What breeds & is there a roo (or two?) Pic Heavy.

[LunaBaby]

Hi I'm new here but have lurked for a while. I just never registed and said hello sooner because the members here always seem to ask what I've been wondering and other members here give such good answers that I never needed to. So far all my chicks are doing very good and I haven't lost any. I couldn't have done it without this forum. So, Hello & Thanks!

I got my chickens as day olds April 22. I was told the red ones were "comparable" to RIRs and that the black ones were comparable to "Plymouth Blacks." I ordered 10 and got a peanut. There are 4 reds and I'm wondering if they are Red Stars (sex linked females). I have 7 black ones and appear to be two types.

Also, I heard a crow the other day and there was a black one looking a little cocky. I'll see if you can figure it out. I'm not sure if it's male though. I know the combs aren't big but there is some other stuff to. just general behavior. hmmm... I don't know what to think.

A couple weeks ago but you can see their markings better:

I'll try to get better pictures if I need to. They are not very photogenic and hate being posers. lol
Any help is appreciated.

 

[asher]

I think the black ones are sexlinks, reds are gold comets (which are also considered sex links, I think). No clue on the last one, though.

 

[ella]

Yeah, it looks like you got red and black sex links in which case you shouldn't have ANY males.

Do you have any white or barred chicks? Those would be the males.

Or do you have any solid black (no brown or red) or solid red (no white) those could be males of a different breed.

 

[LunaBaby]

Quote:
Good morning,
I hope you had a good weekend ladies. I spent the weekend really shoring up my hen house against predators. We noticed some shady critter crossing the driveway and heard coyotes on the back of the property one night so we gave it the once over to be sure. His ex had peacocks in there for years with no problems, but maybe they are less appealing then chickens. We decided to be safe and hopefully not sorry.

I'm pretty sure, the more I look, that I have all girls. I'm thinking one is the alpha and trying to do rooster duty. I haven't heard any more attempts at crowing.

I kind of suspected sex links. By the looks of them, I think I have two types of black. I have the black with brown that look like classic sex links, at least judging by other members pictures of those types. I also have solid black with a kind of blue hue. The legs are different to. The black with brown have more yellow legs while the solid blacks have gray legs.

The alpha is one of the solid blacks. What kind of got me to thinking was that the store called me and asked if I would take a rooster and I said, no. Then I had a packing peanut and it made me wonder if they put a rooster in any way rather than resigning it's fate.

Then my daughter visited and told me she had a rooster that was kind of stealth. It looked like a hen until around 3 months old and then almost over night morphed into a boy. lol She said there were no big combs or wattles or anything else to give him away before hand. The only suspicious thing was that it got spurs but I'm not seeing those either. However, this one is way bigger than the others.

My chickies are all very sweet and I'm very happy with them so far. I'm going to try to get some better pictures of the two kinds of blacks and will post them when I get a couple that are good shots. This could take a couple days because the ladies get nervous when I get the camera out.

Thank you so much for responding. I'm off to get the weeds in my garden under control again.

 

[s6bee]

I see nothing that says "Roo" to me from those pictures.

 

[Davaroo]

My vote is for sex-links, too. You didn't state where you got them. Locally or a mail order?

And where are you located? It is helpful to know and you can put that with your avatar.

"Shady characters" and coyotes are BIG trouble - go check the poultry yard again.

 

[LunaBaby]

I'm in Michigan's UP.
The hen house is very secure now and the run is covered with the fence buried under the ground a few feet so nothing can dig under. We reinforced the door to it because it needed it. It's getting to be like a chicken fortress.

The shady character I saw was either a weasel, mink, or fisher. It was around sunset and it moved very fast.

Our bedroom overlooks the hen house and we slept with the window open. We also kept the door leading to the outside from our bedroom unlocked so we could get out there fast, even if we were half asleep.

Yeah, I have to get an avatar and stuff.

I think that I have an alpha hen. Either way is fine with me.

 

[LunaBaby]

I got them from a feed store.

 

[Davaroo]

Minks fishers weasels - - all the same. Fascinating animals, death to a chicken. They are also the consummate break in thief. Be wary.

Welcome to the world of warm and fuzzy chickens, Luna.
Those sex-links are gonna make you plenny egg.