Thoughts on breeds?

Numinous

In the Brooder
Jul 8, 2025
5
20
19
Thanks in advance for taking a look.

I ordered hatching eggs off of ebay at the end of January. (I know it's not ideal, but I couldn't connect with anyone locally.) They hatched the end of February, so that makes everyone just over 4 months old. The list of possible breeds was IMMENSE and they're likely mixed so I'm struggling a bit here. I will attach the info at the end.

This is Betty. She's extremely docile and got picked on because I haven't culled my extra roos yet. She's recovering from her injuries, hence the booboo cage.
Betty.png


No one else has names yet. This one is also quite pretty with a sort of beard?
2a.png
2b.png


This one seems to match up with a Swedish Flower Hen? Opinions appreciated.
3.png


These are the fluffy bros. The only thing on the list that seems to match up with is the EE Frizzles, but I'm not well versed in all the breeds so maybe something else?
4.png
5.png


These two seem to be the same. They had white spots on their heads as chicks if that makes a difference.
6 & 7 a.png
6b.png
6 & 7 c.png


We got some pullets from TSC after the hatch to make up for the failures and I ended up with another roo from those. So, any random red chickens in the background are those guys.

Any help you can give with these kids will be appreciated. I know the easter/olive eggers are basically mutts, so I understand if that's what I've got here. Here's the ebay info:

Breeds currently on our farm and laying are:
Light Brahma
Frizzle EEs
White Cochin
Black Cochin
Buff Orpington
Lavender Orpington
Buff Chantecler
Splash Maran
Cuckoo Maran
Jersey Giant
Easter Egger
Olive Egger
Blue Sapphire
Swedish Flower Hen
Salmon Favorelle
Barred Rock
Dominique
Exchequer Leghorn
White Leghorn
Rhode Island Red
Golden Comet
Delaware
Barnyard mixes
Cream Legbar
Silver Laced Wyandotte
Australorp
Barnevelder

We also have pens of lavender and black orpingtons, buff Cochins, BLR Wyandottes and black copper Marans, which may be included if we have eggs available.
 

Attachments

  • 8.png
    8.png
    6 MB · Views: 6
Easter egger, Easter egger, speckled sussex, and the last 3 cockerel look to be mixes. Hard to say exactly what type. The barred pullets looks to be a mix as well.
 
I think I can tell you a few of them, 6 and 7 are most likely barred rocks. 1 is most likely an Ameraucana. 2, im thinking is also an Ameraucana. 3 might be a speckled Sussex.


Im not sure about 4 and 5, but they are both roos along with 7.

Edit: oopsie I guess I was wrong, 1 and 2 are EE
 
Last edited:
So any of the Easter eggers could be olive eggers because they are technically the same thing. Just a hybrid that is bred for colored eggs so they look very similar
This is Betty. She's extremely docile and got picked on because I haven't culled my extra roos yet. She's recovering from her injuries, hence the booboo cage.
Betty.png
EE
No one else has names yet. This one is also quite pretty with a sort of beard?
2a.png
2b.png
EE
This one seems to match up with a Swedish Flower Hen? Opinions appreciated.
3.png
That looks more like a specked Sussex to me
These are the fluffy bros. The only thing on the list that seems to match up with is the EE Frizzles, but I'm not well versed in all the breeds so maybe something else?
4.png
5.png
Frizzle EEs
These two seem to be the same. They had white spots on their heads as chicks if that makes a difference.
6 & 7 a.png
6b.png
6 & 7 c.png
These both look like Dominiques

Number 8 is a Rhode island red
 
A little more info...

The TSC chicks I think were New Hampshires. I know they weren't supposed to be Rhode Island Reds, but the common red birds are all pretty similar anyway. #8 was the roo that came out of those pullets.

I have looked at pictures for the suggested breeds so far and while I see the similarities, some aren't on the list that came with the eggs. I'm sure them likely being mixed is part of why they aren't spot on for breed.

Google has been rather hit or miss for finding good pictures. Can anyone recommend a site that's a good resource? Also maybe a place I can read up on chicken genetics?
 
The only bird that I think it’s mixed is 3. I believe firmly this bird is a Jubilee Orpington rather than a Speckled Sussex. 1 could theoretically be a pure breed but she doesn’t match any other in the description. Blue Sapphires (Sapphire Gems) don’t even breed true. I’m not confident this seller knows what they have/listed everything. All others aren’t pure breeds due to various traits-out of standard colors, wrong combs, wrong skin colors etc. There are people suggesting pure breeds for them but I can guarantee that’s incorrect. Your red ones are New Hampshires
 
The only bird that I think it’s mixed is 3. I believe firmly this bird is a Jubilee Orpington rather than a Speckled Sussex. 1 could theoretically be a pure breed but she doesn’t match any other in the description. Blue Sapphires (Sapphire Gems) don’t even breed true. I’m not confident this seller knows what they have/listed everything. All others aren’t pure breeds due to various traits-out of standard colors, wrong combs, wrong skin colors etc. There are people suggesting pure breeds for them but I can guarantee that’s incorrect. Your red ones are New Hampshires

1 and 3 are my favorite girls. Betty (1) is very sweet and has been getting plenty of attention since she's separated. I see that she does resemble some of the pictures of the Sapphires that I've found. I didn't know that they don't breed true. Personally I don't consider something a real breed if it's not able to be produced reliably. That's probably informed mostly by my rabbit and cavy background where ARBA tends to be quite rigid about breed acceptance.

3 was the only yellow chick in the hatch (obviously not counting the TSC chicks) and I had to help her out of the shell so I've always kept my eye on her. It was an extra delight when the colored up so pretty.

In the end I suppose it doesn't matter exactly what they are as long as they make us happy. Really need to pick out more names though.
 
#1 reminds me of a Blue Sumatra (non on the list, could possibly have provided some genes in the "barnyard mix" category.)

#2 is definitely a mix of some sort. At a guess, probably includes some Easter Egger ancestors, but may or may not have the blue egg gene. You'll know egg color when she starts laying.

#3 I agree with the other posters who say that she looks like a Speckled Sussex, even though that is not in the list of breeds.

#4 and #5 are frizzled. That means at least one parent is frizzled. Considering what is on the list, either they came from Frizzled Easter Eggers, or else there are some frizzles in the "barnyard mix" too.

#6 and #7 are both black with white barring. #6 looks like a female and I think has a single comb. #7 looks like a male and does not have a single comb. I think he has a rose comb, but I'm not quite sure. There's a chance that it's some sort of mix including pea comb instead.

#6 has white feet, which means she cannot be a pure Barred Rock or Dominique. The comb is also wrong for Dominique. She could be a mix that includes one of those breeds, but there are quite a few other mixes that could also produce a pullet who looks like her. She must have gotten white barring from her father (because it cannot pass from mother to daughter), but that doesn't limit the choices very much. The father could be Barred Rock, Dominique, Delaware, Cream Legbar, or some kinds of barnyard mixes or Easter Eggers or Olive Eggers or males of some kinds of sexlink. At least one parent should have black, but if that's the father, the mother could be almost any color. If the father is not black (example: Delaware), then the mother needs to provide the black, but that could be any hen that is black, blue, or lavender.

#7 I can't see the foot color. Because of his comb, he cannot have two parents with single combs, but he could have one parent with a single comb. Possible parents are similar to the possibilities for #6, but because this is a cockerel, he could inherit barring from either his father or his mother.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom