what kind of chickens are these...

[tws]

Greetings back yard chickener's...

i recently got 4 young chickens... two barred rocks over a week ago and two young red hens yesterday...

the barred rocks are nice and quiet... they laid two eggs the first two days... one appeared to be dropped from the roost and it broke... the other was on the floor (not in the nesting box) it was ok... no eggs since then a week ago...

this morning there was one more egg (don't know what chicken laid it...) it was also dropped from the roost and broken...

the big bad barred rocks spent all day yesterday and again this morning beating up the red hens... very sad to see... i guess they are barred bully rocks... the newest red hens are very talkative... clucking and chirping... they seem to be more human friendly than the barred bullies...

i got these chickens mostly because i can... we are allow 6 in the city we live in... the narrow dirt region behind and beside our house and bordered by fence is worthless for anything but chickens and the prior owner kept chickens there. i took the time to build a nice coop for 4 and covered the chicken run with decomposed granite... covering the awful black sticky mud that was a plague to anything that ventured back there... i got all this done before the winter rains set in...

i wonder if i'm ever going to get any eggs?...

or if this new farming foul venture is going to be worth it?

i've attached photos maybe someone can identify the two new red hens...

thanks for a great forum...

tws

 

[Ilovemyladies!]

Checkered- Barred Rock

 

[peepblessed]

Great pictures of beautiful birds. The red ones look like Easter Egger cross but I'm not an expert I just like to talk!

About the eggs - Do you know how old the girls are? My hens slow way down at about 3 years but continue to lay some for several more years. Except for my pullets they all pretty much stop when it gets cold or they molt. When you change homes, it can take a few weeks for them to get comfortable in they're surroundings and lay again. You can try putting golf balls in the nest box to show them the right spot or even a couple of store bought eggs. Hope I've helped some. Welcome to BYC!

 

[tws]

we were told by both selling parties that the hens were young, as young as six months and no more than eight.

i guess it takes a while for them to ease into the nesting boxes... i've sprinkled Diatomaceous earth underneath pine shavings... and there are four boxes.

it's going to be difficult to learn what chicken lays what egg... i was told by the lady who sold me the red hens that they laid brown eggs.

she said, as you have, that chickens will quit laying for awhile when moved. also she said to put a light in the coop to establish 14 hours of light to promote laying.

thanks for the valuable feedback.

tws

 

[pinkwindsong]

from Sc

i have barred Rock girls and they are very steady in their laying.. your other girls do look like my EE girls as well except for the comb and other little features.. wonder if they are the base of what my EE girls are ( I dont know their lines ) pecking order is crazy and it makes you want to jump in there and swash off the top hens.. but they will settle and slowly accept them let it go .. unless they start bringing blood then stop it and separate them..

oh one trick to egg color is the ears.. if they are white youll get white eggs if the ears are red you ll get brown eggs.. every time no fail.. ( well except for Ee's that a whole different story)

my girls had a hard summer with the heat and adding new girls.. so they are not all back to laying yet.. Ill be glad when they do all get to laying..

also I had 2 boxes for them and the new girls laid in the new box for a while now they all use the original box they will wait and pace back and forth till the hen inside is done or they cant wait anymore . too funny how they think..

good luck and have fun with your girls watch out for that chicken math its a butt kicker.. I went from 6 to 28 in less than 6 months.. and i plan on more come spring.. ahhhh I know crazy... but I tell ya chickens are shear enjoyment.. they make me smile everyday.. and you cant not laugh at a big heavy hen running around like crazy at apparently nothing to have teh sunlight shine on a bug shes tracking in the air.. soo funny..

again welcome to the byc family its fun here..

PINK

 

[pastorwalt]

Maybe Welsummer? compare to pics on feathersite
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Wels/BRKWelsummers.html

 

[ChestnutRidge]

Quote:
Or maybe a Welsummer mix? Welsummers usually have yellow legs, but yellow skin is recessive, so if they were mixed with something else, they might look something like this.

Oh! And -

 

[bloom_ss]

Hmm...they look kind of like Welsummers to me.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Pretty birds and Welcome!

And I would say keeping chickens is a bit more 'fun' than profitable. You may recoop the money you've spent eventually depending on if you sell the eggs, organic vs not and how much you put into feed and treats (especially treats). Personally, I just counted that first egg as a thousand bucks and figured the rest to be gravy.

Honestly though, it's worth it to not have to buy from the store. Mine taste better and I know they're not coming from a never-seen-the-sun hen in a one foot square cage with a clipped beak.

I'm going to guess barnyard mix on your 'red hens'. They're nice, but I don't think they look like breed in particular.

 

[anderson8505]

Quote:
I completely agree with this post. I'll never make a profit, but it's fun.
Your black and whites are barred rocks, look like hens from those photos. The others I don't know.