This little crossbeak/scissor beak came in my April 26th hatch from Meyer Hatchery this year. Originally, I thought she was a Black Jersey Giant, she was huge compared to everyone else! Around 5 weeks, she developed the scissor beak and her growth realy slowed down, she's now half the size of everyone else in the flock! She's also the bottom of the pecking order and gets bullied daily, so she hangs out by herself most of the time. For a while, I thought she was an EE (I had ordered 3, thought one was my DOA though), but she has no beard/muff (I know EE can have them or not). Her feather pattern has always intrigued me, her head is black and her body fades into black with a dark brown mottling/lacing, with more black tail feathers. Her feathering on her body, under her wings especially, looks and feels more like that ot a long-haired cat than chicken feathers, so I'm thinking maybe some Silkie got in there some how? She doesn't like me messing with her wings, so I don't have any photos of that feathering.
Recently, I've had a mystery egg show up. I consistently get 8-10 eggs daily out of the other 12 pullets and that number hasn't changed, but I have started getting an egg that looks identical to this Barnevelder egg (the spotty one on the left) on Meyer Hatchery's page! This morning, I observed Shadow hopping out of the nest box, she had snuck in while everyone else was outside eating! Because of the scissorbeak, her nutrition is kind of in the toilet, but we make sure to go out daily and feed a large bowl of mash (just warm water over a scoop of layer crumble). I've been adding fermented grains a couple of times a week as well. So, she has been putting on more weight recently, but I didn't think she was sound enough to be laying.
Could she be a Barnevelder (obviously a cross, I assume accidental)? Or is she something else I haven't thought of?
I ordered and recieved:
1 GLW
1 Delaware (got a cockerel, boo-rehomed)
3 EE (one died in transit)-one lays a brown egg, one lays a blue/green egg
5 Production Day Chicks (common breeds, whatever was available that day) - 2 white leghorns. 1 RIR, 1 Golden Comet, 1 white Cochin
5 Rare breed mix (1 BCM, 2 BBS Ameraucana, 1 Heritage BPR, 1 unknown (Shadow)
Recently, I've had a mystery egg show up. I consistently get 8-10 eggs daily out of the other 12 pullets and that number hasn't changed, but I have started getting an egg that looks identical to this Barnevelder egg (the spotty one on the left) on Meyer Hatchery's page! This morning, I observed Shadow hopping out of the nest box, she had snuck in while everyone else was outside eating! Because of the scissorbeak, her nutrition is kind of in the toilet, but we make sure to go out daily and feed a large bowl of mash (just warm water over a scoop of layer crumble). I've been adding fermented grains a couple of times a week as well. So, she has been putting on more weight recently, but I didn't think she was sound enough to be laying.
Could she be a Barnevelder (obviously a cross, I assume accidental)? Or is she something else I haven't thought of?
I ordered and recieved:
1 GLW
1 Delaware (got a cockerel, boo-rehomed)
3 EE (one died in transit)-one lays a brown egg, one lays a blue/green egg
5 Production Day Chicks (common breeds, whatever was available that day) - 2 white leghorns. 1 RIR, 1 Golden Comet, 1 white Cochin
5 Rare breed mix (1 BCM, 2 BBS Ameraucana, 1 Heritage BPR, 1 unknown (Shadow)
