Banties Hatched from Eggs - No Idea of Breed or Gender

[ashsmith]

I have 4 month-old banties that were hatched from eggs (puchased from Ideal Poultry) at my school. Any feedback would be appreciated since I am new to chickens and have no idea about which breed or gender they are.

Chick # 1: It was a cute little yellow fluffball as a day-old hatchling. Now it is a month old, off-white chick. It does not appear to have much comb development. Breed? Gender?

Chick # 2: It was a mainly black hatchling with some white on its underside. It has shiny, black feathers now that seem to have a greenish, purplish sheen in the light. Slight comb development.
Breed? Gender?

Chick # 3: It was a light ginger hatchling. Now has darker red feathers. Very shiny. Slight comb development. Breed? Gender?

Chick # 4: This one looked like a little chipmunk when it hatched. I'm pretty sure it is a rooster because its comb is MUCH more developed than the other month-old banties. Its comb is also starting to acquire a reddish hue. Breed? Gender?

Again, I would greatly appreciate any ideas any of your may have as to the breed and gender of these chicks. I have never kept chickens before and, despite reading numerous chicken books in the past couple weeks, cannot figure out their breeds and genders. (I think chick 2 might be a black australorp, and I think chick 4 is a roo, but I'm not sure.) They were 1 month old on May 6.

Thanks in advance for any feedback you can give

 

[Cats Critters]

Here are my guesses:

#1 Easter Egger Girl
#2 Black australorp ?
#3 Rhode Island Red or maybe a New Hampshire Red ?
#4 ? Roo

 

[Iluvmypeeps]

1. Easter Egger, hen
2. Australorp, Roo
3. Rhode Island Red, possible Roo
4. Some sort of rooster, not sure which

 

[ashsmith]

Thanks for the speedy feedback! I really hope #1 is an Easter Egger hen. I'd love to get some pretty eggs from her later

Also, when I re-read my post, I realized that it was rather misleading. I meant to say that I have 4 chicks that are each 1-month old. When reading it, one could get the impression that I was indicating that they were 4 mos. old (which I did not mean to say).

Thanks again for the fast responses.

 

[momofspoiledchicks]

Hi! I was looking at your post because I have some Banties that I am curious about the breed of also. Just wondering, are those cedar chips in with the chicks? Not trying to sound like a know it all, but I have read that cedar chips can cause respitory problems in chickens. If they are cedar, you may want to switch to pine shavings. Just trying to help out a little! Good luck with your chicks! They sure are cute!

 

[MelodyHightower]

#4 is a brown leghorn roo. He looks just like mine

 

[ashsmith]

Quote:
Thanks for the feedback about my chicks

I have a mix of about 95% pine shavings and 5% (IF that much) cedar in my coop. I have read that cedar shavings can be harmful, but I am using them in such small quantity and in a very well-ventilated coop that I am not worried about it. Besides, Barbara Kilarski, the author of Keep Chickens, uses cedar in her coop. Where I live (Gulf Coast), it gets very hot and humid, and flies are BAD in the summer. Even with a complete bedding change weekly, I find that a couple handfuls of cedar chips seems to help keep flies down. Also, I've read that a little cedar can keep pests (such as ticks and lice) out of the coop.

It's a risk I'm willing to assume.

 

[ashsmith]

Quote:
Eventually, I'm going to have to get rid of any roos. Do you want another one? If you're anywhere near Beaumont or Orange, I could probably get him to you. (I visit SW LA frequently.)

Otherwise, I'm going to have to post a "free to a good home" ad on craigslist for the roos (One option I considered was getting them caponized, but that's probably too expensive to be practical. I also considered turning them into dinner, but I just can't bring myself to eat a pet.)