Name That Breed: pale yellow pullet with black flecks

[NatJ]

I see that you’re right - most don’t seem to have yellow legs, but I just found this pic online of a splash orp and this one has yellow shanks! I wonder if they are always white?

Orpingtons are always supposed to have white shanks, just like Wyandottes are always supposed to have yellow shanks. The shank color is a breed trait, just as much as the feather color or comb type or egg color or general body shape.

I didn’t know brahama had feathered feet but Columbian wyandottes have naked legs. Probably a rooky mistake. I’m still prepared to say they’re the same birds

Light Brahmas and Columbian Wyandottes have the same color pattern and lay brown eggs. But the combs are different (pea for Brahma, rose for Wyandotte: different genes and different appearance), and the feet are different (feathered for Brahma, clean for Wyandotte). There are other differences too, like size, that do not show up as well in photos.

Saying Light Brahmas and Columbian Wyandottes are "the same" would be like saying all black dogs are "the same," even if one is a Labrador Retriever, one is a poodle, and one is a Chihuahua.

 

[ChickenLittle2023]

This pullet reminds me more of the Smokey Pearls that Hoover's Hatchery sells.

She does resemble that breed! Thanks for the tip. Smokey Pearl isn’t on the list of options at our local hatchery, but that breed appears to be a random mix, too. I think it’s safe to say that what we have is a mix of breeds… I guess we’ll get more hints once she starts laying!

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

She does resemble that breed! Thanks for the tip. Smokey Pearl isn’t on the list of options at our local hatchery, but that breed appears to be a random mix, too. I think it’s safe to say that what we have is a mix of breeds… I guess we’ll get more hints once she starts laying!

I purchased four bantams from Tractor Supply (which goes through Hoover's Hatchery) and one turned out to be a Rhode Island Red Bantam. I checked Hoover's Hatchery's list of breeds to see if the Rhode Island Red Bantam was listed there, and it wasn't. Turns out there are a few breeds that aren't listed on the Hoover's website, but they do have them.

 

[NatJ]

I purchased a buff Orpington chick from our local Peaveymart (Hoover’s). It seems that we were given a different breed, but I’m unsure of what she might be! Anyone have ideas based on her current 6-week-old appearance? She was a yellow chick with black flecks (see last two pics), and the flecks have stayed as she’s gotten older.

At first glance, her coloring makes me think of California White:
https://www.hoovershatchery.com/CaliforniaWhite.html

She’s quite a big girl and has a gentle, non-dominant personality. She is always the first to go in the coop in the evening (by a longshot), and likes to hang out in the run, even when the door is open and the others are off exploring. She’s not a very good bug hunter compared to the others. She’s near the bottom of the pecking order. She likes to sit on my shoulder (or head if I let her! )

I don't know the personality of California Whites enough to tell if that is right for them or not.

If it was from a different hatchery my first guess would be California White but since it's from Hoover's and they're famous for mixing a lot of breeds it's hard to say for sure.

Of course Hoovers has many kinds of "special" mixes, but they do sell California Whites too. So maybe it is a California White.

 

[ChickenLittle2023]

At first glance, her coloring makes me think of California White:
https://www.hoovershatchery.com/CaliforniaWhite.html


I don't know the personality of California Whites enough to tell if that is right for them or not.


Of course Hoovers has many kinds of "special" mixes, but they do sell California Whites too. So maybe it is a California White.

She does look like a California white! I just read a few articles on them. Interestingly, they are a mix of leghorn + California grey. And California grey is a mix of leghorn + barred rock. So many mixes! I think it’s safe to say that she is part leghorn, mixed with some other bird with darker plumage to provide genes for some black flecks. I guess we’ll see what she looks like as a hen, and what colour her eggs turn out to be!

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

She does look like a California white! I just read a few articles on them. Interestingly, they are a mix of leghorn + California grey. And California grey is a mix of leghorn + barred rock. So many mixes! I think it’s safe to say that she is part leghorn, mixed with some other bird with darker plumage to provide genes for some black flecks. I guess we’ll see what she looks like as a hen, and what colour her eggs turn out to be!

California grays are an actual breed, though they may have originally been bred from leghorns and Plymouth rocks, they are their own breed now.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

She does look like a California white! I just read a few articles on them. Interestingly, they are a mix of leghorn + California grey. And California grey is a mix of leghorn + barred rock. So many mixes! I think it’s safe to say that she is part leghorn, mixed with some other bird with darker plumage to provide genes for some black flecks. I guess we’ll see what she looks like as a hen, and what colour her eggs turn out to be!

As @RoostersAreAwesome said above, the California Gray is not a mixed breed. They were bred from crossing White Leghorns and Barred Plymouth Rock chickens, but that was years ago, and they have now since been a recognized and unique breed.

 

[ChickenLittle2023]

California grays are an actual breed, though they may have originally been bred from leghorns and Plymouth rocks, they are their own breed now.

California grays are an actual breed, though they may have originally been bred from leghorns and Plymouth rocks, they are their own breed now.

I understand this, but I’m presuming that there isn’t much difference in terms of genetics/traits between a mix of two breeds that has been deemed an official breed and a mix of two breeds that has not - the offspring should have genetics that are a mix of the two in either case, I would think. My chick looks like a leghorn mixed with something else, so that makes sense when considering the genetic makeup of the different breeds that have been mentioned.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I understand this, but I’m presuming that there isn’t much difference in terms of genetics/traits between a mix of two breeds that has been deemed an official breed and a mix of two breeds that has not - the offspring should have genetics that are a mix of the two in either case, I would think. My chick looks like a leghorn mixed with something else, so that makes sense when considering the genetic makeup of the different breeds that have been mentioned.

Yeah, there’s definitely a lot of leghorn in a California white. And most other white hybrids are mixed with leghorn at some point, so you could always just call her a leghorn mix if you don’t know the specific cross.

 

[NatJ]

I understand this, but I’m presuming that there isn’t much difference in terms of genetics/traits between a mix of two breeds that has been deemed an official breed and a mix of two breeds that has not - the offspring should have genetics that are a mix of the two in either case, I would think.

Yes and no.
Yes, the breed will have some genetics from one original breed and some from the other.

But no, they are not a really a mix anymore. By the time they are considered a distinct breed, they will reliably produce chicks like themselves. The original mixes would have produced chicks with a wide variety of traits. If you intend to breed them, that is the big difference between purebreds and mixes: whether they breed true or not.