Mystery chick, supposed to be RIR?

[emorems0]

I got a few RIR eggs from a friend to incubate with the dozen black australorp eggs that I ordered. This little guy hatched out of an egg marked with an R and at first I thought we just mixed up the labels (I have two young children who may have rearranged the eggs in the carton before we labeled them and put them in the incubator). But now that it's dried off I can see that it definitely looks different than the australorp chicks. Can RIRs be this dark? I thought they were always a rusty orange/yellow color. I'm guessing our friend (actually, friend of a friend) has some other chicken breeds too and this chick is some other breed.



Ideas? Left is mystery chick, right is black australorp.

 

[Firekin1]

I got a few RIR eggs from a friend to incubate with the dozen black australorp eggs that I ordered. This little guy hatched out of an egg marked with an R and at first I thought we just mixed up the labels (I have two young children who may have rearranged the eggs in the carton before we labeled them and put them in the incubator). But now that it's dried off I can see that it definitely looks different than the australorp chicks. Can RIRs be this dark? I thought they were always a rusty orange/yellow color. I'm guessing our friend (actually, friend of a friend) has some other chicken breeds too and this chick is some other breed.



Ideas? Left is mystery chick, right is black australorp.

What other chickens do they have? That chick may have very well came from a RIR, but that doesn't mean it was a RIR roo that got her...lol

 

[themadchicken]

Its a mix of something, RiIRchicks are chipmunk striped. They can be dark like the mahogany red in its face but not brown, also the legs should be orange. I could be wrong but your Australorp is also a mix. It should have black legs and and the white color is to mixed in with the black, especially right above its eyes. Here is one of mine from a couple years ago.



These are a little older but you can still see the orange legs.

 

[donrae]

What kind of comb does it have? The chick picture reminds me of a RIR/SLW sex link, if the chick was female (the gold in the face). But, if that's the case, the chick should have a rose comb.

 

[emorems0]

I'll have to ask what other chickens they have. I haven't had any of the other 'RIR' eggs hatch out yet, only the australorps (and they all look the same). The farm that I got the australorp eggs from keeps all their various breeds in separate coops/pens so those ones shouldn't be crosses (of course, I'm no expert!)

 

[emorems0]

What kind of comb does it have? The chick picture reminds me of a RIR/SLW sex link, if the chick was female (the gold in the face). But, if that's the case, the chick should have a rose comb.

It does have a little comb, which surprised me because I don't really notice them on the australorps yet so I figured they didn't start growing until the chicks were a little older. Here's a better picture of its head:

 

[emorems0]

UPDATING with new pictures. Mystery chick (dubbed Road Runner or 'Roady' for short) is just over 2 weeks old now. I talked to the friends who we got the RIR eggs from and she wasn't sure what other types of chickens they have that could have crossed with the RIR.

Feathers are coming in more now, Roady is tall and lean compared to our black australorps and our new blue cochin chick. Colors on the new feathers are neat, black with brown/red edges and sort of spotted on the chest. Roady is also developing some early feather 'fuzz' on the top of his/her head... is this typical, or the start of those funky head feathers???

Any new ideas on the possible cross based on these 2-week pictures?

 

[Griffinsong]

That does look like the start of a little crest[crests are dominant, but incompletely, so two crest genes make for a big crest, one for a smaller, mullet looking thing XD]. In crosses, early on, the small crest is only visible as two small tufts in front of the eyes.
Combining that crest with the red laced color of the bird, that is most likely a Gold Laced Polish/RIR cross. Though the yellow legs are a bit odd on that combo, they might yet become paler though.

 

[emorems0]

UPDATING with new pictures... Roadie is 12 weeks now and looking more and more like a rooster (unless the skinny neck feathers and bigger comb are typical for both genders of whatever breed/cross this guy is!)

Any new thoughts?

 

[fshinggrl]

Definitely a rooster. Thanks for the updated pictures.