What breed is this? I know it's early...

[Di Gibbs]

Hi,
Can you tell me what breed this chicken is?
Also can you tell if a chicken is a hen or a rooster by their beak when they are young?


See how the beak looks thick? Their is another one not as dark colored in the wings and the beak does not have that thick part.

Thanks,
Di

 

[Barrdwing]

Breed . . . mm, good question. Are those feathers on the lower part of the leg? It has either a rose or a pea comb, but the legs are yellow, so it doesn't look like most of the Easter Eggers I've seen. My knee-jerk reaction is "cute little mix," especially if the legs have feathers.

As far as gender is concerned, if that comb starts developing a pink color in the next few weeks, it is more likely to be a rooster. However, rose and pea comb chicks drive me absolutely crazy trying to guess gender when they're this young: it's so hard to tell. I have a better track record with single-comb birds.

I haven't seen beak thickness as an indicator, but if the legs are thicker than those of other chicks of the same age, it's likelier to be a rooster. Generally rooster chicks develop some seriously sturdy legs once they start growing rapidly.

The other telltale that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't is tail carriage. A chick that usually carries its tail high is a more confident and inquisitive chick, which tends to go along with being a rooster; a chick that always carries its tail low is more cautious in the pecking order and can either be a hen or a low-ranking rooster. This chick is carrying its tail low in the photo, but that doesn't mean that that is how it always carries it.

 

[Di Gibbs]

Thanks, you have lots of information!
They do have feathers on the legs.
Our neighbor that gave us the fertilized eggs was guessing by the curve of the beak it was a hen, but that thick comb, I was just not sure, as one of the others does not have that.


This little one does not have that thick comb.
It will be fun to find out, one of the little black ones, they are silkies I think, he does a weird thing opening his mouth wide, and I was wondering...hmmm...will he crow eventually?

This is our first batch of chicks, we got our original girls as pullets, but when Alice went broody we thought we'd let her hatch some babies, and she is an awesome Mum to them.

Thanks,
Di

 

[Barrdwing]

Opening the mouth wide can be yawning, although if the chick is doing this all the time it could be an indication of an infection, or parasites. If it only happens every now and then, I'd keep an eye on it and make sure that the chick is eating well and gaining weight. If it's happening all the time, like several times a day for more than a day or two, there could be a problem.

The two little sand-colored chicks could easily be full siblings; one just got the gene for single comb and the other got rose comb. They are at that age where it really is difficult to tell gender. I often find that photos are useful, because when I go back and look at them again, I spot color in combs that I didn't notice at the time.

Feathered legs: lots of possible sources, could be Cochin in there, or Brahma, or Silky, or Belgian Bearded . . . I'm sure there are more, and I've also noticed that feathered legs can pop up when both parents had bare legs. It will be easier to tell breed parentage when they get a little older.

Our main flock is a mixed bag. We started out with a variety of purebreds from the feed store, and have let them cross any which way. Some very interesting colors and shapes have come out of that! Especially when one or both parents were themselves mixes. It's been a crash course in chicken genetics, that's for sure.

 

[ChickenExtreme]

I would wait to say for sure, but that's me, lol