2 week (16 day old) chicks... What Breed/Gender guesses?

[xconnieex]

Hi Everyone!
I'm new here but I've really loved the atmosphere and helpfulness of all you other chicken-lovers here on this great site, so I decided to join. Heads up, please feel free to give me tips if I'm posting wrong or doing something wrong in general.

So I recently got 2 chicks from a feed store, hoping for some eggs in a couple months. I think the darker one was supposed to be an Ameraucana, though I doubt it from seeing other pictures. The yellow one is a sex link, at least that's what the lady told me.

I was just curious what you experts thought about the breed and gender. I'm not allowed to have roosters, so if either of them turn out male, I'll have to find them new homes

Any help? Guesses would be appreciated. I know it's still super hard to sex them at this age, but guesses would be appreciated!

Also, I'm going to need to get a coop soon, but for 2 chickens, what do you guys recommend? I've looked on Amazon and Frugah for some cheaper, smaller coops, but I'm also worried about wild animals attacking them. Do you think it's okay to bring them inside at night, if they turn out to be hens and I can keep them..?

Pictures attached.

 

[Veer67]

The first picture is a n Easter Egger, they are commonly sold as "Ameraucanas" at feed stores. The red chick is some kind of sex link the coloring would suggest a rooster though it also depends on the type of cross he/ she is.

 

[Kelsie2290]

X 2 on the Easter Egger, for the chipmunk colored one, way to young to know sex, though in those pictures it is a little more silver than I like (those are more likely to be males). The red looks like a red sex link, it should be female if it is, since the males are pretty much white as chicks, they are sold under different names by the different hatcheries, Red Star, Golden Comet, etc.

 

[Sheets87]

I would recommend a 2 box chicken coop, with quarter inch chicken wire. We purchased ours from tractor supply Around my area we are known to have chicken snakes, rattlers, opossums, racoons and loose dogs; along with various other chick hunting predators. Our girls started spending the night outside at 8 weeks old (would of been sooner but it was still cold out.) I honestly didn't worry much about them when they were locked in the coop overnight. It wasn't until I let them out into the pen (that was made of regular chicken wire) that I worried and smothered them; watching them like the mother hen I am. It's hard not to worry. But I would suggest small holed chicken wire, not the regular wire. Also I agree that you have a little easter egger not so sure about lil red but I would say sex link. Keep us posted with pictures since they pretty much change weekly at this age.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

x3 on the chipmunk being an Easter Egger...and too early to tell.

Your red/buff one distinctly looks like a red sex-link to me. Roos are white/yellow as chicks with no reddish coloring...so you've got a little girl there...and they are great layers.

I personally wouldn't bring them into my home at night...if that is what you meant. They make a pretty good mess with all the dander, dust, and what not. (My husband's garage was a total mess after we got done brooding our first batch of chicks in a wire dog kennel there...the dust flew everywhere no matter what kind of bedding we used.)

You can make a chicken coop out of all sorts of things around the house. We turned our kids old play structure into a hen house and run. If money is tight, look around the house and see what you can convert.

For night time safety, all you need is a box-type shape that is a tight structure with a tight lock that has a roof of some sort. Small size chicken wired buried into the ground will keep night time predators out. (I've read go down 3 feet if you are battling raccoons). Your coop should have windows or air slats (covered by chicken wire) on both sides for good cross ventilation. The coop box (house) should allow enough room for them to roost comfortably, get water and food without it tipping over or being in their walkway (or under the roost...that gets messy!), and give them room to stretch their legs. Block a side corner off for a nest or add a wooden box set in a corner (12inx12inx12in). An extra large plastic dog house could work really well for just 2 hens for night time lock up. I've even used a wire dog kennel that had tight wire mesh in summer time for 2 hens that were in isolation.

With the coop, you just need space for night time lock up, then you can either free range them in your yard or you'll have to provide a wire run.

Whatever you set up, think of how you are going to clean it out. It is a good idea if you can arrange the coop so that you can clean it without having to break your back or tear it apart.

There are some great threads on BYC on coop ideas.
Lady of McCamley

 

[Lady of McCamley]

..and I should add if you are worried about hawks during the day, you'll need set up a wire run that has hawk netting laid over the top. It works great. We created a day time run with temporary fencing and set an old patio umbrella pole (without the umbrella) and used it as the pole for hawk netting to cascade across our run for our broody hutch. Had a Cooper's Hawk dive bomb the brooding run with chicks the first day we had them out...set up the hawk netting, and we've not seen hawks since.
Lady of McCamley

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[Chicks Galore3]

Chipmunk ameracauna is an easter eggger, not sure on the gender.
I have red sex-links before, that definitely looks like mine! Female.