I'm a new chicken owner!
We've been wanting chickens and reading up on it, making coop plans and four days ago we went and picked up six laying hens from a friend who was getting out of having chickens for a while. I was asking about some of the breeds while I was there but I wasn't there when hubby went and got the chickens so I didn't get to ask about each chicken specifically. So now I'm having fun playing detective and figuring out what the breeds are for the chickens I don't know.
One of my "mystery" chickens is our Buff called Agnes. She is as large or maybe larger than our Wyandottes, she has very little comb and wattle and yellow legs/feet. I'm torn between whether she is a Chantecler or an Orpington. The comb better matches the Chantecler and the yellow legs better match the Orpington. But I find it hard to believe that our friend would have purchased a cold weather Chantecler for central Texas, (though I guess it's not impossible.)
What do y'all think? What kind of chicken is Agnes?
Consensus says that Agnes is a Chantecler! (Especially since there is a hatchery that breeds Chanteclers here in Texas, which makes it not as unlikely as I thought...)
Next up is Betty.. I think she might be a Jersey Giant or an Australorp. If I was going by body shape I'd go with Jersey Giant but she doesn't have a single comb so I guess she's an Australorp? I read that the bottoms of the feet can help but I can't really tell if they're more pale yellow or pale pink they're just a pale grayish nondistinct color. I've tried to take the best pictures I can. Betty definitely rules the roost.. she makes the most noise, she's the biggest, and I haven't noticed anybody else picking on her though I've seen her pick on a few of the others. I guess she's top chicken.
You can see the shape of her saddle in this one. She has a very nice body shape.
In the one above you can see her distinctive tail shape.
Her legs and feet. Gray. Not much help, huh??
So what do y'all think? Is Betty an Australorp then? (My ten yr old jokingly calls her a turkey vulture.) =p
Our hens are still in their very temporary pen while we plan and build them a very nice coop. So if it looks a little makeshift? Yeah.. it is.. =\ But I'm trying to give them what they need as best I can. I have a hanging waterer on the way to replace the bucket as my first step.
We've been wanting chickens and reading up on it, making coop plans and four days ago we went and picked up six laying hens from a friend who was getting out of having chickens for a while. I was asking about some of the breeds while I was there but I wasn't there when hubby went and got the chickens so I didn't get to ask about each chicken specifically. So now I'm having fun playing detective and figuring out what the breeds are for the chickens I don't know.
One of my "mystery" chickens is our Buff called Agnes. She is as large or maybe larger than our Wyandottes, she has very little comb and wattle and yellow legs/feet. I'm torn between whether she is a Chantecler or an Orpington. The comb better matches the Chantecler and the yellow legs better match the Orpington. But I find it hard to believe that our friend would have purchased a cold weather Chantecler for central Texas, (though I guess it's not impossible.)
Consensus says that Agnes is a Chantecler! (Especially since there is a hatchery that breeds Chanteclers here in Texas, which makes it not as unlikely as I thought...)
Next up is Betty.. I think she might be a Jersey Giant or an Australorp. If I was going by body shape I'd go with Jersey Giant but she doesn't have a single comb so I guess she's an Australorp? I read that the bottoms of the feet can help but I can't really tell if they're more pale yellow or pale pink they're just a pale grayish nondistinct color. I've tried to take the best pictures I can. Betty definitely rules the roost.. she makes the most noise, she's the biggest, and I haven't noticed anybody else picking on her though I've seen her pick on a few of the others. I guess she's top chicken.
You can see the shape of her saddle in this one. She has a very nice body shape.
In the one above you can see her distinctive tail shape.
Her legs and feet. Gray. Not much help, huh??
So what do y'all think? Is Betty an Australorp then? (My ten yr old jokingly calls her a turkey vulture.) =p
Our hens are still in their very temporary pen while we plan and build them a very nice coop. So if it looks a little makeshift? Yeah.. it is.. =\ But I'm trying to give them what they need as best I can. I have a hanging waterer on the way to replace the bucket as my first step.