New member looking for any info on breed and gender

[HoltLakeMama]

Hello everybody, I hope that I'm doing this right and that you can be patient with an inexperienced and over-excited chicken owner!

We are the proud owners of six, nearly four week old chicks. We recieved them from a friend that had gotten them from a local school. We were told that they were "Easter Egg Layers" but we really don't know anything about if they are really EEs, a specific breed or just cute mutts

I'm not sure if chicks can look as different as ours do from one another and be from the same parents? A few look like pictures of BR, but I'm not really sure. I realize that it is probably too early to tell, but any guesses would be very appreciated! We live in a rural area on a lake and are pretty close to our neighbors. Because of predators we will have limited space for them and most likely won't be able to keep a rooster. We are still holding out hope that we will have only one and that he will be very quiet.

Our older son is totally smitten with his birds and it will be a very sad day in our house if anyone has to leave!
One of them, Star, was bigger from the beginning and we wondered right away if s/he might be a rooster. Star has always had a visible comb, but it doesn't have any red coloring. Penny's is small, but is getting slightly red. Penny has been running after anybody that gives her the stink eye. She's gotten pretty bold.
Star (White with greenish yellow legs) and Penny (brown)

Star

Todd has a very distinct developed comb and has always been the prettiest. It is so huge that I am losing all hope that Todd is a girl-I told my husband not to give him a boy name!

Mooney is my son's very favorite and has an undefined comb, but it seems to be getting redder.

Buttercup (white with a brownish head and greenish/gray legs) is sweet and mild mannered-she doesn't seem Roo-ish at all(fingers crossed!). Penny (brown and white) is a tiny peanut and hasn't thrived like the others. She's currently having some feather picking issues and is in seclusion, sleeping in a dog bowl of shavings.

Any input would be wonderful!

 

[gritsar]

Hi. I'm not good with breeds, so I'll leave that for someone else.

The one that is sticking out most to me as a possible roo is the brown one in the center in the first pic, believe it or not.

 

[HoltLakeMama]

Thanks for responding! What about that one sticks out as Roo-ish? I feel like I'm looking for the wrong things. Is the redness of the comb a bigger deal than the size?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
In this case, yes. You have a couple different breeds, so you can't compare ones comb to another. A pea comb is not going to look the same as a single comb, etc. It would be comparing apples to oranges, so to speak.
What stands out is the way he/she is feathering out. Where the bald spots are. Also, the stance.
Here, this may help you (although it works best if you have several of the same breed to compare):

According to UC Davis Veterinary Care Program.
2. Physical Characteristics (4-6 weeks of age)
a. Comb – The cockerels comb is medium size and pinkish, the pullets is small and yellowish.
b. Legs – The cockerel’s legs are sturdy and long, the pullets are finer and shorter.
c. Tail – The cockerel’s tail is stumpy and curved, the pullets is longer and straight.
d. Back – The cockerel has a thin line of stub feathers down the center of his back, the pullet has more advanced feathering along the center of her back.
e. Side of neck, flank and crop – The feathering in the cockerel in these areas is poorly advanced, the pullets feathering in these areas is well advanced.
f. Wing bows – In the cockerel the wing bows are bare, in pullets the wing bows are covered with small feathers.

Wing bows are what you might consider the shoulders. The point at the top of the wing, when it is in a natural relaxed position against the body.

 

[HoltLakeMama]

Thanks for that, we had some fun comparing that info to the chickens

Maybe things will be a little clearer in another week or two. It reminds me of staring at a pregnancy test and wondering whether you see a line or not. You'll find out if you're pregnant soon enough, but it's hard to wait!
Mooney and Todd look a lot a like. Todd has such a huge defined comb, but it's pretty yellow. Mooney has a small blobby one, but it's pretty pink already. Mooney has less feathering, but they're built the same. Star has a much bigger body and comb than Dolly's but Dolly's is pinker too. I see what you meant about feathering patterns because Dolly's fit the explanation exactly. I'm starting to wonder if everyone that has a 'hen' name is going to be a roo and everyone with a boy or neutral name is going to be a hen. I guess that we should have held out for pullets, but it was too hard to say no to taking those little fluff balls!
Thanks again for replying, I appreciate it!

 

[Glamorgan]

Hi! I think Star might be a white ameracauna. The Barred black and white

looking one is probably a barred plymouth rock. I 'm not really sure about the other chickens.

 

[HoltLakeMama]

Thanks! I had assumed that we were getting one kind of chicken and it seems that we have at least two. Kind of fun though!