4 hens! What breed are they?

[markellle]

We picked up 4 hens that are about 2 years old and are wondering what breed they are. They are laying large light brown eggs. One of them is getting bullied and we are putting hen helper on her

 

[Debbie292d]

lavender or blue Orpington is my very uneducated guess.

I'd check and/or treat for mites too as I see two of them with bare butts. Perhaps they had a crappy diet before too and if you get them on feed with decent protein, it might help.

P.S. Welcome to BYC!!

 

[NatJ]

We picked up 4 hens that are about 2 years old and are wondering what breed they are. They are laying large light brown eggs. One of them is getting bullied and we are putting hen helper on her

I suspect Sapphire Gem or one of the other variations of Blue Sexlinks.

The "sexlink" part means the male are a different color when they hatch, so they are easy to recognize. If you only have mature females, that part won't matter to you now.

But all sexlinks are hybrids (mix of two kinds of chicken), and most sexlinks are specifically bred to be good layers of brown eggs, and they are fairly common, so I think that is likely what you have.

"Blue" means a gray color in chickens.

lavender or blue Orpington is my very uneducated guess.

I think blue not lavender, and sexlinks are much more common than Orpingtons. So that's why I'm guessing blue sexlinks (Sapphire Gem being one company's name for them.)

 

[markellle]

lavender or blue Orpington is my very uneducated guess.

I'd check and/or treat for mites too as I see two of them with bare butts. Perhaps they had a crappy diet before too and if you get them on feed with decent protein, it might help.

P.S. Welcome to BYC!!

it seems like they did have a crappy diet and not much mental stimulation in their previous home. we got a better scratch and peck food and have been giving them fruits and veggies and letting them free range the yard. Our rescue chickens! What would you use to treat for mites? we were wondering about their bums… only 1/4 hens looks truly healthy but they each appeared to have a different issue when we picked them up.
1. pecked at by chicken #3. there was a little blood so we put the hen helper on.
2. covered in her own poo, very compacted. cleaned as best we could with wet paper towels and dish soap. would give her a bath if it wasn’t 25 degrees and snowing.
3. more bald in the bum area but not from being pecked at

thanks! we just want these ladies to be healthy and happy. we have had them for a week now and they are certainly doing better than when we picked them up!

 

[Debbie292d]

it seems like they did have a crappy diet and not much mental stimulation in their previous home. we got a better scratch and peck food and have been giving them fruits and veggies and letting them free range the yard. Our rescue chickens! What would you use to treat for mites? we were wondering about their bums… only 1/4 hens looks truly healthy but they each appeared to have a different issue when we picked them up.
1. pecked at by chicken #3. there was a little blood so we put the hen helper on.
2. covered in her own poo, very compacted. cleaned as best we could with wet paper towels and dish soap. would give her a bath if it wasn’t 25 degrees and snowing.
3. more bald in the bum area but not from being pecked at

thanks! we just want these ladies to be healthy and happy. we have had them for a week now and they are certainly doing better than when we picked them up!

Permethrin powder. It comes in a spray too but most folks don't want to get their chickens wet especially when it's cold outside.

A trick is to put that powder in an old sock and dust the chickens well with it, then do the coop too.