My new flock

[Chicken Girl1]

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.

The Ameraucanas are an actual breed, but Easter Eggers (essentailly mutts) are often sold under the name of "Ameraucana" (which are only come in certain colors and lay certain color eggs unlike Easter Eggers). Also great information on the different breeds! Also I would like to put out there that hatcheries now a days don't always follow the standards for certain breeds, for instance: I have Silver Laced Wyandottes which are a dual purpose breed and should be a reasonable size is not because they are hatchery quality (though not all hatchery chicks are not to standards).

 

[ChickenChaser9]

When dealing with feed store chicks, it is largely impossible to determine the pedigree of the bird and the clerk at the store may give you the best information they have but not actually know themselves what they are selling you.

 

[ChickenChaser9]

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.

I am so happy to be of help, you've made my day! You will find that each of these birds, being of different breeds will grow and mature at different ages. It is natural that they will hit their growth spurts and puberty at slightly different ages so what you are seeing is normal for their ages/breeds. You are doing the right thing by keeping them secured indoors until your permanent coop is fully ready for these adventuresome breeds. They will be testing their boundaries regularly in the coming weeks and are certain to enjoy supervised outdoor time. It is also a great time to let your kids gently handle the birds, as this will get both the humans and chickens accustomed to being handled. Just remember to wash hands before and after as many viruses and bacteria that are harmful to humans is harmful to chickens and vice versa.