Possible Cockerel and a TSC mystery breed

[HughCJ]

Hello everyone! This year we decided to expand our little flock and add some new chickens. My wife and chicken math have taken over and we have expanded quicker than we were originally planning. I will preface this by saying that I know TSC like other places carries a risk of having cockerels in the sexed bins. In the most recent batch we purchased we intentionally picked up one that we knew 100% was a cockerel and one we thought had a strong possibility because we are looking to become more self sufficient as we continue on our chicken journey. However, after we made our latest purchase we realized that our youngest Wyandotte has a fast growing comb and waddles at only 2 1/2 weeks old. I am adding pictures of all our Wyandottes to get gender guesses for all 3 though I really only feel strongly that the youngest is a cockerel at this point. As for another attempted roo, we purchased some cream legbar and though they are autosexing I am slightly confused by this chick. It is dark but has the bleached spot on its head. I know nothing is 100% certain but I was under the impression that cockerels were always lighter and hens did not have the bleached spot on the head. As for our mystery breed, they were in the bin with the Wyandottes and we took a chance at her being the only gold laced of the bunch. Her new crest has me guessing that she is certainly not. Any help with breed would be appreciated! Thank you all and I look forward to spending more time and contributing more on this site as we keep going along on our journey!



This is our suspected Wyandotte roo. Again at only 2 1/2 - 3 weeks of age so I'm not sure how accurate a guess could be.


These 2 are our hopeful Wyandotte pullets. They are roughly 7 - 8 weeks old. The solo picture is of our hopeful pullet on the right in the other 2 pictures.

Here is our Cream Legbar. We chose this one hoping for this to be a cockerel, but I wasn't 100% sure as I didn't know if the dark vs light coloration or the spot on the crown of his head was the best indicator of gender.

Finally, we have our mystery chick. They are 2 1/2 - 3 weeks like our Wyandotte and I am completely lost on breed.

Sorry for such a long post and thank you all for any help you can provide in gendering and helping find the breed of my chicks!

 

[NatJ]

This is our suspected Wyandotte roo. Again at only 2 1/2 - 3 weeks of age so I'm not sure how accurate a guess could be.

Probably male, considering the size and color of the comb and wattles.

These 2 are our hopeful Wyandotte pullets. They are roughly 7 - 8 weeks old. The solo picture is of our hopeful pullet on the right in the other 2 pictures.

I think they look like pullets at present. There is a chance that one or both is actually a cockerel that is developing very slowly, but I think that chance is pretty small.

Here is our Cream Legbar. We chose this one hoping for this to be a cockerel, but I wasn't 100% sure as I didn't know if the dark vs light coloration or the spot on the crown of his head was the best indicator of gender.

Hmm, that ones a bit of a puzzle. I'm not sure right now. The comb does look a bit big, but the chick coloring is not obviously male or female, and the color of the breast feathers is much more likely to happen in a female than a male.

I would keep watching that one and see how it develops over time.

Finally, we have our mystery chick. They are 2 1/2 - 3 weeks like our Wyandotte and I am completely lost on breed.

It looks similar to a Cream Legbar, but I don't see any barring.
My best guess would be Olive Egger. Crossing a Welsummer to a Cream Legbar is one common way to get Olive Eggers, and can give the combination of traits I see in the photo. Or the chick might not be a direct cross, because some hatcheries are breeding crosses with other crosses, working toward the idea of true-breeding Olive Eggers (I'm guessing they will reach that goal in less than a decade, if they keep working on it.)

Sorry for such a long post and thank you all for any help you can provide in gendering and breeding my chicks!

For breeding them, the "best" pairings will depend on what your goals are.
You will probably be able to breed pure Silver Laced Wyandottes, and you may be able to breed some Easter Eggers (if any of your pullets lay blue or green eggs.) Given the other chickens I see in some of the photos, you can probably also make many different barnyard mixes (BYM) that lay brown eggs.

 

[HughCJ]

Probably male, considering the size and color of the comb and wattles.


I think they look like pullets at present. There is a chance that one or both is actually a cockerel that is developing very slowly, but I think that chance is pretty small.


Hmm, that ones a bit of a puzzle. I'm not sure right now. The comb does look a bit big, but the chick coloring is not obviously male or female, and the color of the breast feathers is much more likely to happen in a female than a male.

I would keep watching that one and see how it develops over time.


It looks similar to a Cream Legbar, but I don't see any barring.
My best guess would be Olive Egger. Crossing a Welsummer to a Cream Legbar is one common way to get Olive Eggers, and can give the combination of traits I see in the photo. Or the chick might not be a direct cross, because some hatcheries are breeding crosses with other crosses, working toward the idea of true-breeding Olive Eggers (I'm guessing they will reach that goal in less than a decade, if they keep working on it.)


For breeding them, the "best" pairings will depend on what your goals are.
You will probably be able to breed pure Silver Laced Wyandottes, and you may be able to breed some Easter Eggers (if any of your pullets lay blue or green eggs.) Given the other chickens I see in some of the photos, you can probably also make many different barnyard mixes (BYM) that lay brown eggs.

Thank you so much for your help. In the end we are just trying to be more self sustaining. Our biggest interest is a happy and healthy flock. Those in the background are our original crew. A mixture of Prarie Bluebell, Americana, Black Sex Link and Starlight Green Eggers. My wife does love her rainbow eggs, so if the cream legbars all end up as pullets I will be searching for a roo. However, that is more of a want than any necessity. For now we are just enjoying our flock and our friends and family are certainly enjoying the delicious eggs.

 

[NatJ]

My wife does love her rainbow eggs, so if the cream legbars all end up as pullets I will be searching for a roo. However, that is more of a want than any necessity. For now we are just enjoying our flock and our friends and family are certainly enjoying the delicious eggs.

If you want more hens that lay blue or green eggs, but you have a rooster without the blue egg gene, just hatch all the blue and green eggs you get from your hens. Chicks have either a 50% chance or 100% chance of inheriting the blue egg gene from their mother, so half or all of the daughters will lay eggs that are blue or green.

The blue egg gene is dominant, so a hen with just one blue egg gene will lay blue or green eggs, and will give the blue egg gene to half of her chicks. The other half of her chicks will inherit the not-blue egg gene. A hen with two blue egg genes will also lay blue or green eggs, and she gives the blue egg gene to all of her chicks, which means every one of her daughters will lay blue or green eggs.