My tiny foster flock

[RoostersAreAwesome]

All of the chicks are mixed breeds, not sure what they’re mixed with yet.

 

[Foster_Mother_Hen]

All of the chicks are mixed breeds, not sure what they’re mixed with yet.

Yep! The hens and roosters aren’t purebred anyway but it’s fun to make guesses and see how they change! The grey one is still the biggest question mark, as there aren’t any like it in the flock.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I have to share my foster flock story. I incubated, watched them hatch, and have come to love them. They got a taste of grass and sunshine for the first time yesterday, love dried mealworms, and are terrified of earthworms. They’ll be going to my friend’s farm in about 4 weeks, so I’ll be able to visit whenever I want!

From what I’m told, they could be any mix of the following: roosters are Amerucana, Silver Laced, hens are Asian black (though I would not be surprised if they are BSL after reading all of the comments on the store where they were purchased), Gold comet, and Plymouth Barred Rock.
They hatched between June 11 and 13.

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Dot was the first to hatch and still loves climbing on my hand for elevator rides. Named for the white dots on the head, chest, and wings at hatching. I believe it might be a Barred Rock roo.

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Clover hatched second and is my gentle giant. Clover is nearly twice the size of Fin. Will go after the others with no provocation one minute then settle down into my hand and take a nap the next. Best current guess is SLW roo.

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Gerri/Jerry if #3 and is so unbelievably shy. It takes lots of patience to wait for a visit. I’m nowhere near any guesses on breed, as this chick is totally unlike any in the flock. Possibly another roo.


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Sprite hatched 4th, super friendly, loves to fly up and hang out on my arm. I’m leaving towards Asian Black pullett.

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Squeak hatched soon after Sprite, and is a bit more standoffish. Will definitely fly up and snuggle when Sprite is roosting on my arm, and I’m thinking Asian Black roo.

Last but certainly not least….
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Fin!! Started as a tough hatch that I had to help and almost didn’t make it through the first night. It l climbed into my hand that night and immediately calmed down to the point of sleep. Since then, Fin has been my buddy and loves to nap and snuggle in my hand, on my shoulder, and now on my head! I hope it’s a pullett mix between the Gold Comet hen and SLW rooster.

If you made it through, thanks!

Love Love Love! THanks for sharing all of that with the pics, thats great! They are all so lovely! AS well as the top of your head <3 Good luck everyone!

 

[Foster_Mother_Hen]

4-week update!

The chicks are growing like weeds…and are as feisty as ever. I’ve been reading a bit and it looks like Dot may be a barred rock hen (single white bar on the wings, white spot on the head). 475g as of this afternoon:

Clover is still a major cuddler, still very gentle with me, and still a giant. Any time I put my hand down in the pen he climbs right on up and hunkers down. He relaxes and seems to enjoy having his back pet. Here he is at 632g:

Gerri/Jerry continues to be a little skittish but was the first to fly up to the roost bar. S/he is much more friendly and flies to my hand if I put it in front of them while they’re on the bar. I’m leaning towards maybe a Sapphire Gem hen…but, again, resembles no other chickens in the flock. At 325g, here’s the unicorn

Sprite…oh Sprite… will happily fly up to my hand, wiggle the butt feathers, and go to sleep. I saw the most gorgeous blue/purple sheen to the black wing feathers this evening. I haven’t seen that in any of the other chickens in the flock (they mostly have a green sheen). Here, at 495g, is Sprite!

Squeak doesn’t really want much to do with me but isn’t mean at all. Kind of like a cat, Squeak wants to be social when she (going back to that assumption) wants to be no pictures, sadly, but Squeak came in at 497g.

Last and still not least, Fin. I’m afraid there may be a second roo in the lot but that’s ok. Still snuggly, cuddly, and extremely curious, Fin finds my shoulder almost every day during play time. This chick will jump/fly from arm to arm to shoulder to bin to floor and back up to my shoulder. In at a tiny 315g (but steadily growing at around the same rate as the rest), here’s Fin!!

I thought these might bring some light and amusement to anyone reading this… I was trying to get a good picture of Clover and Fin decided to photobomb…then I got one of both of them!

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

4-week update!

The chicks are growing like weeds…and are as feisty as ever. I’ve been reading a bit and it looks like Dot may be a barred rock hen (single white bar on the wings, white spot on the head). 475g as of this afternoon:
View attachment 3182977

Clover is still a major cuddler, still very gentle with me, and still a giant. Any time I put my hand down in the pen he climbs right on up and hunkers down. He relaxes and seems to enjoy having his back pet. Here he is at 632g:
View attachment 3182990

Gerri/Jerry continues to be a little skittish but was the first to fly up to the roost bar. S/he is much more friendly and flies to my hand if I put it in front of them while they’re on the bar. I’m leaning towards maybe a Sapphire Gem hen…but, again, resembles no other chickens in the flock. At 325g, here’s the unicorn
View attachment 3182997

Sprite…oh Sprite… will happily fly up to my hand, wiggle the butt feathers, and go to sleep. I saw the most gorgeous blue/purple sheen to the black wing feathers this evening. I haven’t seen that in any of the other chickens in the flock (they mostly have a green sheen). Here, at 495g, is Sprite!
View attachment 3183002

Squeak doesn’t really want much to do with me but isn’t mean at all. Kind of like a cat, Squeak wants to be social when she (going back to that assumption) wants to be no pictures, sadly, but Squeak came in at 497g.

Last and still not least, Fin. I’m afraid there may be a second roo in the lot but that’s ok. Still snuggly, cuddly, and extremely curious, Fin finds my shoulder almost every day during play time. This chick will jump/fly from arm to arm to shoulder to bin to floor and back up to my shoulder. In at a tiny 315g (but steadily growing at around the same rate as the rest), here’s Fin!!
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I thought these might bring some light and amusement to anyone reading this… I was trying to get a good picture of Clover and Fin decided to photobomb…then I got one of both of them!
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Dot is a barred rock mix cockerel. Sprite is also a cockerel.

 

[Foster_Mother_Hen]

Dot is a barred rock mix cockerel. Sprite is also a cockerel.

Hmm, what makes you come to those conclusions? Just curious, as I keep finding conflicting information regarding sex-linked traits.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

Hmm, what makes you come to those conclusions? Just curious, as I keep finding conflicting information regarding sex-linked traits.

Comb and wattles.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Hmm, what makes you come to those conclusions? Just curious, as I keep finding conflicting information regarding sex-linked traits.

Size and redness of the comb and wattles. Also, since none of the possible fathers are barred rocks, it’s impossible for your chick to be a purebred barred rock, so the purebred barred rock rules of auto-sexing don't work. However, a barred rock hen crossed with a non-barred rooster will result in only barred sons (black sex link cross).

 

[Foster_Mother_Hen]

Size and redness of the comb and wattles. Also, since none of the possible fathers are barred rocks, it’s impossible for your chick to be a purebred barred rock, so the purebred barred rock rules of auto-sexing don't work. However, a barred rock hen crossed with a non-barred rooster will result in only barred sons (black sex link cross).

Thank you for the explanation looks like I may have hit the proverbial jackpot with this set of chicks…mostly (if not all) males.

 

[Cold-Blood]