# Calling all Chicken Experts



## Hailee's Herd (Oct 5, 2007)

Hi, I thought I would get your opinions on my Barred Rock chick. He/She is just a little more than a month old. Do you think it is a rooster or a hen? I know some of you said it was a hen but I want to know because if it's a rooster I can't keep it. It attacks my chickens now and they fight back. But my duck is scared of the chick.
Thanks in advance. 

















http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv19 ... ns2096.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv19 ... ns2081.jpg


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

hard to tell!

but in my opinion its a pullet, some hens are just mean. she doesnt seem to be growing a long comb or tailfeathers, you'll be able to tell when she begins to lay or starts crowing.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I have to agree with Katrina...looks like a hen...... :wink:


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

I'd say pullet. :thumbup:


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## Hailee's Herd (Oct 5, 2007)

Ok thanks everyone!!!! You are all so helpful. I hope you are right.


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

I do still think it's a hen...Barred Rocks tend to be a feistier breed so it will probably be at the top of the pecking order. 

I have a 7 week old Barred Rock rooster that I can take a picture of tomorrow for comparison...if I can find my camera, that is. :wink:


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## Hailee's Herd (Oct 5, 2007)

Yeah this chick is very hyper and can't sit still for one second.


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## Hailee's Herd (Oct 5, 2007)

Although right now my tiny Silkie chicken rules the roost.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

looks like a hen to me


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## FunnyRiverFarm (Sep 13, 2008)

Here's a 7 week old Barred Rock rooster:


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

yep..comparing the two i'd say hailee has a pullet :thumb:


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## shadycreekgoats (Mar 23, 2009)

ditto what the others said, We have a few and I'm pretty sure it is a pullet. :greengrin:


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## bheila (Jan 10, 2009)

Looks like a girl.


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## countryboy (Dec 7, 2008)

Boy, comb goes pass his eyes. If you look from the top, the roosters comb goes pass the eyes. When they are young, the hens combs are not attached that far back.


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## Hailee's Herd (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks everyone! That is great!!!


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## lupinfarm (Aug 26, 2009)

It's a rooster. 

The comb is far too big at 4 weeks to be a pullet, it is far too red, and it's wattles are enormous for a month old. My EE chicks are almost 4 months old and their combs haven't even started going red yet and they have no wattles. Deffo a roo. 

You should give Backyardchickens.com a try, they have a forum and deal with this kind of stuff everrrryyyday


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## cdtrum (Aug 25, 2008)

My pullets use to act that way when young and my most aggressive hen is a Barred Rock.......look at the insides of the ankle area, down by the feet.......can you see any sign of nodules which as times passes will grow into Rooster claws. I had a chick last year end up being a Rooster but can not remember how old he was when we started to realize it.
Sorry, hope this helps.....time will tell :wink:


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## kids-n-peeps (Aug 24, 2009)

My husband is a self-described chicken expert!! Not so sure about that, but here's what he says . . . 

Combs & wattles can be an indication, but there is so much variability between birds that it is not always accurate. The comb is pretty large for a one month old bird, but that's not really enough to go on.

What you need to do is pick up the bird and start looking at the saddle feathers. At the start of the chicken's back and moving down it some, gently pull aside the top feathers and look where the pins are starting to feather out. Usually a rooster's saddle feathers come out and have pointy tips whereas a hen's feathers tend to pop out of the pin in almost a fan shape. You can also look closely at the newest feathers on the tail. A rooster will start to develop sickle feathers which will be curvy and eventually longer, even possibly with a more colorful sheen beginning to develop on the black areas of a barred rock. 

With that said, there is also variability as to when certain breeds will show these characteristics . . . some mature more slowly than others, so if you can't tell now looking at the newest emerging feathers, check them again in a week. You can also compare this bird's feathers to a similarly-aged bird you are sure is a hen. That might help you to differentiate. 

I'm sure there is an online tool showing pics of what I was describing, but I hope this helps you figure it out. My husband has 100% accuracy looking at the feathers of a 4-6 week old, but beforehand he makes guesses based on comb & body size. Those early guesses are often wrong


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## countryboy (Dec 7, 2008)

tell us--- boy or girl


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## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

In my experience it looks like you got a roo sorry.Barred rock pullets are darker in color compared to the roos and they shouldn't have a red comb at 4 weeks old either.I have barred rocks now and have raised them for the past 5 years so that's my take on it anyhow.


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## cdtrum (Aug 25, 2008)

I have a Barred Rock that has been aggressive since I brought her home at 3 days old.......she is still aggressive towards the other hens and they are now over 1 & 1/2 yrs old........a couple of weeks ago we had a hawk fly into the yard and she tried standing up to the hawk, if I had not walk out there when I did she would have been the hawk's lunch! She was in a daze for a while....but she is now back to picking on the other hens!


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

Well, considering the picture is a couple months old now, maybe she can come back and tell us what it turned out to be. :wink: :greengrin:


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## cdtrum (Aug 25, 2008)

Duhhhhhhh :doh: .....didn't even notice the date of original post!


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## JessaLynn (Aug 30, 2009)

Ooops! :doh:  sorry guess I shoulda looked :ROFL: Well what did ya end up with then?


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## Hailee's Herd (Oct 5, 2007)

Sorry I forgot to update this. Still not sure if it is a rooster or a hen. I actually gave it to my grandparents to keep so I haven't really seen it much. I guess I will wait until my grandma says if it lays an egg or crows.  Thanks for all of your opinions though.


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## Centermile (Oct 6, 2009)

Just my 2 cents worth, but at that young, the difference between a Roo and a Hen are the length of it’s legs. And as also mentioned those bumps on the back of their legs. Combs are haed to judge.

You can see hens have short legs, Roo’s have longer legs. Better to protect their flock and do “what they are there to do in the first place”(Breed). 
I have had Barred Rocks forever, they are very good bird, good layers. But every now and again you get rouge. A nasty little angry bird, they make good soup. End of story.

Kris


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## Hailee's Herd (Oct 5, 2007)

It's definately a rooster. He is gorgeous now!


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