Is Veronica a Sumatra or Australop? You be the judge!

[BoiseChik]

I bought this chick at three weeks old and was told they had gotten it from a hatchery and that it was a Black Australop. Well, on a different thread someone pointed out that this chick looks more like a Black Sumatra. She is half the size of all the other chicks of the same age, and twice as brave and spunky. She had a big patch of white on her chest at 3 weeks old, but now at 7.5 weeks she has almost no white left except a little fluff under her beak. She is quick and hard to photograph, but she usually has a very erect head and tail carriage. The bottoms of her feet are a bright yellow, and I think she has a rose comb.

at 3 weeks




at 7 weeks old, rose comb? Pullet?






white fluff under chin


with a few, much larger friends



can't really see in this pic, but feathers have a blueish irridescent sheen


7.5 weeks old




again with much bigger friends of the same age





bright yellow feet







pointed & erect tail

 

[Wyandottes7]

She does appear to be a Sumatra. The comb is called a pea comb, and Sumatras have them. If she was an Australorp, she would have a single comb.

 

[BoiseChik]

Interesting. I checked with the seller again, and she confirmed that she was told this was a Black Australorp, and that she purchased it from our local hatchery. I also called the hatchery and they told me the same thing, that they sold Black Australorps but DO NOT sell Black Sumatras. Isn't that crazy? Could this be an Australorp with bad conformation, or do you think a Sumatra snuck in there somehow?

 

[CowGrrrl]

Sumatra. The comb, stance, body type, the way she holds her wings, pea comb and her black face are all dead giveaways.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Agreed. Sumatra.

 

[BoiseChik]

Seriously?! I'm shocked! Pleased, but shocked. It seems to be impossible, just because of where she came from, but I guess somehow someway, it's true. ;-D
Oh, and she looks like a pullet?

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Seriously?! I'm shocked! Pleased, but shocked. It seems to be impossible, just because of where she came from, but I guess somehow someway, it's true. ;-D
Oh, and she looks like a pullet?

 

[CowGrrrl]

Seriously?! I'm shocked! Pleased, but shocked. It seems to be impossible, just because of where she came from, but I guess somehow someway, it's true. ;-D
Oh, and she looks like a pullet?

Yeppers, pullet!

 

[BoiseChik]

I tried to get a few more pics of what this bird's tail and head carriage usually look like. I don't have the best camera on my phone, so a few are a bit blurry. Veronica is always in motion and she is quick! In these pics, she is about 7.5 weeks old. The fourth pic is typical for how she usually looks. Her tail is usually pretty erect and pointed, and looks like a little pyramid from the back.

 

[BantamLover21]

She is a Black Sumatra pullet. She has all the characteristics of a Sumatra: dark face, pea comb, yellow bottoms of feet, black legs, and lustrous black plumage.