Cannot ID the breeds of my new chickens

[ladysidhe]

I would like some help in identifying breeds of two chickens I recently acquired. They've been running around our neighborhood for months, so I finally caught them and put them in with my girls. They're both very shy and while the male has begun to approach me when I have food, the female won't let me near her.

I'm pretty sure that the female is a black sex-link, but wonder if anyone could elaborate. She's mostly black (no iridescence) with brown accents. She appears to be an adult, but her comb is black and small, like a pullet, as if it's just started developing. I don't know if it's from malnutrition or because that's the kind of comb her breed has. It could be flat. She won't let me get close enough to tell. She seems to have HUGE eyes compared to all of the others. It was the first thing I noticed about her, and I thought at first it was because both she and her eyes are black, but, no, they're pretty big. She also has a little bit of white on the end of her tail feathers.

The rooster is not aggressive in the least. He's probably not much protection for the hens, but he's beautiful and I like looking at him. (I had a very sweet naked neck rooster that I lost to a dog a few years ago, and I've had to get rid of every rooster since then due to extreme aggression, so I haven't had them. His docile nature reminds me of my naked neck). He is red, brown, iridescent black, and white. He has a small floof on his head and what appears to be a double comb. None of the crested roosters I've googled looked like him, and none of the pictures of double-combed roosters I could find had crests.


I've only ever had ISA Browns, Golden Comets, and a couple of Barred Rocks, so I don't really know breeds. My best friend, who has many different types, said the male looks like a Mixed Cream Legbar. I found a crested legbar that looked similar, but the comb was wrong.

I will include some pictures, if that will help. One of each of them, and one of them together. If necessary, I will try to get better close-ups.

Thanks in advance.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Mutts! Pretty ones though.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Male looks like a possible Tolbundt Polish mix - but definitely a mix, as his comb is wrong for the breed and his legs are yellow, not gray. He's also quite lean, even for a Polish. I'd guess he's got some game mixed in.
NOT a black sexlink. The girl is some sort of gamefowl mix, which are naturally skittish, skinny, and great fliers - watch out! She's lovely, but will likely be a very different bird than your other hens. She won't lay many eggs, either. They were not bred to be producers like your hybrid hens; gamefowl are more "wildtype" and so are not efficient egg layers. You're correct that she looks like a young adult. When she does lay I'd expect small, cream to light brown eggs.

 

[ladysidhe]

Yes, she IS very skittish. I think she may have been laying, though, because I've been getting some very small eggs, which were cream-colored, in my daily collection (I thought they were the eggs that my younger chickens were laying, since they've just started), and once I found one on the ground rather than in the nesting box. She did try flying when I caught her, but not since.

With the male, I did initially find some gamefowl that resembled him. The information said they tended to be aggressive, though, so I figured he wasn't one of those. He's aggressively non-aggressive, if that makes sense. He and his female pretty much keep to themselves.

And this has nothing to do with the breed question, but one thing I do find odd is that, not only have none of my other chickens been aggressive with either one of them, in the pecking-order kind of way that happens when you introduce new chickens, but they've pretty much ignored them from the start and still do--as if they're not even there--which is weird. You expect at least a little henpecking with newcomers...but, honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd think my girls couldn't see them at all. They'll walk right into them sometimes, and my hens don't treat him like they treated the other roosters I've had. They just treat him like he's not there, and he doesn't really interact with them, either.

I think they're still getting used to being taken care of. The rooster will tentatively eat out of my hand sometimes--from as far away as possible--if the other chickens are doing it, but not if they aren't. When they're done and walk away, he does, too. The hen isn't having that at all. She wants nothing to do with me. But she doesn't run and hide anymore when I walk into the run, so there's that.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Yes, she IS very skittish. I think she may have been laying, though, because I've been getting some very small eggs, which were cream-colored, in my daily collection (I thought they were the eggs that my younger chickens were laying, since they've just started), and once I found one on the ground rather than in the nesting box. She did try flying when I caught her, but not since.

With the male, I did initially find some gamefowl that resembled him. The information said they tended to be aggressive, though, so I figured he wasn't one of those. He's aggressively non-aggressive, if that makes sense. He and his female pretty much keep to themselves.

And this has nothing to do with the breed question, but one thing I do find odd is that, not only have none of my other chickens been aggressive with either one of them, in the pecking-order kind of way that happens when you introduce new chickens, but they've pretty much ignored them from the start and still do--as if they're not even there--which is weird. You expect at least a little henpecking with newcomers...but, honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd think my girls couldn't see them at all. They'll walk right into them sometimes, and my hens don't treat him like they treated the other roosters I've had. They just treat him like he's not there, and he doesn't really interact with them, either.

I think they're still getting used to being taken care of. The rooster will tentatively eat out of my hand sometimes--from as far away as possible--if the other chickens are doing it, but not if they aren't. When they're done and walk away, he does, too. The hen isn't having that at all. She wants nothing to do with me. But she doesn't run and hide anymore when I walk into the run, so there's that.

Those little cream eggs are almost certainly hers, assuming you don't have any other hens that aren't brown layers (from what I can see, which is Barred Rocks and ISA Browns, you have all brown layers). It's good that she's laying! Means she's in good health and is not too stressed by the transition. She may warm up to you, but she also may not, unfortunately. Like I said earlier, game types are far more "wild" and are naturally skittish and wary. Especially if she's not spent much time in close proximity with humans. You're doing the best you can - spend time around her and show her you're not a threat.

Sounds like she and the rooster are sort of a bonded pair at the moment. That could change in the future, too, but she may always be his favorite wife, lol. The other hens will probably take time to warm up to him, but likely will eventually. He may never be your typical bossy rooster, though. They're all different, and he's likely not used to having a flock all to himself. IMO, nothing wrong with that, if it means he's not stirring trouble with the other hens. Better to have an overly polite rooster than one who harasses his hens! He's such a stunning color, too.

 

[ladysidhe]

Those little cream eggs are almost certainly hers, assuming you don't have any other hens that aren't brown layers (from what I can see, which is Barred Rocks and ISA Browns, you have all brown layers). It's good that she's laying! Means she's in good health and is not too stressed by the transition. She may warm up to you, but she also may not, unfortunately. Like I said earlier, game types are far more "wild" and are naturally skittish and wary. Especially if she's not spent much time in close proximity with humans. You're doing the best you can - spend time around her and show her you're not a threat.

Sounds like she and the rooster are sort of a bonded pair at the moment. That could change in the future, too, but she may always be his favorite wife, lol. The other hens will probably take time to warm up to him, but likely will eventually. He may never be your typical bossy rooster, though. They're all different, and he's likely not used to having a flock all to himself. IMO, nothing wrong with that, if it means he's not stirring trouble with the other hens. Better to have an overly polite rooster than one who harasses his hens! He's such a stunning color, too.

Oh, I don't mind at all that he's not aggressive. I prefer it. I had two other roosters who were raised from chicks (a Barred Rock and possibly a Rhode Island Red) and still attacked me every time I walked into the run. I had to get rid of them both. My girls are in a secure run, so I'm not really worried about anything getting to them. He's fine being ornamental.

And I have one Barred Rock that was given to me, three ISA Browns, two, possibly three Cinnamon Queens (one of them has a flat comb and she's the same age as the others, so I think she may be a different variety of red even though she was sold as a cinnamon), and, I'm pretty sure, a Black Star.