Red Partridge Orpington informational hatch thread

[FeatherTay]

Little sister is following in her big brother's footsteps He's the reason we hatched these new chicks, and he lives on through them RIP our favorite chicken ever.

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Aw! I’m glad she’s looking like him. That’s really special.

 

[K0k0shka]

Aw! I’m glad she’s looking like him. That’s really special.

She doesn't fit the breed standard for female and has a more male-looking color pattern, which certainly helps with her resemblance of her brother, but I still insist she's female

 

[FeatherTay]

She doesn't fit the breed standard for female and has a more male-looking color pattern, which certainly helps with her resemblance of her brother, but I still insist she's female

She very well does look female. If she isn’t female then I’m gonna question everything.

 

[K0k0shka]

She very well does look female. If she isn’t female then I’m gonna question everything.

Haha. Me too! That comb... It's still so small and pale. She's very leggy and her body shape looks male, the copious amounts of black on her look male, but the comb... She's an interesting one, for sure.

@aart what do you think? She's almost 6 weeks old.

Here's her brother from last year at this age:

 

[K0k0shka]

Those blue legs are quite blue!

 

[K0k0shka]

6 weeks photo update!

I'm still convinced that all 3 are pullets. The questionable one doesn't look like the breed (or like the other two) - SO much black! Even the males don't have that much black - but I still think it's a pullet. The other two are starting to look more alike, but the smaller one has blue feet. I wonder what he crossed them with to get blue feet? Lavender? I'll ask him at some point. Here are the beauty shots:

Pooh:

The Baby:

The Pretty One:

Hard to believe they are all the same breed:

Quite the color difference:

And size difference:

 

[Auntiejessi3]

3 week photo update!

Everybody together:
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Pooh is giving me very strong girl vibes. She is by far the most feathered out of the bunch (first to hatch, too, but only by a few hours), and her feathers are coming in evenly patterned:

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Lemonade is looking very male to me, mostly because of the comb, the thick legs, and he’s very dense and heavy compared to the other chicks. I had a cannon ball like that last year, he ended up male and got huge:
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Blinky has gotten a lot more patterning on his wings (used to have the least) but has the biggest comb and wattles with the most color on them, so he’s probably a lost cause:
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The Pretty One has a smaller comb than Lemonade or Blinky so there’s still hope, but the feather pattern is throwing me off. Still a lot of black, though that doesn’t seem to be such a strong indicator with the chicks being so mixed already, so who knows:
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The Baby also has a small comb, but is the smallest chick overall so maybe it just hasn’t developed yet. It, too, has more patterning on its wings now, and I just noticed that its legs are a different color than the other chicks’ - not quite as dark as slate, but something between pink and slate. Reminds me of the cousins’ feet
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Here are some closer-up head shots to show the combs:

Pooh:
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Lemonade:
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Blinky:
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The Pretty One:
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The Baby:
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Any guesses?

Idk why but I just love lemonade soooo precious!

 

[K0k0shka]

Idk why but I just love lemonade soooo precious!

Lemonade was adorable, and very cuddly, but we had to part ways (for now). He'll be growing up with his brother Blinky at my friend's farm until we meet again, for dinner

 

[K0k0shka]

7 week photo update, if anybody’s still following. By now I am absolutely positive that all 3 are pullets. The one I wasn’t sure about still stands out starkly in terms of color, but has the smallest and palest comb of all three!

Pooh:

The Baby:

The Pretty One:

They are VERY affectionate with me and love cuddles and perching all over me. If they get spooked, they fly at me and try to hide in my armpits or climb on my head. They are absolutely heart-warmingly adorable, and I’m keeping all three! If I need to thin the flock down for any reason, I have one or two from last year’s brood that I’d rather get rid of than these sweethearts. Last year’s were also heavily socialized and are very sweet, but these three surpass even that. They are perfect pet chicken material. I’ve been spending more time with them, and I only have 3 to split my love between, unlike last year, when I had 11.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

7 week photo update, if anybody’s still following. By now I am absolutely positive that all 3 are pullets. The one I wasn’t sure about still stands out starkly in terms of color, but has the smallest and palest comb of all three!

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Pooh:
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The Baby:
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The Pretty One:
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They are VERY affectionate with me and love cuddles and perching all over me. If they get spooked, they fly at me and try to hide in my armpits or climb on my head. They are absolutely heart-warmingly adorable, and I’m keeping all three! If I need to thin the flock down for any reason, I have one or two from last year’s brood that I’d rather get rid of than these sweethearts. Last year’s were also heavily socialized and are very sweet, but these three surpass even that. They are perfect pet chicken material. I’ve been spending more time with them, and I only have 3 to split my love between, unlike last year, when I had 11.

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To frickin cute!