Totally new to chickens, wondering what breed this one is

[TheOddOneOut]

EE

 

[beaniezotzim]

I say Easter Egger because:

--pea comb, which is found on relatively few kinds of chickens. Comb types are easier to identify on adult chickens, but with practice you can usually learn to recognize it on chicks as well. A single comb sticks up and looks a bit like a comb you might use on your hair, with the tines pointing up. It is the most common kind of chicken comb. A pea comb is much lower and a bit wider, and often (but not always) has three rows of little bumps that look like peas (like the vegetable called peas.) Some chickens have a rose comb, which is even wider and flatter than a pea comb, and does not get tidy rows of bumps. There are a few other comb types, but those three are the most common.

--muffs (puffy feathers on the sides of the face.) Relatively few breeds have these, and to have both muffs and a pea comb means either Ameraucana or Easter Egger.

--color. Ameraucanas come in specific colors, while Easter Eggers can be any possible chicken color. This chick does not appear to be any of the colors that Ameraucanas can be, which means it's an Easter Egger.

--source. Pure Ameraucanas are fairly rare, and you typically will not find them in a bin at a store. Easter Eggers are quite common, so that's probably what you have.

So I think your chick is an Easter Egger. They are generally nice chickens: pretty, good tempered, good layers of pretty colored eggs, as healthy as any other kind of chicken. (Most will lay green eggs, a few will lay blue eggs, and a few will lay brown eggs.)

Thanks so much for this very detailed explanation! It’s exactly what I was hoping for! Being new to this world AND excited to learn about it, these details will be helpful in my chicken future.

 

[NatJ]

Thanks so much for this very detailed explanation! It’s exactly what I was hoping for! Being new to this world AND excited to learn about it, these details will be helpful in my chicken future.

In general, for identifying chicken breeds, I start by looking for the unusual traits (feathered feet, extra feathers on the face, a crest of feathers on top of the head, silkie feathers that look like hair or frizzle feathers that stick out funny, extra toes on the feet.) If I find any of these, it really narrows down the breed options.

Color is often pretty obvious, but there are usually several breeds that can have the same color, so I look at comb type, leg color, and earlobe color to help distinguish them. Egg color helps too, if a hen is laying, but is not useful for roosters and chicks! Some chickens also have distinctive body shapes, but that is more obvious with adults than chicks.

Looking at hatchery websites has helped me a lot. Almost all of them have pictures, most mention things like feathered feet and extra toes, and some of them list things like comb type and skin color for each breed.

 

[Ebony Rose]

It's been my experience that EEs tend to be excellent mothers. I have a one year old hen that's on her third brood! She weens her chicks at about 3 to 4 weeks, takes a 2 week vacation, fattens herself up (regains her condition) and then it's 'off to the races' again. Bless her heart. My flock gives me more eggs than the dog and I can eat, so I really don't mind her broodiness.