New pictures with better quaility. Ill post 12 mp tonight. Sex and or breed?

[tobylowe1]

Please give me any and all of your opinions on sex and breed. The baby has greenish colored legs, the Red may be a mix but we were told was a RI Red. Not sure about the other larger black one. Estimiate on the two older pullets. You may can tell my the pic of my holding the red one in my hand. Thanks so much. I tried to caputure their combs. The little guy does have a greenish look to his legs. The other two have a similar greyish color to their legs. Sorry the pics are not good but I will have awesome latter. Estimate on the older chicks ages,sex and breed or hybrid. Thanks, Joseph P.S Notice the white on the older black chickens chest and now that she is a little older it seems to be spreading. All are going through the ugly stage.

 

[Zaxby's2]

You can't tell too much from the first one but if it has green legs then it might be an easter egger & it looks around three weeks old.
The red one isn't a RIR but I don't know what breed it might be, it looks like a ten week old pullet.
The last one I have know idea on breed but looks around ten weeks and for now I say pullet but the comb and wattles are a little iffy.
I think you have mixed breeds on your hands so good luck they are all pretty.

 

[Mac14]

They are beautiful!

 

[RedIII]

The head features on the third one (pictures 4 and 5) kind of remind me of a Sebright. The one you were told is a RIR is definitely NOT a RIR. It looks more like a mix to me, possibly with some Buff Orpington in there. I have a BO/EE mix that has very similar coloring, with the exception of the black on the face.

 

[tobylowe1]

Thanks

 

[tobylowe1]

I have Red Comets and a white Leghorn that I ordered from a hatchery that are all beautiful and purebred. Can't wait to post those. These were picked just to have a couple of older ones and I picked them based on temperment and being tame. Is it true that a sex link or mixed chicken is generally healthier than a pure breed? Anyone

 

[Zaxby's2]

I have Red Comets and a white Leghorn that I ordered from a hatchery that are all beautiful and purebred. Can't wait to post those. These were picked just to have a couple of older ones and I picked them based on temperment and being tame. Is it true that a sex link or mixed chicken is generally healthier than a pure breed? Anyone

I've never really heard that applied to chickens before and I don't think it would make a big difference anyway unless the purebred chicken was inbred.

 

[tobylowe1]

The theory goes that just like in dogs chickens have recessive and dominant genes. When there is a chicken that is purebred just like in dogs then that chicken will have a greater chance of developing genes that are negative, unwanted, etc. It can work in a really good way if you are breeding for traits like egg laying for instance or a really good hunting dog. Just as so many pure bred dogs have list and list of health issues associated with the breed. You throw in a mix and those negative genes go away or demish. As well as some of the postive genes the animals were originally bred for. The gene pool becomes broader and thus healthy dogs just as in theory chickens.

This is true with most types of animals. The gene pool is more limited in a purebred animal and eventually they become less hardy. A hybrid on the other hand gets input from both breeds and they do tend to be more hardy and disease resistant than either of the pure breeds that they came from. You will see the same thing in populations of people. The small closed societies, such as the Amish communities, tend to have more inbreeding, resulting in higher levels of retardation and birth defects. I like my sex link Golden Comets and they are a mix and produce many more eggs than any other brown laying hen I can think of. Just fun information to talk about. I'm not saying I'm right. Just chicken talk. lol Feel free to chime in everyone. I guess it's important also to mention that all of our chicken breeds are a result of someone having the idea to mix so and so chickens for certain traits.

 

[RedIII]

That's an interesting theory

I would think, though, that with hybrids, they would be susceptible to the positive and negative traits of both parents, and not just one breed or the other. I don't know much about genetics, so I'm not arguing with the theory. Just voicing my thoughts. I have had purebred chicks from breeders that have been just as healthy as hatchery chicks, sometimes with a lower mortality rate than those from hatcheries.

I have heard good things about the Red Comets, and I have loved both of the Leghorns I own/have owned. They are so quirky and intelligent.

 

[goldfinches]

I have Red Comets and a white Leghorn that I ordered from a hatchery that are all beautiful and purebred. Can't wait to post those. These were picked just to have a couple of older ones and I picked them based on temperment and being tame. Is it true that a sex link or mixed chicken is generally healthier than a pure breed? Anyone

I have heard that regarding dogs and temperament. We had a Rotten Retriever, (rottie/golden), who was the sweetest, gentlest dog. But, she had epilepsy, which I believe is a problem with both breeds. So, it didn't seem to breed it out of her...

Btw, much better pics. I agree that you have an EE, can't really tell with the others. Sorry/