Is our hen a Black Orpington or a Black Australorp?

[3KillerBs]

Oops, I must have skipped over that. Were there any other black breeds in packs?

I didn't look past finding that one.

Since they do hatch and sell Black Sexlinks it's always possible that a chick got into a wrong bin/shipment.

 

[NatJ]

I didn't look past finding that one.

Since they do hatch and sell Black Sexlinks it's always possible that a chick got into a wrong bin/shipment.

Tractor Supply says those packs of chicks come from Hoovers.
Hoovers Black Sexlinks have a single comb:
https://hoovershatchery.com/BlackSexLink.html

So do most other Black Sexlinks. But OP's bird has a rose comb. So if it is a Black Sexlink, it is not the common kind.

The only bird I'm finding at Hoovers that comes in black with a rose comb is their Black Minorca:
https://hoovershatchery.com/blackminorca.html
"We offer the Black variety in both single comb and rose comb"
Minorcas have white skin, which is also right.
But OP's chicken is obviously not a Minorca (wrong body shape, wrong egg color, wrong earlobe color).

So I'm thinking OP's bird is not something Hoovers lists on their website. Either it's an oops crossbreed, or something they are working on but not yet offering to the public.

I can't think of any breed it could be, given the rose comb, not-yellow skin, brown eggs, red earlobes, and body shape. The comb is ruling out Orpington and Australorp, the skin color is ruling out Wyandotte, and the Minorca is ruled out for several reasons. A Black Hamburg would have the same problems as the Black Minorca: comb & skin right, but has the wrong body shape, earlobe color, and egg color.

 

[3KillerBs]

Tractor Supply says those packs of chicks come from Hoovers.
Hoovers Black Sexlinks have a single comb:
https://hoovershatchery.com/BlackSexLink.html

So do most other Black Sexlinks. But OP's bird has a rose comb. So if it is a Black Sexlink, it is not the common kind.

The only bird I'm finding at Hoovers that comes in black with a rose comb is their Black Minorca:
https://hoovershatchery.com/blackminorca.html
"We offer the Black variety in both single comb and rose comb"
Minorcas have white skin, which is also right.
But OP's chicken is obviously not a Minorca (wrong body shape, wrong egg color, wrong earlobe color).

So I'm thinking OP's bird is not something Hoovers lists on their website. Either it's an oops crossbreed, or something they are working on but not yet offering to the public.

I can't think of any breed it could be, given the rose comb, not-yellow skin, brown eggs, red earlobes, and body shape. The comb is ruling out Orpington and Australorp, the skin color is ruling out Wyandotte, and the Minorca is ruled out for several reasons. A Black Hamburg would have the same problems as the Black Minorca: comb & skin right, but has the wrong body shape, earlobe color, and egg color.

Perhaps an "egger" that didn't get the blue egg gene.

Or, as you suggested, something that's not listed in the catalogs yet but is being put into assorted packs.

In any case, an attractive hen.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Tractor Supply says those packs of chicks come from Hoovers.
Hoovers Black Sexlinks have a single comb:
https://hoovershatchery.com/BlackSexLink.html

So do most other Black Sexlinks. But OP's bird has a rose comb. So if it is a Black Sexlink, it is not the common kind.

The only bird I'm finding at Hoovers that comes in black with a rose comb is their Black Minorca:
https://hoovershatchery.com/blackminorca.html
"We offer the Black variety in both single comb and rose comb"
Minorcas have white skin, which is also right.
But OP's chicken is obviously not a Minorca (wrong body shape, wrong egg color, wrong earlobe color).

So I'm thinking OP's bird is not something Hoovers lists on their website. Either it's an oops crossbreed, or something they are working on but not yet offering to the public.

I can't think of any breed it could be, given the rose comb, not-yellow skin, brown eggs, red earlobes, and body shape. The comb is ruling out Orpington and Australorp, the skin color is ruling out Wyandotte, and the Minorca is ruled out for several reasons. A Black Hamburg would have the same problems as the Black Minorca: comb & skin right, but has the wrong body shape, earlobe color, and egg color.

Thanks for all of the information!

I really thought we could solve this mystery...welp, Mumble will be a mystery forever or for a long time.
It would be cool if Mumble was a breed they hadn't shown to the public yet.

 

[janiedoe]

She looks like a black wyandotte to me. The legs should be yellow, though.

 

[NatJ]

Perhaps an "egger" that didn't get the blue egg gene.

Maybe, but "eggers" usually have pea combs or single combs.
So having a rose comb would make her an unusual kind of egger, too.

In any case, an attractive hen.

I definitely agree with that

 

[janiedoe]

I believe Ideal Poultry had black wyandottes for a while.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I believe Ideal Poultry had black wyandottes for a while.

We got Mumble back in April 1st of 2020. She's 2 years old now. Could Tractor Supply have possibly gotten a Black Wyandotte from Ideal Poultry mixed in the bins and it just so happens those Black Wyandottes are a strain that don't have yellow legs?

 

[NatJ]

Could Tractor Supply have possibly gotten a Black Wyandotte from Ideal Poultry mixed in the bins

Yes. I've read that some Tractor Supply stores do get chicks from Ideal Poultry.

and it just so happens those Black Wyandottes are a strain that don't have yellow legs?

Yes, that is possible too. If their flock did have some birds with the wrong leg color, then some chicks would have that trait too.

If every bird in the flock shows yellow legs, they should never produce chicks with white legs, so the hatchery *should* be able to do a one-time cull of wrong leg colors and have correct yellow legs thereafter. But knowing they could does not say anything about what they actually did!

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Yes. I've read that some Tractor Supply stores do get chicks from Ideal Poultry.


Yes, that is possible too. If their flock did have some birds with the wrong leg color, then some chicks would have that trait too.

If every bird in the flock shows yellow legs, they should never produce chicks with white legs, so the hatchery *should* be able to do a one-time cull of wrong leg colors and have correct yellow legs thereafter. But knowing they could does not say anything about what they actually did!

What would happen if they didn't cull the ones who have wrong leg colors? If they kept breeding those birds, would that make the white leg gene spread and eventually take over the whole flock?