Distinguishing Similar Breeds of Chicken (and sex-links)

Domineckers, Barred, & Cuckoo

A Barred Rock Hen

     Many people see a chicken stripped in black and white, and they say, "Dominecker!" There is no chicken breed called Domineckers, but perhaps the word came from the Dominiques, a barred bird with a pea comb. Real Dominiques became very rare, but are now coming back. Many breeds of 

A Dominique Pullet, courtesy of Reddies River Poultry

chicken are barred, and they are often mistakenly called Domineckers.
    
     Ever heard of a Plymouth Rock? Maybe you've heard of a Barred Rock. Plymouth Rocks are a breed of chicken, and Barred Plymouth Rocks are a variety of those Rocks, among White Rocks and Partridge Rocks. They have all the features of a Plymouth Rock - yellow legs, single comb, brown eggs - but are barred, and often mistaken as a Dominecker.

     Cuckoo is also striping. There are Cuckoo Marans and Cuckoo Orpingtons, and all sorts of breeds. It would be easy to confuse Cuckoo birds as a Dominique or a Barred Rock.  

Buffs?

     This makes me think of Palomino horses. You can ask someone what breed their horse is, and they'll tell you its a Palomino. But Palomino isn't a breed, rather a color. The same goes with the color buff. Someone might have a Buff Orpington or a Buff Ameraucana or a Buff Cochin - but they would still call it a Buff because the chickens they grew up with were just 'buffs', not Buff Orpingtons (most people here seem to have Buff Orpingtons they call Buffs).

     So remember - buff isn't a breed but rather a color, a variety within a breed. It has to be a Buff Something.

Red Chickens

     So you have a chicken. Its red. What is it? There are Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshires (Often called incorrectly New Hampshire Reds), Production Reds, Red Sex-Links (Also called Red Stars), Red Caps, and Red Rangers (Broilers). Here are some descriptions to help you out.

Red Caps: 
A dual-purpose white egg layer, Red Caps only come in large fowl. They tend to be very flighty and only come in one variety - reddish brown feathers with some black mixed in.



Red Sex-Link hens, courtesy of Reddies River Poultry

Red Sex-Links:
Red Stars aren't an actual breed of chicken, because they are sex-links, meaning that you can sex them by the color of their feathers (or down), but if you breed a Red Sex-Link to a Red Sex-Link you wont get a Red Sex-Link (read more about sex-links below).

Production Reds:
Production Reds are brown layers bred for egg production, created from Rhode Island Reds. Ovarian Cancer is very common in production breeds, but particularly these girls.

Red Rangers:
A meat bird, a broiler, Red Rangers are large brown egg layers that reach maturity at 12 weeks. They are excellent free rangers with proportionate meat on their legs and breast.

Rhode Island Reds:
Dark red in color, these chickens lay lots of brown eggs and are considered a dual purpose bird. They are large yellow legged and single combed chickens with yellow skin.

New Hampshires:
New Hampshires produce brown eggs of a large size. They have been bred from Rhode Island Reds, but are lighter in color and have some black on them.

    

More About Sex-Links

     A sex-link is a chicken that is unique because you can tell them apart at any age by their color. There are Red Sex-links and Black Sex-links. They are a hybrid bred by using two different breeds of chickens. They aren't a true breed because if you breed a sex-link to a sex-link, the chicks wont be

My Black Sex-link pullet

sex-linked.

Red Sex-Links:
They are a mix of a red rooster - either a New Hampshire or a Rhode Island Red - and a silver based hen, either a Delaware, White Leghorn, White Rock, Rhode Island White, or a Silver Laced Wyandotte. Males are white (although they may have a few black feathers) and females are either buff or red. They are also called Cinnamon Queens, Gold Comets, Gold Stars, and Red Stars.

Black Sex-Links:
These are a mix of any rooster that isn't barred (typically a Rhode Island Red or a New Hampshire) with a barred hen, such as a Barred Plymouth Rock. All the chicks will hatch black, but all the males will have a silver spot on their head. The cockerels will grow up to be barred, while the pullets will grow up black with red leakage in their hackles. They are often sold as Rock Reds, Black Rocks, Black Stars, and Red Rocks.

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