What are these random 4H embryology chicks? **Hatch #2**

[classicsredone]

Not long ago, I posted pictures of the chicks my sister hatched in her kindergarten classroom as part of the county's embryology program through 4H and the county ag extension. Teachers are able to rent an incubator and turner and can buy eggs. For reasons I can totally understand, the eggs are not labeled. They can be anything from barnyard mixes to pricey show lines but likely are somewhere in between. My last batch seems to be mostly olive eggers. I had one that was rumpless but obviously is a mixed breed, and on roo and one hen are growing muffs. (The cockerel has significantly more feathers in the area.) Flash forward a few weeks, and we were told that another teacher was looking for a home for the chicks she hatched. It was her first time, and she did not realize just how quickly they grow, so, unfortunately, homes were not found before they hatched. I love chicks, and the chickens they grow into, so of course, I said I'd take this set.

Two of the birds had very clear white spots on their heads, and I'm certain between the dots, feathering, and attitude that they are cockerels. But what kind? A few were mostly black, and several had creamy colored bellies and faces and looked like they were wearing white and black eyeliner. Two or three of the birds are actually brown and black, although the brown does not show well in the lighting that I had available. One chick is big and creamy colored and appears to be a B/B/S splash. Many of them have feathered legs or legs and feet. The runt is a little smaller, but it has a big comb and is catching up some in size. These birds are 16-17 days old. Thank you for your time!

 

[Frazzemrat1]

its a bit early to guess at gender, but I wanted to point out that the head dot and barring doesn't necessarily mean cockerel. The head spot just indicates a barring gene, which many breeds have. With the single comb and the feathers on the legs, I'd wager its a cuckoo marans.
The black ones with the white throats and pinkish feet, are probably austrolorps. based upon early comb size, I'd keep an eye on one of them for cockerel signs.

other than that, that's the extent of my guesses. Where did she get the eggs? a hatchery, or a breeder/farmer in the area?

 

[classicsredone]

They're 4H embryology eggs. 4H members can sell their eggs to the teachers for hatching. Nothing is labeled, and the selection varies greatly. You might get all bantams, barnyard mixes, eggs from show lines, and anything in between. To prevent people from picking and choosing, none of the cartons are labeled. I realize that the dots are not 100%. That being said, I've been able to get pretty good at sexing, even early on. There definitely are cockerels in the bunch. The two with dots have more obvious combs (not sure if it shows well in the pictures because the lighting was off and I was in too big of a rush to adjust the white balance.

 

[drumstick diva]

I believe you have some Black Australorps. You also have some with gold lacing peeking through which may be future gold laced Wyandottes, or maybe even gold laced Cochins. Do any of them have feathered legs or feet?

It really is way too early for good guesses because combs aren't showing. When they are fully feathered out at about 8 weeks of age, it will be much easier to determine just what you've gotten.

 

[classicsredone]

I believe you have some Black Australorps. You also have some with gold lacing peeking through which may be future gold laced Wyandottes, or maybe even gold laced Cochins. Do any of them have feathered legs or feet?

It really is way too early for good guesses because combs aren't showing. When they are fully feathered out at about 8 weeks of age, it will be much easier to determine just what you've gotten.

Most of them have single combs, although a few are different, and I'm not sure what type they are yet. Some of them are much larger than the others, although I'm honestly not worried about sexing the birds right now. I'm more interested in what they might be, since I'm trying to build our flock. Some of them do have feathering on the legs and feet, although I don't think I have any with heavily feathered feet in this hatch. It is hard to tell at this stage. I would love some Wyandottes or Cochins, and those are shown often by 4H kids so it is definitely a possibility. I'll update with more pictures as they grow and it is easier to figure out what they might be. It has been so long since I've had chickens (okay, 7 years) that I don't remember which breeds look like what during the first few weeks. I also bought my own eggs and had at least an idea of what breeds the chicks might be. This is a total guessing game, aside from knowing which birds are shown more often by 4H kids.

