We have a mystery chicken! Need help on breed and gender.

A couple weeks ago, my stepson caught a chicken at a local fair (where they release a bunch of chickens and have kids try to catch them) and begged to take it home. We have always wanted to have a few chickens, but weren't really planning to get any until we moved to a bigger lot. Well, I guess our plans got jumpstarted a little early.

We built a chicken coop and also have a small enclosed yard that it can roam. We've done lots of research and bought a lot of supplies, so we think we're pretty well equipped for it, but we don't know anything about the chicken itself. We weren't told the age or breed or gender or anything about it. The horrible people at the fair gave the kids a baggie of feed and basically told the parents that the chicken would die within a week anyway. It's been almost 2 weeks though, and s/he seems to be thriving.

It weighed in yesterday at 9.5 ounces. That's almost double what it weighed 2 weeks ago. We've tried looking online at pictures to compare, and I'd put it around 4 weeks old, but it's hard to say without knowing the breed. It has mostly black feathers, with some reddish brown showing up more recently, and a little bit of white/grey flecks on top of the head. It's been pretty social so far. Sometimes a little skittish when you first pick it up, but it loves just sitting on us.

Here are some pictures we took today.










We would love some help with the breed and gender, and possibly the age as well.

jillianjo said:

A couple weeks ago, my stepson caught a chicken at a local fair (where they release a bunch of chickens and have kids try to catch them) and begged to take it home. We have always wanted to have a few chickens, but weren't really planning to get any until we moved to a bigger lot. Well, I guess our plans got jumpstarted a little early.

We built a chicken coop and also have a small enclosed yard that it can roam. We've done lots of research and bought a lot of supplies, so we think we're pretty well equipped for it, but we don't know anything about the chicken itself. We weren't told the age or breed or gender or anything about it. The horrible people at the fair gave the kids a baggie of feed and basically told the parents that the chicken would die within a week anyway. It's been almost 2 weeks though, and s/he seems to be thriving.

It weighed in yesterday at 9.5 ounces. That's almost double what it weighed 2 weeks ago. We've tried looking online at pictures to compare, and I'd put it around 4 weeks old, but it's hard to say without knowing the breed. It has mostly black feathers, with some reddish brown showing up more recently, and a little bit of white/grey flecks on top of the head. It's been pretty social so far. Sometimes a little skittish when you first pick it up, but it loves just sitting on us.

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Rooster-not sure of breed.

Thanks!

Anyone else have any ideas on the breed?

Black Sex-link, possibly a cockerel

Black Sex-link pullet.

Black sex link or possibly mixed, gold laced ????

Looks like a Black sexlink pullet to me. Wattles will flush pink when excited or stressed. It's the comb turning red early on, that indicates a cockerel.

junebuggena said:

Looks like a Black sexlink pullet to me. Wattles will flush pink when excited or stressed. It's the comb turning red early on, that indicates a cockerel.

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Ah yes, that would make sense. S/he had just gotten a mealworm as a treat right before that last picture so s/he was very excited trying to find more treats.