Mystery bird

[Monkey Man]

I did some work for a friend. As a thank you he brought me some Rural King chicks.
3 Ameracanas
2 Jersey Giants
2 red stars
and this bird

My guess is an Americana mutt? It's not crowing or laying.

 

[chickenweirdo1]

I would say that you are right. Looks like a rooster maybe.

 

[Alexandra33]

Looks to me like an Easter Egger cockerel.

~Alex

 

[Monkey Man]

I've had chickens for 8 years and never a rooster. At what age do they start crowing?

 

[chickenweirdo1]

As early as 4 weeks but some don't crow.

 

[cavemanrich]

Most likely Americauna hatchery grade. How old is chicken? It has the typical puff cheeks. Not totally convince that it is not a hen
WISHING YOU BEST..

 

[Lady of McCamley]

He is an Easter Egger, which is all you will get from a hatchery selling to Rural King. There is no such thing as Americana, hatchery or otherwise. Anything labeled "Americana" is an Easter Egger which is a mix of Ameraucana and any other breed. If you've got a mix from an Easter Egger, then it is simply a mutt.

True Ameraucanas are rarer birds and only sold from exclusive breeders and very occasionally an upscale feed store as I think there is one hatchery that sells Blue Ameraucanas (purports to)..

He will crow in time. It varies. Some crow early; some later. Easter Eggers take a bit longer to mature, but he has a nice comb and saddles developing showing sexual maturity is blooming.

Since you have no other roosters, it may take a little time for him to find his voice.

If you want to keep him but don't want the noise, investigate the "No Crow Collar" from My Pet Chicken. (Amazon sells it too). They really do work well once you've fiddled a bit to get them set properly. You can do a DIY collar, but I find the manufactured one softer and honestly for $20 worth the money. Mine has lasted for over a year and shows no signs of wear.

LofMc

 

[Alexandra33]

Wholehearted X2 on the above post!

~Alex

 

[Monkey Man]

Thanks everyone.
I had a feeling it was a him
4 months old tomorrow
If he crows we'll let him crow. My nearest neighbor is 3/4 mile away. The rest are pretty far away.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Super...then you'll have a fun breeding project.

Set him over the other Easter Eggers, and you'll get 100% blue/green layers.

Set him over the Red Stars or Jersey Giants, and you'll get 50% blue/green layers; 50% brown even a bit pinkish tone.

Some of my Red Stars have laid a very lovely terra cotta that may even give shades of olive in their offspring if bred to the Easter Egger. (The darker the brown shell, the deeper the green).

I've enjoyed my EE's.

LofMc