Brown chicken + two different Barred Rocks?

[Lyris]

I pulled these girls out of a canyon roughly a week ago so history/age is unknown. The only thing I know for sure is they're females. They all seem to be roughly the same size aside from the larger barred rock.

One of them looks like my Rhode Island Red, but she's more of a cinnamon color rather than a dark brown like mine and my neighbor's hens. She had been scalped before I rescued her so I don't know what kind of comb she had. She has huge bug eyes that don't look anything like the RIRs I've seen. Her personality is also wrong from what I've experienced with RIRs. She's the only one I can't confirm for sure is laying so I don't know her egg color. Is she just a light RIR or is she something else?

This one is probably super easy and I'm thinking two much about it. The two barred rocks I rescued have very different combs. The smaller one has a big, floppy comb with soft rounding. The larger one has a stiffer comb with sharper edges. Are comb differences like that normal within barred rocks? I know it's a silly question, but it's driving me bonkers. (They lay light pink eggs)

This is the smaller one. You can see how floppy her comb is. She likely had a broken leg that healed weird so she walks a bit wonky.

And this is the larger one. Her eyes are also a different shape. More sunken in maybe?

Here they are side by side.

 

[JedJackson]

Good job at rescuing these ladies! The leg color seems off for the barred rocks. I wouldn't be surprised if these are all barnyard mixes.

 

[Lyris]

Good job at rescuing these ladies! The leg color seems off for the barred rocks. I wouldn't be surprised if these are all barnyard mixes.

The specific spot I found these chickens is the exact same spot I've found abandoned rabbits and someone found a duck before. I have heard that someone found an entire flock of 12+ chickens up there but I don't know if it's the same area. It seems to be a popular area for abandoning animals. I have a lady who jogs the pathway several times a week. She's been keeping an eye out and letting me know when there are animals that don't belong. Somehow I have become the one people come to when they find abandoned chickens. Usually roosters. These are the first hens I've collected.

The top two eggs are the barred rock girls. The one below them is from my black sex-link, as are the two brown ones below it. The two on the bottom are from my Easter eggers. (My bantam EE lays light brown eggs) My camera doesn't really catch the proper coloring unfortunately. It's a bit washed out. But they're a pink-ish color. They've just started laying properly again. When I got them they were having problems with getting the "ink" right on the eggs and had calcium buildup. Their yolks are still pretty light, but they have the egg shapes down well.

I didn't consider barnyard mixes. I assumed someone didn't want to deal with the fact that they have a respiratory illness and got rid of them. I'm almost wondering if the big barred rock is older than the other three but I don't know if there's a way to tell. They are *incredibly* soft. It's almost like silk. Is there a breed they could potentially be mixed with that would create the silky feathering? Or is it more likely that it's from their previous environment? They're incredibly friendly and like being held so I suspect they got a lot of attention.

 

[JedJackson]

Feather quality varies. Some have softer feathers, some have harder feathers. A breed like Cochin or Orpington is known for softer feathers, but it can occur in most regular breeds.

Your barred girls may have cuckoo Marans rather than barred rock genes. They do appear mixed to me, though. The red one is probably just a production type of Rhode Island red, or cross of that.

As for age, generally you go bye behavior and the number of eggs being laid. Older hens lay less, and are more seasonal layers. The smoothness of the scales of their legs is another way some people can guess age.

To me, yours look 2 or 3 years old. They look pretty healthy.

It is a shame people are just dumping domestic animals. They don't have much chance of surviving out in nature.

 

[Lyris]

Feather quality varies. Some have softer feathers, some have harder feathers. A breed like Cochin or Orpington is known for softer feathers, but it can occur in most regular breeds.

Your barred girls may have cuckoo Marans rather than barred rock genes. They do appear mixed to me, though. The red one is probably just a production type of Rhode Island red, or cross of that.

As for age, generally you go bye behavior and the number of eggs being laid. Older hens lay less, and are more seasonal layers. The smoothness of the scales of their legs is another way some people can guess age.

To me, yours look 2 or 3 years old. They look pretty healthy.

It is a shame people are just dumping domestic animals. They don't have much chance of surviving out in nature.

The bigger one definitely looks like she has a cuckoo maron comb from what I can tell. It would explain her thicker, larger comb. She also has thicker legs. She's a bit of a brat and is currently in isolation for temperament problems. That girl has no shame, fear, and has no problem beating up the other hens/rooster. The other barred rock is incredibly docile and so, so friendly. I've never had barnyard mixes before. I'm used to feed store chicks where you pretty confidently say that X breed will have Y personality traits. I guess we can all go on a fun adventure learning about each other if they're not an established breed! Although one is definitely an Easter egger of some kind. She has an amazing beard.

They're currently sick with a respiratory illness. I swear every other chicken owner in my state has the same thing going on so it's not surprising. Despite that at least three of them are daily layers. I don't know that the red one lays, although today she fluffed a nest and sat in it for a moment. I can't tell if a chicken is underweight but they seem okay. The smaller three are lighter than my RIR which is why I thought they were young. They also gobble more food between the four of them than my flock of 10+. I don't think they're used to free-ranging for food.

This is the other one who I'm sure is an EE. My EE didn't have a beard. Hers is amazing. (She looked a little rough on the way home - she jumped into a river and tried to drown herself)

Anyway, as long as I know what they are - even if it's just a barnyard mix - then I can stop wondering and focus on getting them healthy and loved.