Help! What gender are my Barred Rock chicks?

[Floof]

Hi everyone! I've been lurking on these forums for weeks now, hoping to figure out what gender my chicks are. I bought 3 Barred Rock chicks from Kaneohe Farm Supply on August 22. They said they got that batch of chicks on the 12th so I'm guessing they are about 7 weeks old now. Well two of the three started getting little pink combs so I went back to the farm store and bought two more chicks on September 12th (they said they got them on September 2nd). The guys at the store looked at the initial chicks I bought from them and insisted that they're all girls and waved a washer on a string above their heads in a circle as "proof". If they're all girls that would be great but something tells me the washer-on-a-string method isn't the most scientific or reliable method of sexing chickens. When I bought the chicks I was told they were 95% females so I figured the odds were in my favor but now, out the the 5 chickies, it looks like I have 2 with definitely pink combs and one tiny maybe-turning-pink comb. We are not allowed to have roosters where I live so I'm hoping for girls! These are the first 3 chicks we picked out as they look today. The one on the left has no pink in her comb and seems to be the most timid of the 3. The other two will jump up on your shoulders and perch there like parrots if you walk into their run.
These are two of the chicks in questions. See the pink combs (and wattles!?

) starting?

Here's one of the newer chicks. No pink yet.


And then there's this guy. I think that comb is starting to show more pink already

They were done with the photo shoot at this point but I thought it might be good to have a photo to compare their plumage. None of them seem to have that dominant white barring of Barred Rock males yet.

 

[jeslewmazer]

At this age it is hard to tell. Give them a few more weeks and post some more pics. possible one male "but not the one you think". That's my opinion. They are looking good.

 

[shortgrass]

Those would be "barred" Rocks


All 3 female on the older ones...and yes, you see pink on "that" one, so do I.... Keep an eye on that one and post another pic in 2 weeks

Edit* if you can get a picture of suspected cockerel a little closer, maybe include the wings and chest, we may be able to see if there's male barring yet.

 

[Chicken Girl1]

They look like Barred rock pullets to me, but it wouldn't hurt to post again when they are around 10 weeks.

 

[BantamLover21]

They look like Barred rock pullets to me, but it wouldn't hurt to post again when they are around 10 weeks.

x2

 

[junebuggena]

If you bought Barred Rocks, then those are pullets. If you bought Black Sexlinks (Black Stars, Black Rocks), then those are cockerels.
By 8 to 10 weeks old, we should be able to tell you which they are.

 

[donrae]

At 7 weeks those should all be pullets

.

Just for educational purposes, a black Rock would be a solid black. What you have are black birds with bars of white color over the black, so they're called barred Rocks. They're great backyard birds, calm and prolific layers of large brown eggs. I think you'll be very happy with them.

 

[Floof]

Thank you for pointing out the mistake on the name, they are barred rock chicks. I don't know why I typed "black rock" twice and they really ARE great birds! They are so friendly and quiet and we are looking forward to those eggs. I'm relieved to hear that they're most likely pullets. I've been dreading the idea of having to butcher them for dinner as they've been treated more like pets and less like livestock.

 

[shortgrass]

Oh, there's only 3?! Ha-ha I thought there were 2 sets blonde moment ... Ok yeah all pullets then

I love my BRs. They were my original breed before coming HERE and finding a gagiliion new breeds... Now I have 11 breeds, but the BRs are still my favorite bunch. They are a wonderful dual purpose, lay very well, calm, and inquisitive. They can be bossy, but I think all breeds can, given the chance

 

[drumstick diva]

pullets