Roo? And what type of chickens do I have?

[MrsRushka]

I agree with the above comment, the second photo is definitely of a Mille Fleur D'Uccle, which us a pure Bantam breed. Mille Fleur translates into a Thousand Flowers, which is certainly appropriate for their gorgeous coloring! Your little one, (who I also agree, is likely a roo, due to the size of the comb at this young age) will continue to develop more beautiful spots over the next year or so. This was my girl, Nod. She was about 8 months old in this photo. She had a funny personality, and had no problem standing up for herself despite her tiny size. But she was quite flighty, always running away and easily startled, always flying into the air when I came around the corner of my garage to my run. She was an excellent flyer as well. While building our run, she cleared the 7½ foot wall before we finished the roof lol. We ended up rehoming her when I had to downsize my flock. I cannot identify the first one, sorry!

 

[MrsRushka]

It might work fine, or it might not.

The males might fight with each other, or they might mate with the females so often the females get bald patches on their backs.

Males fighting is only a problem if one gets injured, or if one is always hiding in a corner and cannot come out to eat & drink. (A bleeding comb does not really count as an injury to me-- it bleeds heavily but heals quickly, much like a human tongue.)

Bald patches on the hen's backs do not seem to bother the hens very much, and you can buy or make "aprons" to protect their backs until they next molt & regrow their feathers. But if you see bald backs, you should probably reduce the number of roosters in the pen.

If you like both cockerels, I would keep them both for now and see how they do. If you start seeing problems, then remove one or both males. "Remove" can mean putting them in a different pen, rehoming to someone else, butchering them to eat, or any other method that works for you.

I thought in the first photos that they looked like bantams (small chickens), but in the later photos I'm not so sure. What breed are the hens, and are these roosters similar to the hens in size or much smaller?

The second photo is of a Mille Fleur D'Uccle which is a pure Bantam breed, which means they do not have an average size counterpart

 

[Tonyroo]

The second photo is of a Mille Fleur D'Uccle which is a pure Bantam breed, which means they do not have an average size counterpart

It's not a D'uccle, no feathers on legs and feet or a muff.

Looks closer to a Swedish Flower Hen cockerel

 

[Painted Calls]

Wrong color skin for a Swedish Flower.

They appear to be mixed breeds.

 

[NatJ]

The second photo is of a Mille Fleur D'Uccle which is a pure Bantam breed, which means they do not have an average size counterpart

It is not a d'Uccle, because it has no feathers on the feet, and no muff/beard of puffy feathers on the face.

Yes, it is Mille Fleur color pattern.

If it is a bantam, I think it's an Old English Game Bantam, which can also come in Mille Fleur color.

If it is larger than bantam, I'm a bit puzzled. Speckled Sussex are supposed to have darker brown, and Swedish Flower Hens are pretty rare, but I can't think of any other breed it is likely to be in that size. So it might be a mix of some kind.

 

[sierra123]

I agree with the above comment, the second photo is definitely of a Mille Fleur D'Uccle, which us a pure Bantam breed. Mille Fleur translates into a Thousand Flowers, which is certainly appropriate for their gorgeous coloring! Your little one, (who I also agree, is likely a roo, due to the size of the comb at this young age) will continue to develop more beautiful spots over the next year or so. This was my girl, Nod. She was about 8 months old in this photo. She had a funny personality, and had no problem standing up for herself despite her tiny size. But she was quite flighty, always running away and easily startled, always flying into the air when I came around the corner of my garage to my run. She was an excellent flyer as well. While building our run, she cleared the 7½ foot wall before we finished the roof lol. We ended up rehoming her when I had to downsize my flock. I cannot identify the first one, sorry!

She's so cute! Thank you for your help.

 

[WhySayWhat]

Both look like roos to me. If they're larger birds, I'd guess Swedish Flower, bantam sized, I'd have to defer to those who raise the tiny ones.

 

[sierra123]

It might work fine, or it might not.

The males might fight with each other, or they might mate with the females so often the females get bald patches on their backs.

Males fighting is only a problem if one gets injured, or if one is always hiding in a corner and cannot come out to eat & drink. (A bleeding comb does not really count as an injury to me-- it bleeds heavily but heals quickly, much like a human tongue.)

Bald patches on the hen's backs do not seem to bother the hens very much, and you can buy or make "aprons" to protect their backs until they next molt & regrow their feathers. But if you see bald backs, you should probably reduce the number of roosters in the pen.

If you like both cockerels, I would keep them both for now and see how they do. If you start seeing problems, then remove one or both males. "Remove" can mean putting them in a different pen, rehoming to someone else, butchering them to eat, or any other method that works for you.

I thought in the first photos that they looked like bantams (small chickens), but in the later photos I'm not so sure. What breed are the hens, and are these roosters similar to the hens in size or much smaller?

Thanks so much for your help.

The hens were also given to us, they were around 24 weeks old when we got them and we don't know the breed, but they look EXACTLY like the hen images that come up when I google "golden comet". Since this is my first time with chicks and the hens were my first time with any kind of poultry, I really don't know what I'm supposed to be comparing to. The chicks are of course smaller but they're actually catching up to the hens pretty quickly in size. I was trying to compare the chicks with each other and thought the mille fleur one was more hen-looking. The tail and comb seemed less pronounced and I still can't spot the pointy hackle feathers (again, I just don't know what to compare it to and how pointy is "pointy") but I trust you guys!

 

[InterestingChickens]

Agreed cockerels.

You may be able to keep them together with the hens, but if it doesn't work out, this is a good article by RoostersAreAwesome about 'Rooster Flocks'.

 

[NatJ]

The hens were also given to us, they were around 24 weeks old when we got them and we don't know the breed, but they look EXACTLY like the hen images that come up when I google "golden comet".

That is probably what they are, since Golden Comets are pretty common.

Since this is my first time with chicks and the hens were my first time with any kind of poultry, I really don't know what I'm supposed to be comparing to. The chicks are of course smaller but they're actually catching up to the hens pretty quickly in size.

Are you able to weigh one of them? (Maybe stand on a scale with and without the chicken, or wrap the chicken in a small towel and lay it on a scale but weigh the towel separately afterward, depending on what kind of scale you have access to.)

Under two pounds is probably bantam, over 3 pounds should be some kind of large fowl, and in between is likely a cross of the two sizes.

Or you could decide it's just not worth the effort to figure out in more detail than we already have

I was trying to compare the chicks with each other and thought the mille fleur one was more hen-looking. The tail and comb seemed less pronounced and I still can't spot the pointy hackle feathers (again, I just don't know what to compare it to and how pointy is "pointy") but I trust you guys!

I agree, the mille fleur does not look as masculine right now, but I'm pretty sure it's male.

For "pointy" feathers, they should become quite obvious in a few more months, maybe even a few more weeks. All chicks grow female-shaped feathers at first, and molt a few times as they grow, before the males start to grow gender-specific feather shapes.