 

[JedJackson]

Not long ago, I posted pictures of the chicks my sister hatched in her kindergarten classroom as part of the county's embryology program through 4H and the county ag extension. Teachers are able to rent an incubator and turner and can buy eggs. For reasons I can totally understand, the eggs are not labeled. They can be anything from barnyard mixes to pricey show lines but likely are somewhere in between. My last batch seems to be mostly olive eggers. I had one that was rumpless but obviously is a mixed breed, and on roo and one hen are growing muffs. (The cockerel has significantly more feathers in the area.) Flash forward a few weeks, and we were told that another teacher was looking for a home for the chicks she hatched. It was her first time, and she did not realize just how quickly they grow, so, unfortunately, homes were not found before they hatched. I love chicks, and the chickens they grow into, so of course, I said I'd take this set.

Two of the birds had very clear white spots on their heads, and I'm certain between the dots, feathering, and attitude that they are cockerels. But what kind? A few were mostly black, and several had creamy colored bellies and faces and looked like they were wearing white and black eyeliner. Two or three of the birds are actually brown and black, although the brown does not show well in the lighting that I had available. One chick is big and creamy colored and appears to be a B/B/S splash. Many of them have feathered legs or legs and feet. The runt is a little smaller, but it has a big comb and is catching up some in size. These birds are 16-17 days old. Thank you for your time!
View attachment 1420069
View attachment 1420070 View attachment 1420071 View attachment 1420072 View attachment 1420073 View attachment 1420074 View attachment 1420075 View attachment 1420076 View attachment 1420077 View attachment 1420078 View attachment 1420079 View attachment 1420080 View attachment 1420081 View attachment 1420082 View attachment 1420083 View attachment 1420084 View attachment 1420085 View attachment 1420086 View attachment 1420087 View attachment 1420088 View attachment 1420089

The only definite cockerel so far is the bird in the 10th picture. As far as breed goes, it is difficult to say. Nine times out of ten when we are asked to identify the breeds of classroom hatches in this forum they turn out to be mixed breeds. That's not to say that yours will turn out that way, but it makes breed identification far more imperfect and tenuous at the chick stage. Your best bet for even a semblance of accuracy is to wait until they feather out completely so you have an idea what they will look like as mature birds.

 

[drumstick diva]

x2

 

[classicsredone]

The only definite cockerel so far is the bird in the 10th picture. As far as breed goes, it is difficult to say. Nine times out of ten when we are asked to identify the breeds of classroom hatches in this forum they turn out to be mixed breeds. That's not to say that yours will turn out that way, but it makes breed identification far more imperfect and tenuous at the chick stage. Your best bet for even a semblance of accuracy is to wait until they feather out completely so you have an idea what they will look like as mature birds.

Did you read the response above yours? I said that I was aware that trying to figure out what they "are" is difficult at this age, and that I would add photos as they age. I'm also aware that they could be mixes. The other group that I took in is mostly mixed. While that group is mixed, she has been doing these hatches for nearly 20 years. The breeds have been all over the place, but I definitely would not say that anywhere near 90% are mixed breeds. Usually, the two dozen or so eggs end up hatching 3-4 different breeds. You could say that 90% are breeds that are common for the 4H kids to have and show because they are hatching eggs from 4H kids. (Rocks, Leghorns, RIR, Cochins, Australorps, Silkies, etc.) I can see where you're coming from, but that came across a bit snarky. You can't ask the search function a question only answerable by live humans. It is, however, very easy to skip past a post and not answer.

 

[classicsredone]

The chicks are 4 weeks now and are feathering out. Sigh. I was hoping that the splash would be a girl, but you'll have to take a look at "her". This batch had four that were easy to recognize as boys at 1.5 weeks, and you'll see them in the pictures. The sex isn't a big deal. Any unwanted roos will go to my sister's house. She is going to pick one from the two sets of chicks that I took in, and the rest will be split between our mutual freezer flocks. Many of the boys have split wings, anyway, so I do not want to include them in a breeding program of any sort. We'll look for a breeding set later on for our kids to use for 4H. I'm not stressing over what these are, but it would be nice to know. If they look like mixes, that's fine. Not all of our hens need to be purebred. It would be nice to have an idea, though. These photos were taken yesterday, at the 4-week mark.