Mixed Breed?

[Pine9]

I have 5 young ancona hens that I raised from chicks. They came from a local chicken/barn supply store. However, one of them is radically different from the rest in terms of body structure and size, despite having similar plumage. Her name is Sunny and compared to the rest, she is huge. She had always been the biggest when they were all chicks, but as they grew she I began to think she was severely overweight. However, her feet are naturally thicker and her feathers, instead of sticking up like a fan, are short and rounded. Her comb is considerably smaller, and at first I thought she had stunted development, but she laid her first viable egg today (the first two were shell-less). The strange thing was that it was brown--anconas are only supposed to lay white eggs!

So I did some research and found out that if brown-laying hens start laying white eggs, it could mean illness. But I found nothing about the reverse situation. What led me to the idea that Sunny could be a hybrid is that unlike her sisters, Sunny has red earlobes. I found out that chicken breeds with white earlobes tend to lay white eggs, and breeds with red earlobes tend to lay brown eggs and be larger in size.

Here they are digging up some mulch. Sunny is the big one in the middle. If you need a better quality picture or comparisons, let me know.

So, thoughts? Mutation, or a hybrid who sneaked into the mix? I'm curious! And thanks for reading btw

 

[TexasSam]

What color are her eggs

 

[Pine9]

What color are her eggs

brown. only her's are brown; everyone else's are white

 

[pineapple416]

I am almost 100% sure that Sunny is a mottled Java. We have a mottled Java hen named Sugar that looks very similar to her. Mottled Java hens lay large brown eggs. She must have just sneaked into the mix, probably looking very similar to the Ancona's when they were chicks. We had a hen who sneaked into a mix of buff Orpington's, and she ended up being an enormous 10 pound New Hampshire cross. Sunny looks so cute in the middle of all your little Anconas!

 

[Pine9]

I am almost 100% sure that Sunny is a mottled Java. We have a mottled Java hen named Sugar that looks very similar to her. Mottled Java hens lay large brown eggs. She must have just sneaked into the mix, probably looking very similar to the Ancona's when they were chicks. We had a hen who sneaked into a mix of buff Orpington's, and she ended up being an enormous 10 pound New Hampshire cross. Sunny looks so cute in the middle of all your little Anconas!

Thank you so much for your reply. It definitely looks like her! It feels good to have cracked the mystery and find out that nothing is wrong with her.

p.s. I forgot to note that Sunny seems to have a "deeper voice" compared to the others. Is that normal too?

 

[TexasSam]

Then she definitely isn't A Ancona
I am thinking Sussex

 

[TexasSam]

https://www.cacklehatchery.com/medi...ab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/h/chickens-4.jpg
This is A Sussex

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...rzVAhVM74MKHY7kC5IQMwhBKAIwAg&iact=mrc&uact=8
Java
Check out the difference of the combs and waddle

 

[Pine9]

https://www.cacklehatchery.com/medi...ab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/h/chickens-4.jpg
This is A Sussex

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d9/c1/35/d9c13517df9fa0d2db891dc21956dc48.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/2462974766392187/&docid=yx4XiIyv6c649M&tbnid=R95m2o0Pr5YCnM:&vet=10ahUKEwjU37PP0rzVAhVM74MKHY7kC5IQMwhBKAIwAg..i&w=286&h=298&hl=en-US&bih=660&biw=414&q=mottled java&ved=0ahUKEwjU37PP0rzVAhVM74MKHY7kC5IQMwhBKAIwAg&iact=mrc&uact=8
Java
Check out the difference of the combs and waddle

It is hard to tell, but I'm still thinking Java because the pullet and chick appearances are very similar to what she looked like, and the rounded butt seems to be more common in the Javas. The comb and wattle also look more similar to me but then again I have an untrained eye. Also, you can't see it in my picture, but Sunny's feet are yellow with mottled black. A lot of the Sussexes have a brownish tinge to their feathers, which Sunny doesn't have.

 

[TexasSam]

It is hard to tell, but I'm still thinking Java because the pullet and chick appearances are very similar to what she looked like, and the rounded butt seems to be more common in the Javas. The comb and wattle also look more similar to me but then again I have an untrained eye. Also, you can't see it in my picture, but Sunny's feet are yellow with mottled black. A lot of the Sussexes have a brownish tinge to their feathers, which Sunny doesn't have.

True true some of these breeds are very hard to tell apart

 

[JedJackson]

I am almost 100% sure that Sunny is a mottled Java. We have a mottled Java hen named Sugar that looks very similar to her. Mottled Java hens lay large brown eggs. She must have just sneaked into the mix, probably looking very similar to the Ancona's when they were chicks. We had a hen who sneaked into a mix of buff Orpington's, and she ended up being an enormous 10 pound New Hampshire cross. Sunny looks so cute in the middle of all your little Anconas!

I agree. Definitely a mottled Java and not a Sussex. Sussex have white legs and they don't come in the mottled color variety as far as I know. Speckled Sussex have a deep brown background color, not black.