Mixed Heritage Breeds (McMurray Choice)

[six_chooks_for_now]

Hello! I got a mixed heritage breed order from McMurray - there were 5 different kinds

• Yellow chicks, feathering out reddish brown (New Hampshire?) ... can be aggressive but otherwise not personable
• Yellow chicks, feathering out white with some dark specks (Columbia Wyandotte?) ... one of them bites and they chirp extremely loud
• Grey fuzzy footed chicks, feathering out grey and white - Obviously Brahma but I think the light version (sorry, older photo) ... seem to be pretty calm
• Chipmunk chicks, feathering out with speckles - Guessing Speckled Sussex ... developing the fastest of all the breeds as far as feathering
• Black chicks with dot on head, feathered out with barring - Barred Rock? ... want to be escape artists, fly around a lot, and challenge me and the other chicks

So am I remotely close or way off?

 

[six_chooks_for_now]

Buler?

 

[NatJ]

I'm guessing you ordered straight run chicks--I think I see some cockerels in there.

Breeds:
Yellow chicks, feathering reddish brown: agree that New Hampshire is likely, but could also be Rhode Island Red.

Yellow chicks, feathering white with dark specks: Delaware, or Columbian Wyandotte. Depends on the comb--Delawares have a single comb (like most other chickens), and Wyandottes have a rose comb, which is wider, lower, and flatter. I cannot clearly see the comb on the chick you photographed, so I'm not sure which it is.

Gray fuzzy foot: agree, Light Brahma. (Comb type: pea comb. It's smaller than most other combs, which can be confusing when the cockerels start getting "big" red combs that are not as big as you might otherwise expect.)

Chipmunks feathering with speckles: agree, Speckled Sussex.

Black with dot on head: agree, Barred Rock.

 

[six_chooks_for_now]

Oh I should have mentioned! They are supposed to be all boys We ordered them as a special priced group. It'll be interesting to see if we end up with any pullets. They definitely SEEM like mostly cockerels. Big, tall legs, lots of challenging haha

Thanks for clearing up the Delaware vs Wyondotte - that means they are Delawares since they have a single comb.

 

[NatJ]

Oh I should have mentioned! They are supposed to be all boys

Oh, good. I'm glad that what you have, and what you thought you were getting, seem to match! (I've been seeing lots of threads with genders or breeds that do not match what they are supposed to be.)

 

[six_chooks_for_now]

I've been seeing lots of threads with genders or breeds that do not match what they are supposed to be.

Oh really?? That's terrible!

 

[NatJ]

I think it's partly the fault of feed stores that get the chicks and labels mixed up, and partly that people with no chicken experience buy cute chicks assuming they'll be female--and then a few weeks later they learn the meaning of "straight run." The fact that bantams are extra-cute and are only available straight run does not help!

I suppose it's not that many total threads, considering how busy this forum is lately, but any number still feels like too many.

One mixed-up-label story that's not particularly recent: last year my brother bought "Silver Laced Wyandottes" at his local feed store--and half of them were Black Australorps. (He was lucky: right gender, wrong breed but still fine for his purpose.)

 

[six_chooks_for_now]

@NatJ Ha! That's quite the difference in chicken! I think the laced Wyandottes look really different too as chicks? Last year we did get a "Color Pack" chicken from Wilco and she just looks like a Brown Leghorn that lays a brown egg instead of white Oh well!

 

[NatJ]

Yes, I also think the laced Wyandottes and the Black Australorps look different as chicks--but I suppose they do both have black and yellow, rather than being solid red or something like that.