so how do you know if your chickens are pure?

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

....we all got so caught up in trying to be funny...

..and nobody was

Hi and welcome!
Congratulations on your new chickens!
They may be pure or mixed breed, but the only way to make any guess is with descriptions and/or pictures.
There is really no way to know if they are pure (or any chicken for that matter), but as long as they are a good representation of the breed --- you at least know what you have looks most like "????".

Lisa​

 

[walkswithdog]

As long as they're chicks they're probably virgins... OMG I typed that.

Beyond that, no way to tell.

Definition of a breed is 12 or more generations that breed TRUE to the "standard."

(Which is why DESIGNER MUTTS are NOT breeds!

Generations 1-11 are NOT considered purebred. People breeding second generation or third generation mongrels and selling them as a Breed, are deceptive.)

Sorry - dog person... Had to.

If when bred your birds produce birds that look almost identical to their parents then you've a good chance they're nearing purebred.

If you get mixed results - you have mixed heritage stock or excessively poor stock.

Keep the ones that look closest to the breed standard and go on. Add in good breeder birds if you want to work on a good flock.

Welcome to the board !!!

 

[oodymex]

lol thanks.. im happy to be part of byc.!. as soon as i get some pictures ill be sure to post them...idk what kind they are either soo guess we will see.

 

[Teach97]

I am so disappointed I didn't get to be the first to say something about virgins...

...that is some funny stuff

Welcome...I have been on here awhile and still have not posted a picture! At some point I will share...

 

[chook-in-eire]

Quote:
If they look the part, the only way to tell is by test-breeding. You can do this by breeding the birds amongst each other but this may not necessarily be conclusive unless you can breed the resultant offspring together as well. The normal practice would be to cross them with a 'known standard'. What breed to choose to do this with depends on what breed you want to test and you need to have some knowledge of colour and pattern genetics to interpret the results.

Some examples (which were not serious test-breeding, just incidental results from a bi of crossbreeding):
I bred a Buff Orpington hen (white legs, white skin) to a yellow-legged/skinned breed. The crosses had either white or yellow legs/skin, showing that the Buff was not pure for white legs/skin which is a dominant factor. I believe that is not uncommon in Buff Orps and it's not a big deal. But the next example would have been an unwelcome surprise to a serious breeder (I only have the bird for the lovely egg colour
A supposed Black-copper Marans paired with a Jubilee Orpington threw c. 50% mottled and millefleur birds showing that the Marans was not pure, as all offspring should have been mostly black and without mottling/millefleur pattern.

Another example I encountered at a market recently: a seller had a crossbred cockerel from a Barnevelder male over a Barred Rock hen. I later saw him sell the bird as a Barred Rock; he did look like a Barred Rock alright but clearly he is not pure and he will throw some nasty surprises if the buyer attempts to breed purebreds with him.

What breed did you buy?

chook

 

[QuailHollow]

Quote:
Step Two. Realize there is no such thing, only an organism that expresses features which allow them to adapt, feed, and reproduce in their given environment.

 

[conroy]

 

[Guitartists]

The only way to even begin to tell is if they breed true to type. Though some recessive genes may just be covered up.

 

[Black Feather]

Hi, welcome to BYC

If you're new to chickens one thing to keep in mind is that breeding chickens is not like breeding dogs and cats. Dog and cat clubs maintain registries to help prove that a breed is 'pure'.

Chickens are bred to a "standard" that is defined by the American Poultry Association. There is a book called the "Standard of Perfection" that outlines what the perfect specimen of every breed should look, produce and act like.

It's not unusual for a breeder to outcross one breed with another to improve certain characteristics in the breed they are focusing on. As an example one exhibitor I know has outcrossed his Plymouth Rocks with Jersey Giants in order to grain size in his Plymouth Rocks. The first generation after this outcross are pretty much mutts, but then the breeder will selectively breed these mutts back to the parents or to each other for a few generations selecting for the characteristics that make good Plymouth Rocks while maintaining the size gained from the Jersey Giant. Soon enough the bloodline of birds will pretty much be back to resembling the "standard" for Plymouth Rocks and can be shown as such.

This is one of the main reasons I have a hard time when people try to call chickens 'pure'. Pure what exactly? There is genetic variation in every species it just so happens that sometimes it's noticeable to the naked eye, and sometimes not.

Chickens are bred to a "standard" of criteria, where as animals like dogs and cats are bred more to historical, generational bloodlines.

Clear as mud?

Urban Coyote

 

[tomcio]

Did you ask if they were kept with a rooster?