Plymouth Barred Rock hen or roo?

[Yardmom]

That's they point, why would you sell easily sexable birds as straight run?

Barred Rock are not easily sexed at hatch unless they have been bred for that. With different lines head spots are going to vary. A hatchery pullet often has a messier head spot than a well bred cockerel. The average seller of barred rock is not going to be able to guarantee that chicks are pullets. They probably have a good idea, but not enough to make guarantees about gender. If they can not guarantee, then they sell straight run.

 

[speckledhen]

I was able to sex my 1st batch of barred chicks with 100% accuracy by measuring the amount of white on the barred feathers .I also had a dark one and it was a hen

You can do that but only IF they are not crosses. Since a BR male always contributes one of his two barring genes to his progeny (two barring genes makes the white bars more prominent, therefore he is lighter overall), all chicks will have barring with that sire, even if it's subtle such as when the mom is a non-barred breed-those may have very ghosty barring like that pea combed one (wonder where that came from with no pea combs listed in the parentage).
If the mother is the BR and the sire is a red or gold color like a Buff Orp or RIR, then the pullets wil have no barring because the dad was not barred and mom cannot contribute barring to a daughter. Crosses can get so darn tricky! Out of a mix of males and females, some with barring and some not, you can of course, get pure barred chicks and crosses. With that mixed bag, you can get all sorts of combinations and variations, making it much more difficult to make a decisive call on the sex early on. I've had some puzzles mixing splash birds and buff birds in my small flock of bantam Cochins.

Barred Rock are not easily sexed at hatch unless they have been bred for that. With different lines head spots are going to vary. A hatchery pullet often has a messier head spot than a well bred cockerel. The average seller of barred rock is not going to be able to guarantee that chicks are pullets. They probably have a good idea, but not enough to make guarantees about gender. If they can not guarantee, then they sell straight run.

Lines do vary. I have had better luck overall sexing hatchery Rocks than some exhibition type BRs, mainly because of the dark wash down the legs being much more definitive on the hatchery pullets than the others. Vice versa, the exhibition male chicks often have some dark wash as well. But some are just not as easy as others in the same group from the same source.
Sexing is more an art than a science and there are three traits at hatch that we use to make educated guesses, as you know. For those who don't know, it's the character of the head spot, plus the color of the leg fronts plus the darkness of the down as soon as they're fully fluffy (black-black or faded black) I've made a few sexing mistakes, very few but definitely four or five times, even knowing what to look for and having raised BRs for over 20 years, both hatchery in the beginning, and later, BRs from three different exhibition breeder lines. When you have such a variety of parent choices in the same flock, it can get very tricky until they grow a few weeks. The very best sexing method in that case is the "wait and see" method, LOL

 

[ChickenMamaRNx6]

Barred Rock are not easily sexed at hatch unless they have been bred for that. With different lines head spots are going to vary. A hatchery pullet often has a messier head spot than a well bred cockerel. The average seller of barred rock is not going to be able to guarantee that chicks are pullets. They probably have a good idea, but not enough to make guarantees about gender. If they can not guarantee, then they sell straight run.

I'm sure this is the situation where we got ours! Being our first time, we're so curious but enjoying them no matter what. They're all very sweet and like to be held and interact so we're happy and I think we'll end up with a couple that actually lay eggs so even better lol

 

[nuthatched]

Properly bred barred Plymouth rocks, are odd to be sold straight run because it should be obvious at hatch what the gender is.

Barred Rock are not easily sexed at hatch unless they have been bred for that. With different lines head spots are going to vary. A hatchery pullet often has a messier head spot than a well bred cockerel. The average seller of barred rock is not going to be able to guarantee that chicks are pullets. They probably have a good idea, but not enough to make guarantees about gender. If they can not guarantee, then they sell straight run.

Exactly my thoughts, properly bred Barred Plymouth Rocks should be easily sexed. If they're being sold as straight run, it's a sign that the breeder doesn't have quality birds and would be a pass for me.

 

[speckledhen]

I have had real issues with sexing a few of my exhibition type BRs, some keep me guessing for a couple of weeks. The lines I mean are Marvin Stukel, Jill Burk (who has Guy Roy in her lines) and Jamie Duckworth. The females in the current group have pretty large head spots that are not all that regular plus some of the males have some dark wash down the leg fronts, a female trait. I've seen males with very small head spots, too, but when you look closely, there may be "frosting" around the neck area that is not seen at first glance. My own late Atlas out of Marvin Stukel lines had a tiny head spot and it wasn't until about 4 weeks old that I realized he was definitely no pullet. It is not always obvious and I know how to sex barred birds, have for over 20 years. It is not that cut and dried and always an educated guess, no matter the quality of the birds.

