Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[katatonic123]

@cheeka I have pics!


Felicity, the escape artist


Delta


Oliver

You can't see them very well but they also have feathered feet.

 

[cheeka]

@cheeka I have pics!


Felicity, the escape artist


Delta


Oliver

You can't see them very well but they also have feathered feet.

I can see them pretty fine in large view, looks like you have some mixes, and such beauties!
Felicity looks like she has Easter Egger features with her modified comb... and what looks like a small beard and no wattles.
Delta too, has beardless EE features - both could be game bird mixes, but Oliver is definitely an Old English Game Mix. Full game birds have clean shanks, but he looks a LOT like Brutus, who is a BBROEGB (Black Breasted Red Old Eng. Game Bantam) but yours is already significantly larger, so I suspect these are large fowl youngsters?
sometimes, it's easier to tell what their mix might be when you've hatched them out yourself - suddenly they develop a feature that belongs to one of your others... like when my very first chick hatched here... I knew the hen was a barred rock, but which one? and which of the 3 EE roos? when he was six months old it was obvious. he was BR Betty's son because he has blue/green eyes, so does Betty. all the other BR;s I have have brown or reddish brown eyes... and while he has clean shanks, his legs are pink. Sirus had feathered pink shanks. the other 2 roos, green legs, one feathered, one clean... so you might ask the breeder in Spring, if they resemble anyone in particular.
how old are they? it will be interesting to know what color eggs you get from the girls, likely pinkish... but you never know!
thanks for sharing! they are gorgeous

 

[katatonic123]

@cheeka Well, my nephew got them for his birthday from my sis in law's uncle. We knew they were mixes and only knew that the uncle said they were part game hen. They were told the hens were already laying but haven't yet after the move. What mix would give them the feathered feet? As feathered as they are I was thinking Cochin. Since they came from a friend of a friend it's kind of hard to go back and ask and I'm not sure what kind of setup they came from. May just be more of a backyard mix type setup. We were told that Oliver was used to being with a lot of other roosters so hoped he would mix well with Rubble, my brother's barred rock roo.

 

[cheeka]

Cochin is a good guess... let's see as they continue to develop, and it could be a month before you see eggs what with the move and all... now as far as Oliver... it's 50/50. dicey... Brutus gets along with his mate Dutch because Dutch dominated him in their younger days... and he gets along with the young cockerels who are in his pen (for now...) but there was a time when Brutus thought it was fine to fight to the death vs Tommy the Belgium D'Uccle on a hot Summer day. poor Tommy was so heavily feathered, he overheated quickly and if Wrangler hadn't called for me "Save the Day!" (those were her literal words...lol) Brutus would have killed him easily. he has taken a lot of hands on attention to become the darling he is - who will still go after any other cockerel or rooster he thinks he's entitled to - just not to the death anymore...he's a bantam. I really hope Oliver works out, he's so beautiful

I have a chick (one of Cressa's) with the exact same injury as Julius had over the summer. both of them live(d) with Gossy and the time of the injury. both of them are terrified of her. how could such a good Mama be so horrible to "not her chick". the other Mama's don't chase off little chicks... big ones yeah... but not little ones.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

You think Gossy hurt them somehow? Nothing scarier than an angry Silkie. My Silkie, Edna Mode, was the boss of the bantam coop.

I forget, what is the injury? Can't walk? Wasn't Julius older when he had the problem?

 

[cheeka]

yes, he was older. toe snappage. causes it to curl, get caught and not come along with the rest of the leg and body. she'll be okay tho'. couple of weeks tops. and I take her out of that kennel every day a few times for a massage and workout.

 

[katatonic123]

Well, we call my brother the chicken whisperer. If anyone can make those two coexist, it's him. He took my white silkie roo who would attack everyone but me and even attempt to get me on occasion, and in less than a month he was able to walk up to him and pick him up, hold him, pet him, and even had to carry him to put him to bed at night because he had a patch of grass he liked to sleep in or he'd perch on the porch and stay there until he put him to bed.

 

[BullChick]

'Night, W4W!

 

[chickenraiser24]

Quick question, what is the average laying age for easter eggers? Mine are 28 weeks but still are not laying.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

'Night, W4W!

Quick question, what is the average laying age for easter eggers? Mine are 28 weeks but still are not laying.

It depends on hatch dates (spring chicks tend to start sooner) and what breeds went into making them. Larger birds tend to take longer to mature. 28 weeks is not unusual, and the days are growing shorter, so not too surprising. Are their combs very red?