What Breed is my Henpecked Chick?

[ClareScifi]

By the way, here's a pic I took of him today, at 7 weeks old. I think it's cool how he's both gold and silver, and the silver wing tips and hackles have a slate-blue coloration to them.

 

[mother o' chicks72]

He's gorgeous! Looks like the buff orpington could be his mom with all that gold and those white legs.

he's sooo pretty

 

[ClareScifi]

Thanks for the compliment! I think he's pretty, too. But I'm a bit worried-- if he is part Buff Orpington, shouldn't he be larger in size than his full-blooded White Leghorn siblings of his same age? They look bigger than him. They have been raised outdoors, under their mother, whereas he has been raised indoors by me.

For a time he looked larger than his siblings, but now they have surpassed him in size. I read that Orpingtons are the 5th largest chicken breed, even larger than Leghorns.

 

[anderson8505]

Quote:
The majority of my flock (PR & BR) grew up together as chicks. Later, they grew to accept a new roo who is very different than them, and a black mixed chicken, but they HATE the Speckled Sussex hen that I added. She is still being pushed out of the flock. They do recognize 100 different chicken faces, so it is entirely possible that something colored differently is something they would shun or pick on. Also, if the chick attitude is submissive, as my SS hen's is, it is just naturally getting picked on more. I will probably place mine back in a cage inside the coop to let her gain some confidence again and try again to integrate her in the flock. It's too bad, cuz I am really looking forward to seeing SS & Appenzellar Spitzhauben chicks someday!

good luck.

 

[Pele]

Oh wow, what an interesting genetic mental excersize! That is very strange how the chick started with willow legs, which then turned white. I would have put my vote in for Leghorn/EE mix before, but now I am definitely leaning towards EE/Orpington.

It'll be very interesting to see how this little guy develops! I definitely see roo, btw.

 

[ClareScifi]

Thanks for your post. I'm nearly certain the father was a White Leghorn. I think the only other rooster where he comes from is a Silver-Laced Sebring (Bantam), and I don't think that is a likely parentage for this chick.

Someone asked what color egg he hatched from. There were no blue or green eggs, only white, brown and cream eggs, so that would rule out Ameracaunas, Aracaunas, and EEs as the mother; correct?

So he must have an Oprington or Rhode Island Red mama? Don't think they have many other breeds there. But that is weird about his feet, as you say. Do you think he's too small looking for his age? He's 7 weeks old.

I read that B.O.s are the 5th largest chicken, larger than Leghorns, and my Leghorn roosters who were born at the same time as this chick, are bigger than he is. That has me a bit worried... They were raised outdoors, though, in the cold weather, whereas I've raised this one inside. Do outdoor chicks tend to grow bigger, putting on more fat to deal with the colder temps there, perhaps?

 

[Pele]

Good questions! Unfortunately EEs are not really a standardized breed, so there are not strict rules about breeding them. The 'ideal' EE, in my opinion, would have muffs, willow legs, a pea comb, and lay blue/green eggs. But unfortunately, they can have only one or two of those features, and still be legitimately called EE. To further complicate things, 70% of people/hatcheries that are selling "Ameraucanas", are actually just selling EEs. Ameraucanas are a very specific and well regulated breed that somewhat resemble EEs, but are easily discerned by the trained eye.

Sorry about rambling, the short answer is that yes an EE can lay a cream or brown egg. So that doesn't rule it out.

I think what you might be running into is that the Leghorn father may not be pure Leghorn (I would suspect EE/Leghorn mix). I really can't think of any other way that your bird would get that grey hood he's sporting unless the seller's flock has a stealth roo in it. The white legs definitely finger Orpington as the mother. As Illia stated, it's a dominant gene.

As far as the little guy's size, I wouldn't worry about that quite yet, as some boys take more time on their feathers first, then shoot up like a weed. He'll be respectable in size since he's most likely part Orp.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Quote:
Since the chick's legs are green, I would say the "Ameraucana" (most likely an EE actually) is the mother. Leghorns have yellow legs and almost all EE's have slate legs... therefore the offspring could have the green legs. BO have white and RIR have yellow... so the legs of offspring from those would most likely be yellow.

 

[ClareScifi]

Interesting!

The owner of the eggs claimed all the chickens were pure-bred, that his Leghorn rooster (my chick's father) was purebred, but are you saying the rooster father might have come from the hatchery as a non purebred Leghorn?

Clare

 

[NanaLantana]

Correct about the ameraucana's - I bought 2 chics last year, because I wanted blue eggs - well, they lay very light brown eggs. I got gyped! Where's my green/blue eggs?