Bad pictures but good chicks

[Pats Poultry]

We have 4 chicks and all I know about them is that they are mutts which is fine by us, If at all possible can anyone one tell us what these girls ( I thinks they re girls) might be made up of. Here are some of the bad pics of the good chicks.

This one is 3 weeks older than the other three




These two look exactly alike




and then there is the black sheep or yellow sheep of the bunch



Thank you for all of your help
Pat

 

[BantamLover21]

1st chick: Cochin or Cochin mix.
Birds in 2nd photo: Maybe black Wyandottes or Wyandotte mixes? (I think I might see a rose comb, but it is hard to tell with the photo).
Third photo chick: Production Red or Rhode Island Red mix.

 

[Chicken Girl1]

1st chick: Cochin or Cochin mix.
Birds in 2nd photo: Maybe black Wyandottes or Wyandotte mixes? (I think I might see a rose comb, but it is hard to tell with the photo).
Third photo chick: Production Red or Rhode Island Red mix.

x2

Does the last one have "puffy" cheeks?

 

[Pats Poultry]

x2

Does the last one have "puffy" cheeks?

Her cheeks do look a little puffier than the other two that are the same age. Now I have to look up the different breeds and read about my mutts. Good day to read as it is 5 below with a slight wind chill and 8" of snow on the ground. AHHH life is good.

 

[Pats Poultry]

Can I assume that they are all girls

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi.

I agree about the Cochin.

Where did you get them from? If they are straight run, it is unlikely they are all female.

 

[Pats Poultry]

Sorry to be a dumb as a bag of hammers but what does "straight run" mean

 

[EggSighted4Life]

No, it's not dumb!

Straight run means the chicks were not sexed, which can really only be done at the hatchery. So it will usually at the feed store say "straight run" or "pullets".

If they came from a hatching project or farm they are straight run. In which case usually produces 50% males and female. Though that can be skewed by chance when you pick them out. Two separate broods... first one of 8, I only got 3 females. Second time I got 3 out of 3 females....

So you call them mutts...... are they barnyard mixes? Do you know who's and what the breeds were that they had?

 

[Pats Poultry]

Yea, they are barnyard mixes and I have no idea what kind they came from. Long story short is we were wanting chickens so I started to build a coop and run late Sept thinking we were going to wait until spring to get chicks. My bride works with a gal who has chickens and she asked my bride if we wanted a few chicks the Saturday after Thanksgiving and two hours later we had these four chicks. If they do turn out to be boys the gal said she would take them back. We were not ready at the time but now that we have them I am glad we got them. Very entertaining

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Oh yes, I can watch chicken TV for hours!

Many of us aren't completely prepared, glad you are enjoying though.

To be honest, at least you will get eggs before to late in the year (2017)... My June girls are barely starting to lay right now and will still molt come next fall.

It's nice that you already have an out if they are cockerels. You can usually tell by 8 weeks on most pure breed. Mixes can be a little harder sometimes because who knows what size the combs are supposed to be.

Their behavior can be telling also. Boys tend to stand more upright and do a lot of chest bumping. But there are no absolutes.

I would try again in another week or so and see if you can get pics light enough. Also standing up side view is good to see how they are feathering in.

So you think they are mixes of mixes? Not one breed and one other breed? Or rather her chickens aren't pure breeds anymore, so that you would at least know what the possibilities were? It may not be important, but it sure is fun to try to figure out!