior. One BR pullet had me fooled till she layed an egg. She showed every rooster quality from an early age. She always had a big comb. Then it got really big over night. She started laying a few days later. Now I have had to break her up from being broody twice when she was only 7 months old.

 

[smarsh2]

that bird would have to be crowing if it was a boy, of course i would think it would have to be laying if it were a girl.