ISA browns vs. Starlight Green Eggers

[FeatherQueen3]

Hi, I tried to search this topic to no avail. I have some ISA browns and possibly starlight green eggers that are 4 weeks old in my brooder. They all look similar. I'm supposed to be giving a friend some ISA browns soon and don't want to accidentally give away my starlight greens. Is there a definitive way to tell them apart at this age? They all have some reddish feathers. There are two that have more white on their backs that I *think* are starlights but I know ISAs can have white mixed in too. Their combs appear to be the same and they all have yellow legs. Help?

 

[FeatherQueen3]

Well I may have found the answer to my own question on the hatchery website. Seems the ISAs should have single combs, and SGEs should have pea. Now to figure out how to tell the difference at this age.

 

[FunClucks]

You may be kind of stuck. I also have ISA Browns and SGEs that I raised in the same brooder, and if I hadn't kept up with them as chicks I'd have had trouble telling them apart. I know the ISA Browns went through a chick molt of mostly white feathers on their wings, and then the wings eventually turned red. The SGEs had lots of white on them and on their wings, but so did the ISA's. Eventually one of my SGEs ended up white with light red lacing, the ISA browns had heavy red lacing on their backs as adults but not as chicks, and solid red or white elsewhere. SGEs can also come in partridge and a number of other colors, but I have two that basically looked the same as the ISA browns as chicks.

As adults, the ISA browns that I have are larger and more blocky/solid bodied than the SGEs, which weigh less and are more streamlined. The SGEs are slightly more neurotic. Also as adults the SGEs combs tend to be floppy, they flop over sideways partway, while the ISA's combs are about the same size but stay upright.

Pics of my SGEs at 6-8 weeks attached.

One of my ISAs with wry-tail at 10 weeks

One of my SGEs at 4 wks:

SGEs at 1-2 wks

 

[FunClucks]

Well I may have found the answer to my own question on the hatchery website. Seems the ISAs should have single combs, and SGEs should have pea. Now to figure out how to tell the difference at this age.

Not sure what you were looking at, but none of my SGEs have pea comb. They're known for having straight comb. The prairie bluebell eggers have pea comb, if you have any of those.

 

[FunClucks]

If you do find a chick with pea comb, definitely hold onto it - pea comb is associated with the blue egg gene, so would be a sign you have a colored egger (blue, green, maybe olive sometimes?)

 

[FeatherQueen3]

Not sure what you were looking at, but none of my SGEs have pea comb. They're known for having straight comb. The prairie bluebell eggers have pea comb, if you have any of those.

On Hoover's website, it says "pea comb" for SGEs comb type. I don't think there's any pea combs in my mix either, lol. But now I will have to double check.

 

[FeatherQueen3]

https://www.hoovershatchery.com/starlightgreenegger.html

 

[FunClucks]

Well that's weird. It does say pea comb. All mine, and the adult chicken they picture on the website, have a single comb.

 

[FeatherQueen3]

Well that's weird. It does say pea comb. All mine, and the adult chicken they picture on the website, have a single comb.

LOL I just noticed the single comb on website pic. Maybe they made a typo.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Not sure what you were looking at, but none of my SGEs have pea comb. They're known for having straight comb. The prairie bluebell eggers have pea comb, if you have any of those.

Same for mine. All have single combs while my bluebells have pea.