What breed?

[SparrowSong]

My 15 yr old son got 4 chickens for his birthday (that's all he wanted! ) and bought these from a man my husband works with. I know they are mixed breeds, but the man said he thought they had some Ameracauna in them and that they would probably be small chickens that lay big eggs.

Not that it matters a great deal, but I'm wondering if you can tell by this photo what breed(s) they are? I'm not sure of the age, but they're not full grown yet.

Thanks!




The whitish speckled one on the right is a male and the rest are females. (We watched a video on You-tube that showed how to hold them, turn them upside down, and determine by the reaction of their tail feathers which sex they are.)

 

[MegW84]

I just went outside 20 minutes ago and did that to all 8 of my chickens after watching it on YouTube! How funny that u mention it, although I don't think it's accurate cuz only 1 out of 4 of my hens made her tail fan out, and my other 4 that aren't sexed just wanted me to put them right side up so it was undetermined. If it is accurate I guess I'm in for a big surprise

 

[BravewingTheHen]

Looks kind of like the girls are RIR/Ameraucana crosses, hard to tell though, and the boy.... Maybe a cuckoo Maran/Ameraucana cross or a Dominique/ Ameraucana? Hard to tell. :/

 

[my sunwolf]

The red one with the bright yellow legs in the front left of the photo is also a male...

No idea on breeds, though! The two females and red male appear to have partridge type coloration, so my guess is that there could be Ameraucana or Easter Egger crossed in them (I have a few Easter Eggers that look a lot like them). The black and white male looks like a Barred or Cuckoo something mixed with a yellow bird like a Buff Orp.

 

[Chickenman76]

They're EE's any bird mixed with a Ameraucana. If he got his birds from a hatchery and not an Ameraucana breeder, 9 out of 10 chances he has EE's as well.


Ameraucanas: A fairly young breed that many believe was developed from EE stock. This breed of chicken can only come in one of the following colors: Black, Blue, Blue Wheaten, Brown Red, Buff, Silver, Wheaten and White. NO other colors. The Ameraucana MUST have slate colored legs, a pea comb, have a beard and muff, and lay blue (to bluish green) eggs. This is a very strict and exacting breed, and is fairly rare, despite hatcheries lying left and right about selling them (really they are selling EEs).


Easter Eggers (EE): A very very very common type of chicken sold by hatcheries. This is NOT a breed, but rather an unregulated mix that tends to share general features. Most of the time anyway. Because it's not a breed, they can come in all colors, in all sizes, with all types of combs, laying all types of eggs, with all kinds of personalities, etc. Generally speaking, the 'ideal' EE should have: a pea comb, lay blue to green eggs, have a beard and muff, and have willow colored leggs. But, as stated before, nobody is reinforcing or regulating them, so hatcheries can mix, match, substitute, edit, remove, swirl, and generally do whatever the heck they want with the genes.

 

[SparrowSong]

Thanks so much!!

 

[SparrowSong]

The red one with the bright yellow legs in the front left of the photo is also a male...

Just wondering how you can tell? I'm new to the whole chicken thing, and trying to soak up as much info as I can. Thanks!

 

[salt and pepper]

Just wondering how you can tell? I'm new to the whole chicken thing, and trying to soak up as much info as I can. Thanks!

It's comb is HUGE for that age, and it's pink, and it's legs are huge. You are right about the other one being a male as well.

 

[SparrowSong]

Thank you, Salt & Pepper!

 

[my sunwolf]

It's comb is HUGE for that age, and it's pink, and it's legs are huge. You are right about the other one being a male as well.

Exactly