Hoover's Mystery Rare Chicks

[NatJ]

I searched and searched for your middle one.and feom what I gather from the identifier app and hoovers page I wanna say a Plymouth Rock. I'm probably really wrong though. The identifier doesn't give the mixed brreeds.

Plymouth Rock is a breed that comes in several colors: white, barred, buff, partridge, and several others. The barred ones (black with white lines across the feathers) seem to be the best-known color of that breed.

None of those chicks is a Barred Plymouth Rock. The chick colors & patterns are wrong. Also, in the photos with some feathers coming in, none of them are right for a Barred Rock chick. A Barred Rock would have black feathers with white lines across them, on a chick with lots of black down and some yellow down in specific places.

 

[Aliceismad106]

Plymouth Rock is a breed that comes in several colors: white, barred, buff, partridge, and several others. The barred ones (black with white lines across the feathers) seem to be the best-known color of that breed.

None of those chicks is a Barred Plymouth Rock. The chick colors & patterns are wrong. Also, in the photos with some feathers coming in, none of them are right for a Barred Rock chick. A Barred Rock would have black feathers with white lines across them, on a chick with lots of black down and some yellow down in specific places.

Wow. That's a wealth of info. I'm still learning and it's so complex. I don't think I ever get it right. The list that hoovers has on their website is what I looked at and tried to compare colors. The only other one I could think was an egger. I'll keep studying!

 

[NatJ]

Wow. That's a wealth of info. I'm still learning and it's so complex.

Yes, it can be very confusing, especially at first.

I don't think I ever get it right. The list that hoovers has on their website is what I looked at and tried to compare colors. The only other one I could think was an egger. I'll keep studying!

My best guesses: the one with feathered feet Dark Brahma, and the one with black back and yellow belly Ancona.

The other chick looks blue to me in the second set of photos, although I wasn't as sure in the first set of photos. If it is blue, it could be Sapphire Gem, or Sapphire Olive Egger, or Blue Andalusian, or Blue Copper Marans, or Blue Australorps, or something else that's all blue or mostly blue.

Yes, it can be hard looking at lists and trying to figure them out. For each kind of chick, there are usually some color variations that can happen, and some that cannot, and the photos do not show all the options.

 

[Aliceismad106]

Yes, it can be very confusing, especially at first.


My best guesses: the one with feathered feet Dark Brahma, and the one with black back and yellow belly Ancona.

The other chick looks blue to me in the second set of photos, although I wasn't as sure in the first set of photos. If it is blue, it could be Sapphire Gem, or Sapphire Olive Egger, or Blue Andalusian, or Blue Copper Marans, or Blue Australorps, or something else that's all blue or mostly blue.

Yes, it can be hard looking at lists and trying to figure them out. For each kind of chick, there are usually some color variations that can happen, and some that cannot, and the photos do not show all the options.

Do you have any suggestions on good reference material? There are so many things on the internet but I have recently had a lot of neurological issues pop up that is effecting my comprehensive skills so I need an easy to follow guide

 

[NatJ]

Do you have any suggestions on good reference material? There are so many things on the internet but I have recently had a lot of neurological issues pop up that is effecting my comprehensive skills so I need an easy to follow guide

Hmm, that's a hard one. I don't know of any easy guide. I can tell how I do it, although I don't know if my way will work for you or not.

If I don't already know what a chick is, I tend to start with chick id guides, then for every chick that looks even remotely close* I will look for more information on that breed. For example, McMurray hatchery has many breeds of chickens, and for most breeds they have a video of the chicks, with tips on recognizing them. I also look for specific details that I can check: feathered feet or not, muff/beard (puffy cheeks) or not, crest or not, foot color, comb type, and so forth. Comb type is hard to see on young chicks, although rose combs are usually obvious to me (flat, and much wider than single combs).

*When I say "looks even remotely close," I pretty much mean: is it solid colored vs. any kind of pattern, generally dark or light in color, with or without feathered feet. That cuts the options down a ways, and then I can start paying attention to which pattern, or red vs. yellow, or shades of gray, or foot color, or whatever else may indicate one breed or another.

For ones where I already know something, it goes faster. For example, a chick that is completely white or yellow, and then grows a few white feathers, is usually going to grow up white. So I start looking at white breeds, and check through the details of foot feathering, foot color, comb type, and so forth.

For me, identifying chicks (or adult chicken breeds) is a lot like working through a list of options, and crossing them off one by one until I'm left with just a few, or hopefully just one.

 

[Aliceismad106]

Hmm, that's a hard one.

If I don't already know what a chick is, I tend to start with chick id guides, then for every chick that looks even remotely close* I will look for more information on that breed. For example, McMurray hatchery has many breeds of chickens, and for most breeds they have a video of the chicks, with tips on recognizing them. I also look for specific details that I can check: feathered feet or not, muff/beard (puffy cheeks) or not, crest or not, foot color, comb type, and so forth. Comb type is hard to see on young chicks, although rose combs are usually obvious to me (flat, and much wider than single combs).

*When I say "looks even remotely close," I pretty much mean: is it solid colored vs. any kind of pattern, generally dark or light in color, with or without feathered feet. That cuts the options down a ways, and then I can start paying attention to which pattern, or red vs. yellow, or shades of gray, or foot color, or whatever else may indicate one breed or another.

For ones where I already know something, it goes faster. For example, a chick that is completely white or yellow, and then grows a few white feathers, is usually going to grow up white. So I start looking at white breeds, and check through the details of foot feathering, foot color, comb type, and so forth.

For me, identifying chicks (or adult chicken breeds) is a lot like working through a list of options, and crossing them off one by one until I'm left with just a few, or hopefully just one.

Thank You!!

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Hmm, that's a hard one. I don't know of any easy guide. I can tell how I do it, although I don't know if my way will work for you or not.

If I don't already know what a chick is, I tend to start with chick id guides, then for every chick that looks even remotely close* I will look for more information on that breed. For example, McMurray hatchery has many breeds of chickens, and for most breeds they have a video of the chicks, with tips on recognizing them. I also look for specific details that I can check: feathered feet or not, muff/beard (puffy cheeks) or not, crest or not, foot color, comb type, and so forth. Comb type is hard to see on young chicks, although rose combs are usually obvious to me (flat, and much wider than single combs).

*When I say "looks even remotely close," I pretty much mean: is it solid colored vs. any kind of pattern, generally dark or light in color, with or without feathered feet. That cuts the options down a ways, and then I can start paying attention to which pattern, or red vs. yellow, or shades of gray, or foot color, or whatever else may indicate one breed or another.

For ones where I already know something, it goes faster. For example, a chick that is completely white or yellow, and then grows a few white feathers, is usually going to grow up white. So I start looking at white breeds, and check through the details of foot feathering, foot color, comb type, and so forth.

For me, identifying chicks (or adult chicken breeds) is a lot like working through a list of options, and crossing them off one by one until I'm left with just a few, or hopefully just one.

The only thing I would add to this is I usually make sure I know where the chicks came from, since that can narrow things down a lot to start with. If possible, I use the chick ID guide or catalogue from that hatchery so I’m not sidetracked by breeds that place doesn’t even sell.

 

[Shipgirl]

Was your order one of the assortments? Knowing which assortment you ordered will narrow down likely breeds.