My new flock

[SeasideChef]

Hi all! New here on this great forum, and would like to ask you if I got the breeds right. They are 6 days old now. We got them three days ago at a local farm store. At first, going to the store, we had our hearts set on Rhode Island Reds. But when we started talking to the store's owner and looking at all the breeds they had, the owner said that it would be fine getting a variety of breeds as long as they are all babies. So here we are, with 5 new birds. In all the excitement, I forgot to write the breed names down. So when making these pics, I mostly wrote the breed names by memory and some online research. We named each chick, and the only one I am not sure at all of the breed is "Sunflower". She is all yellow and from what I gather will be a white hen. Please let me know if I got all the breed names right and what "Sunflower" is. Thank you!

 

[Chicken Girl1]

Your guesses seem to be correct except for Rainbow which is probably an Easter Egger often sold as Ameraucanas at feed stores and hatcheries. Sunflower could be a White Plymouth Rock, a Leghorn, or a male sex link.

 

[SeasideChef]

Thank you for your reply! The store's owner said that Rainbow who was listed as Ameraucana, is also called "Easter Egger", and that got me a little confused, because when looking online Ameraucana is listed as a different breed from Easter Egger. She is definitely the most "social" of all 5 so far, with the loudest chirp and loves to climb on hands.

 

[Chicken Girl1]

Thank you for your reply! The store's owner said that Rainbow who was listed as Ameraucana, is also called "Easter Egger", and that got me a little confused, because when looking online Ameraucana is listed as a different breed from Easter Egger. She is definitely the most "social" of all 5 so far, with the loudest chirp and loves to climb on hands.

Ameraucanas are pretty hard to find, only good breeders I believe have them. But EEs are actually not a recognized breed, so technically speaking they are mutts but they are wonderful anyways!

 

[SeasideChef]

Update:
We just went back to the farm store where we got the chicks and spoke with the owner. She said that the yellow chick is Leghorn, and also confirmed that the Easter egg layer is an Ameraucana.

 

[Chicken Girl1]

Update:
We just went back to the farm store where we got the chicks and spoke with the owner. She said that the yellow chick is Leghorn, and also confirmed that the Easter egg layer is an Ameraucana.

Unless they are actually Ameraucana breeders I doubt they are true Ameraucanas. I would check out the Amereaucana breed standards when it is older to see if it meets them.

 

[SeasideChef]

Unless they are actually Ameraucana breeders I doubt they are true Ameraucanas. I would check out the Amereaucana breed standards when it is older to see if it meets them.

And I'll keep posting pics here too as they grow and change. It'll be interesting to see what they are like when fully grown.

 

[SeasideChef]

Exploring the back yard for the first time, with supervision of course.

 

[ChickenChaser9]

Firstly let me say that you have started down a very rewarding path that is backyard chicken raising. These little ones burrow their way into the heart with their zest for life. If I might offer some information regarding the common traits of the breeds you have, I would start with the Red Sex Link or "Daisy".

The RSL have been breed as a hybrid to be the most prolific egg layers in the world. That being said, the extreme levels of hybridization can lead to some genetic problems. For instance my first RSL "Adventure Chicken" had trouble with her lay. She had what were essentially narrow hips and became egg bound about two weeks after laying. They are also not as 'sturdy' as other breeds, being intended as indoor factory chickens and are thusly less able to resist injury and illness as other breeds of birds. You can expect her to be one of the smaller birds in your flock but she will likely be happy at the bottom of the pecking order.

The Rhode Island Red "Foxy": A fun name for her, RRs tend to be flighty around humans and dominant/assertive around the other chickens so you can expect that she will try to run the flock as Alpha Hen and may cause you some trouble if she does not establish her place at the top early on. RRs are a dual purpose bird meaning they are a meat and egg laying breed so she will be bigger
possibly topping out at 6 lbs at maturity. Expect between 250-320 eggs the first year of her lay with the number of eggs dropping off slightly in the following years but still giving you almost 5 eggs/week.

The White Leghorn "Sunflower": Smaller than he RR at maturity (topping out at barely 5 lbs) they have a fairly comparable ratio of eggs laid/week they were the go-to breed for commercial egg laying before the RSLs took over as queens of laying. They lay white eggs and tend to be mild mannered. They will hop up onto any high places they can reach and tend to be shy around humans unless handled regularly from a young age. You can expect her to be near the bottom of the pecking order with Daisy.

The Barred/Plymouth Rock "Princess": Another dual purpose breed, she will certainly be as large as Foxy the RR if not a little larger. Expect her to be one of the leaders due to her size. They are a cold hearty bird and you should not notice a drop in egg production during the winter like you can expect from the leghorn. I have never raised them myself but from what I've heard they are not so flighty or adventuresome as the other breeds you have. They lay large brown eggs 4 or 5 per week on average.

The Ameraucana "Rainbow": Several people have already correctly stated that these birds are essentially mutts and therefor their characteristics and personalities vary widely depending on where they came from. There exists a great deal of variance in the genetic quality of commercially raised chickens. Chances are you will find certain breed are better at certain activities like foraging and leadership.

I hope this was informative. Let me know If I can answer any questions.

 

[SeasideChef]

Fabulous post, Chicken Chaser, and thank you for all the great info! I read your post out loud for my kids, so they get more educated on our new pets.

They are growing so fast, and recently discovered they have wings. The other day I found some poo outside their box, but all the birds were inside the box. They are in a small warm room with nothing that would hurt them, but I still wanted to make sure they all stay safe inside the box for now. Then later in the day I caught in the act the rascal who'd been sneaking out of the box - Rainbow. So we made a wire net top for the box, and started taking them outside every day for a couple of hours to run about and get used to the yard. The box is getting too small for them, but I am not ready to let them into the coop yet. We are still working on securing it, and they'll probably be safer for a little while longer inside the house.
Right now the largest of the group is Rainbow, she is quite a big girl. Princess, the Barred Rock, is a bit of a "runt of the litter" right now, the smallest of my group. Maybe she will have a growth spurt soon. But they are all doing great, sturdy and healthy - knock on wood.