Verify my thoughts!

[V-NH]

Hello!

So, based on previous posts here and my own research, I am pretty sure of what my flock is, but I want to double check now that they are older and see what all of you think.

The largest portion of my flock is made up of sixteen, ten week old white chickens. I believe that they are white leghorns:





I also have a rooster and a hen that I have had trouble identifying. I purchased them as a pair at the Tilton, NH TSC chicken swap, but I have no idea how old they are. I do know that they haven't grown very much since I purchased them and I believe they are fully grown. Any idea what they might be? I have some thoughts, but I really want to see what a more experienced crowd thinks:





I've also got a couple of black stars and three pekin ducks, but I already identified those at the time of purchase

 

[Pyxis]

I think your white birds are probably leghorns, or maybe a tetra tint or similar hybrid. I think probably leghorn though

As for the other two, congrats, you have silkies! Judging by that lovely dark purple skin, that is, and the feathers look like they lack barbules (a little hard to tell in the picture). Silkies are very sweet birds and are fantastic mothers.

 

[V-NH]

Interesting... silkies huh? Other than the head, it's all feathers. Does that support the idea that they are silkies?

I sure hope the white ones are leghorns. If they're hybrids I will probably sell them all and start over again.

 

[Pyxis]

I think so. Check their feet, do they have five toes? Even more importantly, are their legs and feet feathered? I really think they're black silkies, or maybe silkie mixes. That dark skin is just a dead giveaway of silkies. The smaller size too. They could just be hatchery quality silkies, which lots of times do have feathers, especially on the wings.

 

[Blue]

The white ones are.probably leghorns, but I believe your pair are silkie mixes. Full silkies would have all silkie feathering; your two look like they have mostly normal smooth feathering. Even most hatchery silkies that I've seen had mostly silkied feathers, which is why I'm leaning more toward a mix.

 

[donrae]

The white ones are.probably leghorns, but I believe your pair are silkie mixes. Full silkies would have all silkie feathering; your two look like they have mostly normal smooth feathering. Even most hatchery silkies that I've seen had mostly silkied feathers, which is why I'm leaning more toward a mix.

This is what I was going to say!

 

[V-NH]

I see! Does that mean I shouldn't breed the rooster with the leghorns, since he is a mix? I could probably find someone to take him pretty easily since he looks interesting

I'm also curious whether or not he is going to have a docile, silkie disposition. I was hoping for a slightly more aggressive rooster to protect the leghorns when I free range them. Any breed suggestions incase I do decide to replace him?

 

[donrae]

Breeding leghorns to silkies would give you a mixed breed chick anyway, I don't see what the difference is if one parent is already mixed. Mixed is mixed.

The majority of roosters don't physically protect their hens. I know you'll find stories of roosters who die defending their flocks, but that's really pretty rare. The roosters job is to be the lookout and give warning when something potentially dangerous comes around. He also possibly herds the hens to safety. In that respect, your little roo might be just fine. Or, if you decide a few months down the road he's not cutting it, roosters are pretty easy to pick up on Craigslist or similar.