Need some barred rock/dominicker help

[kizanne]

Please only read further if you can handle panic, unprepared, newbies with patience and not ridicule.....


I bought some 'week old' chicks at the flea market last weekend supposed to be all girls (but I knew that might not be true). Then chicken math kicked in and my husband brought home some barred rock, sussex, production red chicks this week from ACE which were supposed to be sexed pullets.


So my dilemma is this. The ones from ACE are WAAAAAYYYYYY smaller and less feathered than the flea market babies. I talked the guy into throwing in a small one cause I thought it was a runt or sick and didn't want it to stay there in that rubbermaid container (yea I know). Now I'm realizing they are maybe 3 to 4 weeks old (or older). I have some pictures but they are horrid and can't get them downloaded right now (I know bad me). I will post them as soon as I can.

As a first time mom this made me very anxious since we started the run /coop this week..... One of these little girls? has feathers starting all the way down her feet up to the toes.

I haven't seen any barred rocks with that. Does it just mean a mix or do the roosters have those and not pullets on barred rock/dominickers.

They were sold as dominickers but since it was the flea market I'm thinking more likely it was a barred rock the color and white spot on back of head does look to be that species but the feathers are freaking me out.

Thank you if you made it to this point of the post. Any opinions would be welcome and I'll post the pictures as soon as I get them off my camera (have to figure that out).

The girls love aphids too.

 

[gritsar]

Feather footing is a breed trait. It does not indicate a roo, so relax.

I'm curious now to see your chick pics. Obviously you have gotten a feather footed one. Wouldn't be a barred rock or dominiker, but if it has the barred pattern I would suspect maybe a barred cochin...maybe. Or it could be a mixed breed chick.

Also, it's not all that uncommon for chicks to be of different sizes at the same age, either because some breeds grow faster and/or are bigger to start with and because it's an individual thing. I have 3 - week old chicks right now that are completely different in size, even though they were hatched by the same broody. One is a brahma and two are turken/brahma crosses. The full brahma chick is easily twice the size of the other two.

ETA: I didn't consider your post to be panic-striken. I'm seen much worse over much less.

 

[kizanne]

Thanks for the response. It isn't just their size. They are getting combs and can fly a little. so I'm thinking a week isn't right. Oh course now they'd be 2 weeks LOL by the flea math. even the small one I got was more feathered then these guys from ACE.

 

[kizanne]

ok took awhile but here is a picture. Ace on left and flea market on the right.

these do not 'look' only a week different, do they? the flea market girl has acomb and alot of feathers.

 

[kizanne]

heres a pic of the one with feathers I suspect it is a cross like you said. I doubt this farmer type does alot to keep things pure bred. If they lay I don't care. I hope you can see the little feathers on the feet. It is a bad picture.

 

[jennh]

Quote:
The feathered foot one could be a cochin. The dif between a barred rock and a dominique is the comb. A dominique has a rose comb, Barred has a single comb. Neither of those breeds has feathered legs. HTH

 

[gritsar]

I would suspect barred cochin, but the foot feathering doesn't look complete (all the way around the leg, not just on the outside of the leg). Given it's origins, perhaps it is a mixed breed.

 

[elabraleon]

I would guess the chicks to be 1-2 weeks apart. The left one appx 1 wk old (maybe less) and the right between 2 and 3 weeks old. The left looks like a barred rock pullet, the right like... a mix, possible male sexlink? its head looks brownish. not a dominique. It has a single comb.
Don't panic, in another week or two things will be clearer.
good luck!