Mystery chicks - suggestions please!

[Mahonri]

I'd say you have 3 CMs and one Aussie

 

[Gypsy07]

mathace: Yup. No. 2 is all black so far apart from two white feathers at the end of each wing. I don't think any of them are getting feathery feet though, it's just darker bits down the fronts of their legs. The photos are kinda hard to tell from, I know...

gvntofly05: Ooh, yes please! I'd love to see some pics of yours to compare with.

Minniechickmama: I've never seen Marans' eggs before, just pictures of them. But yes, I was under the impression that even "light" coloured Marans eggs should be WAY darker than normal light brown eggs. And yes again, chick 4's stripes are very clear and well defined. I'd be happy with a Barred Rock, I think they're very pretty. Black Rocks? Maybe... My Black Rock hens have dark feet and toes though, and these chicks have very pink toes.

I'll post more pics of them in another couple of weeks and maybe it'll be more obvious what they are then. Early guessing is half the fun, I think!

 

[Gypsy07]

Quote:
Yup, that seems to be the general consensus so far. But the thing is, the farm where they came from, each different breed/type is kept in a separate big barn. They're all kept inside. No free ranging and no mingling. And my boyfriend picked up the eggs from the barn floor himself. So these chicks should all be the one type. Well, in theory anyway! Looking at them, that's obviously not the case. Ah well, time will tell... Thanks for your opinion.

 

[Dandelion007]

Quote:
Marans lay varying colors of brown eggs. Laid eggs are darkest just after a molt. When they get close to going into a molt, they are lightest. Those that lay the very dark eggs have been culled extensively to keep only the darkest layers. If they are hatchery birds, most likely this has not occurred.

This is from the Marans Chicken Club USA site:

Draft Color Standard for
Silver Cuckoo Marans


Color of Male and Female

Disqualifications:
Green or Coppery colored feathers.

Cock and Hen:
The Cock is much lighter in plumage then the hens. Hens are smaller and more compact with a darker plumage.

Comb, Face, Wattles and Earlobes: Bright Red.
Beak: Light horn shading to white at the tip.
Eyes: Reddish Bay.
Shanks and Toes: Pinkish White.
Plumage: All Sections of the body is covered with cuckoo plumage with black and white striping throughout with a rough pattern and irregular lines. Hackles are slightly lighter in shade. Hens are much darker with a bit more uniformity in the striping. Undercolor is grey.



IMO, you have Maran chicks. The quality of egg color may be in question. You may have a black Maran in there from the genetic mix. Once the chicks get bigger, color patterns will change. So the one with a clearly defined stripe will most likely get more spread out as it matures. Also, for the Cuckoo variety the hens are much darker in feather color than a rooster.

I have a couple of Cuckoo Maran hens and they are excellent mothers. They lay nice darker colored eggs most of the year. Not super dark but much darker than a normal brown egg. At times they are close to the same color though.

Enjoy.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
CTChicken<om, this photo is not an australorp--they do not have feathered legs.

 

[19hhbelgian]

Quote:
CTChicken<om, this photo is not an australorp--they do not have feathered legs.

Iwas also going to say the leg color isn't correct either.

I'd say marans, just not specifically chosen for egg color... Either way, they will give you yummy eggs

 

[gvntofly05]

Here are some pics of a few of my BCM.

 

[Gypsy07]

Dandelion007: Thanks for the new info! I didn't realise that eggs laid by a Marans could change colour depending on the time of year and how close to moult the bird is etc. I thought they would lay eggs of a uniform colour throughout their life. D'oh! Truly you can learn something new every day...

gvntofly05: OOH!!! Those photos of yours look EXACTLY like my chick no. 2. Absolutely identical! Right down to the dark legs and beak and the white feathers at the wing tips. Are they about 2 or 3 weeks old there? I don't see many tail feathers yet. They're very pretty. How old are they now?

 

[gvntofly05]

Quote:
They are 2 weeks old today!

 

[math ace]

Don't give up on the BCM just because of egg color.

Hatchery color may not be very dark for starters.

However, I saw a breeders BCM eggs a few weeks ago and they were not way dark - - -
around a 4 on the the French chart. I saw some eggs from the same hens not too
long after that and they were much darker. I asked the breeder WHY?
She thinks that the cold causes them not to develope as dark.

Maran eggs also lighten considerably as the bird ages. Depending on how old the
mother was, the egg could be lighter than previous eggs from same bird.

In a couple of more weeks, if you start seeing some rust in the hackle area of #2, it will
be looking good for a BCM.

GOOD LUCK. I love the personality of my BCM.