What breed and age are these chickens?

[NatJ]

they said they were barnyard mix

That usually means they are not any pure breed. When someone has a rooster and some hens of a variety of breeds, and they hatch chicks, it is common to call the chicks "barnyard mix." It just means a mix of whatever breeds in their barnyard happened to mate and lay eggs at the time the person wanted to hatch eggs.

also wondering the age, they said they just started laying this year, but too me they look pretty big like my almost 2yo hens

Some chickens just do get bigger than others. I don't think their size can tell you anything useful about their age.

the brown one has very yellow feet which none of my chickens have so not sure what that means.

Some chickens naturally have yellow feet, and some do not.

For chickens that do have yellow feet, what they eat can cause the feet to be more yellow or less yellow. And when a hen lays eggs, her feet become less yellow (because whatever causes the yellow is going into the egg yolks instead.) I've read of people using this to sort good layers from poor layers (more yellow = less laying.)

 

[ElaynasChick]

That usually means they are not any pure breed. When someone has a rooster and some hens of a variety of breeds, and they hatch chicks, it is common to call the chicks "barnyard mix." It just means a mix of whatever breeds in their barnyard happened to mate and lay eggs at the time the person wanted to hatch eggs.



Some chickens just do get bigger than others. I don't think their size can tell you anything useful about their age.


Some chickens naturally have yellow feet, and some do not.

For chickens that do have yellow feet, what they eat can cause the feet to be more yellow or less yellow. And when a hen lays eggs, her feet become less yellow (because whatever causes the yellow is going into the egg yolks instead.) I've read of people using this to sort good layers from poor layers (more yellow = less laying.)

Thank you so much this is very helpful!

 

[ElaynasChick]

That usually means they are not any pure breed. When someone has a rooster and some hens of a variety of breeds, and they hatch chicks, it is common to call the chicks "barnyard mix." It just means a mix of whatever breeds in their barnyard happened to mate and lay eggs at the time the person wanted to hatch eggs.



Some chickens just do get bigger than others. I don't think their size can tell you anything useful about their age.


Some chickens naturally have yellow feet, and some do not.

For chickens that do have yellow feet, what they eat can cause the feet to be more yellow or less yellow. And when a hen lays eggs, her feet become less yellow (because whatever causes the yellow is going into the egg yolks instead.) I've read of people using this to sort good layers from poor layers (more yellow = less laying.)

So mine isn't laying good anymore?

 

[NatJ]

So mine isn't laying good anymore?

For yours with the yellow feet, it probably means she just started laying and her feet haven't had time to fade yet.

Or maybe she hasn't even started to lay yet.
You can check:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/
You can look at her vent, and feel for the pubic bones nearby, and tell if she's laying or not.
The basic idea is: the pubic bones are farther apart, and the vent is larger and looks stretchy, if a hen is laying.

I found it easiest to learn by looking at several chickens to see the differences. A male makes a great example of not-laying, and of course any hen you know is laying is a fine example of a layer.

 

[ElaynasChick]

For yours with the yellow feet, it probably means she just started laying and her feet haven't had time to fade yet.

Or maybe she hasn't even started to lay yet.
You can check:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/
You can look at her vent, and feel for the pubic bones nearby, and tell if she's laying or not.
The basic idea is: the pubic bones are farther apart, and the vent is larger and looks stretchy, if a hen is laying.

I found it easiest to learn by looking at several chickens to see the differences. A male makes a great example of not-laying, and of course any hen you know is laying is a fine example of a layer.

okay i will do that, the people i bought her from said she is a great layer, so that implies she is laying so idk this is confusing, they might be a bit dishonest.

 

[NatJ]

they might be a bit dishonest.

That is a possibility.
Or they may not know their chickens as well as they think they do.

 

[ElaynasChick]

That is a possibility.
Or they may not know their chickens as well as they think they do.

I looked. the vent looks pink and glossy on the inside area, around it looks the shade of yellow like her legs, the vent is not as big as when you compare her to my smaller chicken, laying leghorn.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Yes i did, they are still separate though just to be safe

Quarantine typically takes 20-30 days.

 

[ElaynasChick]

Quarantine typically takes 20-30 days.

I just really did not want to keep them in a crate for that long

 

[TheOddOneOut]

I just really did not want to keep them in a crate for that long

You don’t need to keep them in a crate. Just separate from the other birds. That way they can’t share any diseases they might have.
I was a bit confused when you said you had them separate because I can see another hen running about with them, in the photos.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/adding-to-your-flock.47756/