Update on my unknowns

[Mysterybirds]

I posted a while ago about my new girls and not knowing what breeds they all were. I've spent hours staring at pictures (and with my antique country line dialup connection is was truly hours) and I think I've figured them all out. I definitely have three RIRs and two white wyandottes. The brown ones with some white are red stars. They are the least friendly of the lot. There are two black ones. Sizewise I wouldn't have said they were Jersey Giants but everything else matches. Are they supposed to be consistently larger or does their growth kick in more at some point? And my mystery white chick seems to be a white jersey giant. Everything matches the desciption and she has the same build as the two black ones. I guess the three of them just look ganglier than the rest.

Sorry I can't post pictures of them. There are entirely too many steps involved, including sending the camera to work with my husband. I've just had fun trying to puzzle them out.

Thanks.

 

[ella]

White Wyandottes, Cool! Love to have some of those.

My Jersey Giants range in size from smaller than the largest Barred Rocks to only slightly larger. If you get them from a good breeder I'm sure they'll be bigger than the other breeds, but from a hatchery you may have the same experience as me and have some smaller. They don't get their full size for at least a full year.

Did you check out Black Australorps as a possibility for your black chickens? They look very much alike and are smaller.

White Rocks are more common than White Giants, they will have yellow legs as compared to the Giant's dark willow legs which is kind of olive greenish. So it'd be pretty easy to tell them apart.

 

[Mysterybirds]

The leg thing is what made me think white Jersey Giant over white anything else. Very greenish legs and dark eyes, with a shape very much like the black ones. She was terribly pecked on when we got her but she is growing into a large and tough gal. I was a little surprised because I didn't even know that white was an option.

As for the black ones, the descriptions I have read for Jersey Giants all sound very much like my pair. Their legs are black, they have yellow soles, but who knows. They were all from a MM brown egg layer special and the guy we bought them from didn't have a clue as to breeds. I wanted to be able to start with chicks and pick them all my self but it seemed like I might never get to that point so we went with the quick and easy start.

I just went to a fair and looked through the poultry barn and the difference between the RIRs there and mines was amazing. Are hatchery birds usually on the small size?

 

[speckledhen]

Actually, it would seem that is the case. I own three hatchery RIRs, but I just sold my breeder quality dark RIR pullet to rooster-red on here. She was definitely a tall drink of water compared to my others. Her half sister, a RIR/Buff Orp mix, is a hefty girl as well. She came from the same sire and an exhibition size Buff Orp mother.