There are many propagators (as opposed to actual breeders) who sell straight run, let me tell you, because they have zero clue how a BR is sexed. On this platform, I've seen black sex link roosters called BRs and to me, it's obvious they are a cross, but not to everyone. That said, not everyone wants show quality Rocks. I happen to prefer breeder lines over hatchery stock because hatchery stock seems to always have terrible issues with reproductive illnesses and died too early; after all, they're bred for laying prowess, not conformation or adherence to the Standard of Perfection or longevity. I enjoyed my hatchery BRs in the early years, and it's why I wanted to always have them. Not everyone cares about the same things or wants the same from their flock and there is nothing wrong with that, IMO. The breeder lines lay a tad less, but they live much longer, lay longer into their lives, and with usually, no reproductive issues. Plus they're much more handsome, IMO. It's why I paid a pretty penny for the hatching eggs for my current up and coming BR group. It was worth it to me, but that's me.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm sure this is the situation where we got ours! Being our first time, we're so curious but enjoying them no matter what. They're all very sweet and like to be held and interact so we're happy and I think we'll end up with a couple that actually lay eggs so even better lol

You enjoy those chicks! I have had many wonderful crosses over the years or even throwbacks to ancestral genes that popped up unexpectedly. Some of my most memorable birds have been crosses, whether on purpose or accidental. Not everyone needs or wants show quality birds, nothing wrong with that at all. They don't have to be show quality to be useful, beautiful and fun, same as the quilts I make.

 

[McChooky]

You can do that but only IF they are not crosses. Since a BR male always contributes one of his two barring genes to his progeny (two barring genes makes the white bars more prominent, therefore he is lighter overall), all chicks will have barring with that sire, even if it's subtle such as when the mom is a non-barred breed-those may have very ghosty barring like that pea combed one (wonder where that came from with no pea combs listed in the parentage).
If the mother is the BR and the sire is a red or gold color like a Buff Orp or RIR, then the pullets wil have no barring because the dad was not barred and mom cannot contribute barring to a daughter. Crosses can get so darn tricky! Out of a mix of males and females, some with barring and some not, you can of course, get pure barred chicks and crosses. With that mixed bag, you can get all sorts of combinations and variations, making it much more difficult to make a decisive call on the sex early on. I've had some puzzles mixing splash birds and buff birds in my small flock of bantam Cochins.

Lines do vary. I have had better luck overall sexing hatchery Rocks than some exhibition type BRs, mainly because of the dark wash down the legs being much more definitive on the hatchery pullets than the others. Vice versa, the exhibition male chicks often have some dark wash as well. But some are just not as easy as others in the same group from the same source.
Sexing is more an art than a science and there are three traits at hatch that we use to make educated guesses, as you know. For those who don't know, it's the character of the head spot, plus the color of the leg fronts plus the darkness of the down as soon as they're fully fluffy (black-black or faded black) I've made a few sexing mistakes, very few but definitely four or five times, even knowing what to look for and having raised BRs for over 20 years, both hatchery in the beginning, and later, BRs from three different exhibition breeder lines. When you have such a variety of parent choices in the same flock, it can get very tricky until they grow a few weeks. The very best sexing method in that case is the "wait and see" method, LOL

When I placed an order for 10 Dom pullets I got 6 pullets and a cockerel. The other 3 ended up being Barred rocks (one of those was a cockerel too)I'm not sure how they messed up my order that bad

 

[speckledhen]

When I placed an order for 10 Dom pullets I got 6 pullets and a cockerel. The other 3 ended up being Barred rocks (one of those was a cockerel too)I'm not sure how they messed up my order that bad

Unfortunately, it happens with hatcheries. Doms are an awesome breed, the original American breed. Best of luck with them.

 

[McChooky]

Unfortunately, it happens with hatcheries. Doms are an awesome breed, the original American breed. Best of luck with them.

I waited a couple years before adding a rooster so now they won't let a rooster near them.They have their own coop.

 

[McChooky]

That's they point, why would you sell easily sexable birds as straight run?

Mixed makes it harder to tell but the posture of those birds screams male.Barred hens don't have that straight up and down physique