2 birds -- trying to find gender on one and breed on the other

[VintageLilFarm]

I was given these birds by someone who bought a huge number of birds and varieties from a hatchery last spring "on a whim". Even though he has a beautiful facility, once he realized how much they ate and all of the poo he was getting, he decided to give some away. But, since he got so many as chicks, he is unsure of what each of them is.

I ended up with two of whatever the bird on the left is -- I was told possibly Old English Game Chicken or Phoenix, but I don't think they look like Phoenix. In the dark, when I got them, I thought perhaps they were bantam Araucanas but def NOT! They are beautiful birds, and great flyers (don't ask me how I know!) and not tame at all. I will likely return them because I can't really afford to keep them since they neither lay eggs nor are pets.

I took the shiny black beauty because I had never seen one. I have since found out it is a "very rare" Black Sumatra. I think it is a rooster without his tail fully feathered. What do you think? He does not yet have developed spurs, nor have a heard him crow. He should be close to a year old. If he's a boy, I will be looking to find a wonderful 4H/show home for him because I do not need another rooster. But I don't want to return him because he seems to have a sensitive temperament and I think he will do better with a small flock and/or show home.

 

[americana-lover]

to myself, who has only owned one breed of chicken, I think the black one is a black sumtra.

 

[VintageLilFarm]

It is def a Black Sumatra as I asked the hatchery -- do you think it looks like a boy? The tail is not grown out, he has no spurs yet and does not yet crow, but the feathers look more like what I've seen on boys than hens. He/she is close to a year old.

The hatchery was inconclusive about the breed of other one.

 

[goldfinches]

your other one resembles a brown leghorn in coloring and ear color, but not leg color. It looks like it may be a pullet. Maybe it's a game bird - I really know nothing about them but they always look scrawny and gangly to me.

 

[sevenbabychicks]

The brown one looks a lot like a game hen I once had... I think a leghorn would have larger comb and wattles at that age, and should be laying a ton of eggs. The transition may also be affecting their production. And yep, your sumatra's a boy. Weird that he doesn't have much going on in the way of tail feathers. Has he always been like that?

 

[VintageLilFarm]

I just got these birds on the 10th. The guy who gave them to me got them as hatchlings, and they are about a year old. I know he clipped alot of wings on his birds to keep them from flying so maybe it has something to do with that. I also heard that Sumatras molt their tail each year. Is that correct? Could it be from that? I'm going to post some better pictures in a new thread on the possible game birds.