Breeds Australorp and Barred.. eggs.. gender.. help!

[Tapestry]

Okay we got 2 day old chicks at the local feed store in July
I didn't think they would start laying this soon but I have gotten 12 eggs in the past 10 days.

None of the chickens are telling me who is laying.. but I am not sure if we got any roosteres either!
They are pretty camera shy but here are some pixs.. Any help would be appreciated!
The Australorps have white spots on their necks (both of them) does that mean anything?

And the other thing I thought these breeds gave brown eggs? so far they have all been white.

Carol in California

 

[willowbranchfarm]

They all look like girls to me. And those are not Australorps. Australorps have red ear lobes, yours have white. The other ones are Barred Rocks. The Black chickens you have will lay white eggs. The barred rocks will lay brown.

 

[mohawkbrian]

yes yor right, not australorps. Australorps are also a very heavy breed. They are based on orpingtons and so are rather large as well .They seem to me like minorcas or black leghorn or some mediteranian breed, but nice birds.

 

[Tapestry]

Wow really? they said Australorps at the feed store and Barred Rock which we knew.

I got 2 of each and I caught the Australorp in the nesting box where I found the white egg(thought my husband says it has a pink tint?)
They are really good gentle birds.. the black ones let me pick them up and pet them but
the barred are still a bit skittish though 1 barred let me pet her for a second the other day.

I don't get it now I have to start looking up what these black birds are they have beautiful green shiney
feathers in the sunlight but the white spot I couldn't figure out. But its a relief to think they are hens.
There tail feathers said girl but the red combs had that floppy look of a rooster and it got me concerned.

Thanks for your help I will try looking them up or call the feed store! maybe its a cross breed?
these are the eggs and another shot of the one with the large comb.. that worried us!

 

[Tapestry]

Could they be Livorno? I see this Italian Chicken that has the white spot
when i did a Yahoo check of chicken breeds


Carol in California

 

[ramirezframing]

the blacks look like minorcas or if their faces turn as white as their earlobes do- white faced black spanish, but since they don't have whiten of the face starting I'd say minorcas as leghorns should have yellow legs

 

[donrae]

I agree mincoras on the black birds. They're a relative of leghorns, thus the large floppy combs. And the lighter builds. They're your white egg layers.
Your barred rocks look like they should be laying, and they'll be brown eggs. Do they free range at all? Could you have hidden nests anywhere?

 

[hdowden]

the blacks are mincoras and are the ones laying the white eggs. the barred rocks will lay a light brown to a tinted brown that may look pink

 

[Tapestry]

I would agree to Mincoras but everything I read about them doesn't seem to apply to my birds.
They are so friendly and sweet
(Mincoras are supposed to be broody)
Mincoras aren't supposed to take well to cold weather and we have been having 27 degree nights and that isn't stopping them from laying eggs.

They free range for a few hours at least once or twice a week. They have a large coop and they are content with the chicken
run and they get greens from me plus their regular feed and occasionally meal worms when i get them from the pet store.
They have no light in the coop to continuously lay nor a heater they just seem to bundle together.
But at 7am they talk to me every morning.
None of them have time to hide any eggs I am with them watching over like a mother hen.
The black hens like to hang out by the dog door, I took one in the house one time she seemed to think that was cool

My guy said that he thought there was a couple tinged pink but they all look white to me and they certainly are tasty eggs!
Definitely no brown eggs but I thought at 6 months they would still be too young.. I got them all on the same day, July 6th.

Carol in California

 

[donrae]

But you can't always go by temperment, etc. for breed. Basically, you have a light bodied pure black bird with white earlobes that lays white eggs. I don't think there's another option!

They're a production type bird, they're like leghorns and bred to lay lots of eggs. I've never heard they're not cold weather birds, except the possibility of frostbite.

Temperature doesn't effect egg production. It's the amount of daylight.