Can Anyone Tell Me What Breed This Is?

[ChickenCatchaTori]

Hi Everyone. I've been lurking here for a long time. We just got our first chicken. She just showed up one morning on our front porch in early December! We realized that she had decided to roost in the trees in our backyard and stay for good : )

Sooooo... we built her a mobile coop. We named her Gracie and her coop has been named 'Gracie Mansion'. We don't know what breed or how old she is. We do know that she is very beautiful, friendly and smart!

Thanks in advance for any help,



Cherie & Walter

 

[Sunshine0235]

Maybe a wheaten game hen of some type? Im not really familiar with game chickens

 

[ChickenCatchaTori]

That was our guess - either some type of Wheaten or a Buff Sussex.
Her comb is just starting to become larger and turn a brighter red. That photo was from a few weeks ago.

She has so much personailty!!

 

[donrae]

Wheaton game hen. Sussex should have white/pink legs.

Plus, pretty much any time a bird "just shows up", game is a good guess

. They're scrappy little things, great foragers and good mommas.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Wheaton game hen. Sussex should have white/pink legs.

Plus, pretty much any time a bird "just shows up", game is a good guess

. They're scrappy little things, great foragers and good mommas.

I agree.

 

[BantamLover21]

Wheaton game hen. Sussex should have white/pink legs.

Plus, pretty much any time a bird "just shows up", game is a good guess

. They're scrappy little things, great foragers and good mommas.

x3

 

[Kev]

Agreed with show-uppers and also rescues from shelters.

Sussex are BIG very heavy birds.

 

[ChickenCatchaTori]

Thanks very much for all the replies! Now we at least know what breed she is : )

We wanted to get another hen so she would have some company. Any suggestions - or would she be better off alone?

Thanks again!

 

[Kev]

Game and game mixes are "aggressive".. particularly towards new birds. Even the girls turn into warriors and the winner can be kind of brutal for a while after wards. If her coop is smallish, would rather recommend letting her go broody and hatch out her life long companions.

Or let her go broody and tuck in day old sexed pullet chicks under her just after dark a.. so they have the whole night to bond and this way you don't have to deal with potential roosters if you don't want or can't keep any. Do this at the very least, 2 weeks after her start date but 3 weeks or more is even better. It's a hormonal cycle and the mothering instincts kick in after this period. Any breed or even mix will do. But if you want regular eggs, going with something like red or black sex links, barred rock, rhode island red will do. Otherwise just go with whatever strikes your fancy.

 

[ChickenCatchaTori]

Hi Kev,

Thanks for the reply. There is a lot to consider as we don't know how old she is or if she's ever been handled by humans, etc.

We have seen her around other birds (not chickens). Before we had the coop built, we would put her feed and water down in the yard in bowls. (*If I wasn't out there with her feed at 6am on the dot, she would stand at the gate and squawk to let me know she was hungry LOL!) Whatever feed she knocked out of the bowl, the wild birds would eat while sitting right next to her. She never became aggressive with them but I don't know if that means anything or not.

In a very short period of time, she has been able to get used to a routine with us and seems to trust us more each day. We let her out to free range in the morning and call her into the coop in the afternoon. Whenever we walk into the yard and call her name, she runs right up to greet us.

She's talkative but not noisy. She hasn't allowed us to touch her yet but will allow us to get very close to her.

I don't know if any of this makes a difference but just wanted to let you know about her personality. She's an awesome girl.