INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Faraday40]

Does anyone know a trick to identify whether a chick is a Speckled Sussex, Brown Leghorn, or Welsummer?

When I was venting about the recent trouble with my Spitzhauben order, I didn't realize that they may have mixed up my SS as well. Last year I had a wonderful experience ordering Cackle chicks via Farm N Fleet. This year I went with the new store that is slightly closer. Basically they put all the special orders on the sales floor in one big tub. When I went to pick them up, a sales girl took the Cackle catalog & tried to pick out my chicks from the bin. She pulled out an EE & asked if it were a Spitzhauben. ??? I only found 3 chicks that resembled Spitzes, so they ordered me 3 that should arrive in April. I think they probably gave my Spitzes to someone else.

They had several chipmunk-like chicks. When I asked, they said that multiple customers had ordered speckled sussex. I took 5 & went home. Later I realized that they may not be pullets like I had paid for & perhaps even a different breed. They do not have pea combs nor beards, so EEs are the only kind I can rule out for now. That's why I'm asking if there may be any tips to help tell the differences between breeds. All have the "eyeliner" and 3 dark stripes, but a couple look fluffier. What shank color should they have? Any feather patterns to look for?


Here are the 1st 3 of the 5 chicks with view from the front, side wings, & top back. They are about 8-9 days old.







Here are the other 2 with pics from the same angles.

 

[Faraday40]

More chick pics:

Here are Oopsie's chicks. (She has a 3rd one, but It's leg band fell off.) The blue one acts pretty friendly & DD likes it - which has always meant: rooster. However, its sibling looks about the same. Can't guess on gender yet.





Also can't tell if blue has a very slight head spot / barring. Oopsie's the only Orp that could make a blue chick. If it's barred, then Brick would have to be the father.

Close up of blue orp's wings. What do you think?



I only have one chick that I truly feel is a male. (I think it may be a Bielefelder mix, because it just has that shape. I'm pretty sure it's not a purebred black cuckoo orp & therefore likely a male biele x orp mix.)

 

[Faraday40]

Here are my Silver Appenzeller Spitzhauben. (They borrowed a guitar from Barbie....)

These are so much lighter than the ones I hatched last year.

 

[Faraday40]

Out of all the beautiful chicks, DD's 3 silkies are her favs. They were an assortment of silkie eggs from eBay that we bought for her bday. We know nothing about how to tell gender, so if anyone has a guess or some tips, please share

The middle one with the large vault & cheeks is her fav. Sadly it also has a pink toe which I know it should not have.


The other two do not have the typical silkie heads, but do have the black skin & 5 toes.


This one below looks black until I get very close. Might be developing rust-brown highlights. It also has a different stance. Tail goes upward instead of out. (Can easily see it in the 1st pic with all 3.) Not sure if it's a gender difference, b/c this is our 1st time with silkies.





The last one also looked black, but now looks like it may be developing barring.


It has long feather shafts

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

@Faraday40 Your chipmunk chicks look like Sussex to me. I've had at least one each of Speckled Sussex, Light Brown Leghorn, and Welsummer. The Sussex have a distinctive light, almost buttery-colored chest and belly. Leghorns have brownish bellies, and I believe the Welly did, too, but let me make sure.



Here is the LB Leghorn as a chick:

Here is the Welsummer:

All of my pictures of my Speckled Sussex as chicks were taken in weird lighting (that was WAY back when I still used a heat lamp--yuck!), so their pictures aren't great. Here's about the best I have to show the 'butter belly':

Editing to add, also, they're totally adorable, the lot of them. I've been looking longingly into the chick bins at Rural King this week. I believe I may have gone broody. I was expecting chicks this week, but turns out I was a week off on the due date and they won't be here for another week. Not sure if I'm totally bummed because I have to wait another week for babies or a bit relieved that they aren't shipping during this cold spell. I'm already nervous enough because I normally never have chicks shipped, but I really wanted those Colored Dorkings, so I'm giving it a shot...

 

[Finnie]

@Faraday40I was thinking the same thing Pipd said about your sussex chicks. They have the lighter colored chest area. I have both SS and brown leghorn in my brooder right now, and the lighter chest is how I've been telling them apart. (Although I just put leg rings on the SS this afternoon in case I can't tell them apart later.) Also, SS are supposed to have white skin, so yours look good on that count.

I'll see if I can get some pics of my chicks. (But I don't have any Welsummers.)

 

[Finnie]

My photos pretty much confirm what Pipd's photos did, the brown leghorns have a brown wash to their chest down which the SS lack. You can also see that my brown leghorn has a yellow overlay on the legs.

Brown Leghorn:

Speckled Sussex:

I think there is a good chance they got your SS right.

 

[Faraday40]

Thanks
@pipdzipdnreadytogo and @Finnie

There are some subtle differences in my chicks, but they all have the "butter bellies." LOL- I like that term!
A few of mine look more fluffy. Some have very light stripes filling the space between the 3 dark stripes, others just have brown there. I made sure to get ones with 3 stripes though.

It wouldn't be bad to try out the other 2 breeds, but the goal is to try out one SS this year. We plan to sell the other pullets, so if we have more than one breed, I know I'll end up keeping more than one of these cuties. Darn chicken math!

 

[Faraday40]

Well on closer inspection, we have ONE chick that looks a little different.
The rest of the SS have the light "butter belly" all the way up to their beaks. The one on the left has a brown neck.

The legs are "close" in color, but the chick on left also has a little more color to her legs.

Again, the left chick has a different color in between the 3 stripes. (Side stripes are covered by their wings already.)



Guess I'll have to keep at least TWO of them to find out what they are!!!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Oops, yup, I see her now in those first pictures you posted. Sorry! Should be interesting to find out what she grows up to be, though! I'm not sure if it's even possible to tell Welsummers and LB Leghorns apart at this age, if those are the only two other options. It should become apparent which breed she is if a huge comb starts coming in. Don't panic if that's the case--Leghorn girls get their combs in early! Here is my LB Leghorn, Tiwhiri, when she was just 3 1/2 weeks old, at which age she was predicted by others to be a cockerel on more than one occasion: