What breed & gender

[JedJackson]

The black one. She could be an olive egger, too, but I usually go with the most common breed of whatever color is in question, and that is Australorp for black. The Welsummer is definitely a pullet. That color pattern is easy to distinguish male from female. And barred rocks too, if they are purebred, are easy to distinguish because the males have more white in the barring and the females more black.

 

[pineapple416]

Brown one is a Welsummer, barred is probably a Plymouth barred rock.
Here's a picture of my Welsummer hen (named Ruby)

 

[Jwren7]

The black one. She could be an olive egger, too, but I usually go with the most common breed of whatever color is in question, and that is Australorp for black. The Welsummer is definitely a pullet. That color pattern is easy to distinguish male from female. And barred rocks too, if they are purebred, are easy to distinguish because the males have more white in the barring and the females more black.

That’s so interesting. Glad you guys posted that, we were confident she was a black star.

 

[Jwren7]

Brown one is a Welsummer, barred is probably a Plymouth barred rock.
Here's a picture of my Welsummer hen (named Ruby)
View attachment 1248821

Beautiful!

 

[Jwren7]

We’re thinking of trying to find silkie pullets and add one or two to the flock. Need to keep them separated for a long time, right?

 

[pineapple416]

We’re thinking of trying to find silkie pullets and add one or two to the flock. Need to keep them separated for a long time, right?

Thanks she is a pretty hen, a little flighty though. I would quarantine them from the rest of the flock for 2 weeks to prevent disease and keep their stress levels lower as they are adjusting. Check for disease in 2 weeks and if they seem healthy integrate them into your flock.

 

[JedJackson]

We’re thinking of trying to find silkie pullets and add one or two to the flock. Need to keep them separated for a long time, right?

Probably. The sooner you do it the better, I would think. Young birds tend to be more tolerant of newcomers than older birds, from my experience. But you may still need to keep them separate but in the same coop for a while-- like in their own run or large cage-- to give them time to get familiar with one another.

 

[drumstick diva]

x2 Jed Jackson. Via search box seek out "Look but don't touch, method of integration