White spot on head sex link trait?? CONFUSED!!!

[speckledhen]

Barred Rock pullets have one barring gene so are darker overall, usually with dark wash down their legs. Barred Rock cockerels have two barring genes, making them lighter overall with little to no dark down the leg fronts. Both black sex link males and both Barred Rock sexes have head spots.

Here's a 6 week old brother and sister.

Here's a 3 week old BR cockerel. A black sexlink male would look similar:

 

[spiritdance]

true, in pure BRs the roos are much lighter, but in Black Stars they start out darker like pullets and get lighter as they grow. I've hatched and raised a lot of Black Stars alongside pure BRs, and from my observations the definition of the barring is a surer sign of the pure BR. I hope I'm wrong and you really have all pullets, but I'd be prepared just in case. Are the others black with red bleed through like the one in back of the photo?

 

[speckledhen]

It's really hard to tell when they are really small if you have a BSL male or a BR pullet, tis true. In a couple weeks, you'll know for sure. In hatchery BRs, the barring is not usually defined as it should be so that isn't a good indication these days. My hatchery BR roos had cuckoo-looking barring, not straight as it should have been.

 

[DebB11]

thanks...keeping my fingers crossed for at least 2 hens and would love more or all to be hens...

 

[speckledhen]

Sure hope you have all BR pullets. I think I see dark down the legs on two of them, but the pic isn't making it easy to see the legs.

 

[DebB11]

they all have some dark but some more than others..... will that change as they age?

 

[DebB11]

What will be the determining factor whether they are BR or Sex links? Just wanting to know what to look for.

Thanks for all your help..

 

[supermommy]

They look identicle to my BR pullets

 

[DebB11]

how large was the white area on their head at 2 weeks? Do you have any pictures anywhere from 1-4 weeks of age I could see?

 

[speckledhen]

By two weeks the spots are beginning to blur already. Best time to assess those is when they are about a day or two old.

A sex link male will sometimes have rusty brown areas in the black and white. The hackles may be very whitish with barring fading in places and later on, a tail feather may be all black with green sheen rather than barred. You may just have to wait and see how they develop to know if they're sex link males or BR pullets.

The pics below are of two black sex link males from Feathersite, a fabulous site for identifying different breeds in all colors. The first one is very dark, but out of my flock of BRs, came a very dark pure Barred Rock male, which can happen as well:

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sex-links/BkSexLinkCkl.JPEG
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sex-links/BkSexLinkRoo.JPEG


Here is a BR cockerel showing the head spot with lots of "frosting" across the back of the head:

Here is a brother (on ground) and sister Barred Rock from my own flock at a couple weeks old: