What breed are these featherballs?

[PhDtoFarm]

I got my first flock over the summer: 12 "Rhode Island Reds." There are 10 I'm confident are actually RIRs, but these two I'm not so sure about.






- They are much larger than the RIRs: maybe an inch taller and a good 1-2 inches fatter. I poked their chests once, and there is definitely some good meat there.
- They are about the same age as the RIRs (7ish months), but their combs never got any bigger. Redder, yes. Bigger, no.
- They're very antisocial, both with the other birds and with me. My RIRs all gather around whenever I get in the run, but these two just hide and avoid me as much as possible.
- Any time I successfully pick them up, they struggle like crazy. They're the only two who will not calm down and will not give up until they're back on the ground.
- They're on the bottom of the pecking order and stick out like sore thumbs. The one with some tail is second from the bottom; the one who looks more tail-less is at the very bottom.

The feed store where I got them suggested that they might be Production Reds?

I'm also not actually sure they're laying. I get about 9-10 eggs per day, and I've just been assuming that these guys are the slackers, but I don't know how to check whether or not that's really the case. I know you can tell by comb color, but since their combs are so tiny I'm having a hard time comparing them.

If they're not producing, I want to cull them. They really seem more like meat birds than layers. And if they are producing... well, what the heck are they??

 

[sellison]

They aren't rhode island reds and I don't think they are production reds. They look like some dark cornish we had except they are redish instead of black. Sorry I am not very helpful.

 

[PhDtoFarm]

Hey, no problem! Any insight is helpful. I was also thinking maybe they were a Cornish/RIR mix or something...

Just trying to decide if it's worth keeping them around or if they're better suited for the freezer. :/

 

[IloveBuffy]

They look like RIR-Partridge Rock crosses of some kind

 

[donrae]

If they're from a hatchery, they're just generic red hatchery birds.

Do they have pea combs? the first hen makes me think of a Buckeye, but not the second.

 

[Wyandottes7]

If they're from a hatchery, they're just generic red hatchery birds.

Do they have pea combs? the first hen makes me think of a Buckeye, but not the second.

X2

 

[BantamLover21]

What type of comb do they have? If you don't know, could you post a photo of each bird's head and comb? The first one almost looks like a Buckeye, but they could just be hatchery-quality Rhode Island Reds or some sort of mixed breed.

 

[PhDtoFarm]

I'm not sure if they're pea combs or just very, very small single combs (if that even happens). I'll try to get a picture tomorrow -- won't be able to do it tonight before the sun goes down.

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[sellison]

I have some RIR that are about that age and they already have the bigger combs and RIR don't have pea combs. They could be a cross.

 

[PhDtoFarm]

Okay, it took me a LONG time to get these pictures up, but here are the best I could get. It's so hard to get them to stay still for long.

I guess these are pea combs? I hadn't really gotten a close look until recently, and I think I'm still not clear on what pea combs are. I thought the bumps would be bigger. Anyway, I hope these are clear enough!





So... definitely Buckeyes, then?