What kind of mix is she?

[SJsChickies]

I got a couple more babies to add to our flock. One is identical to my 2 cream legbars so I know what she is. But this one is clearly a mix. Was hoping a color layer but I don’t even know what she (hopefully “she” cause she was sold as a pullet lol) is mixed with. Any ideas? The feed store said she’s 8+ weeks old. I can take more pics if needed. She just froze right when I put her in the run so I snapped a photo of her there lol.

 

[JedJackson]

Looks to be an olive egger. The size of the comb is a little concerning.

 

[SJsChickies]

Looks to be an olive egger. The size of the comb is a little concerning.

Olive Egger would be great! I know I was looking at the comb too The feed store said they were all pullets but I know mistakes can happen. Such a beautiful bird I hope it’s a female.

 

[SJsChickies]

Looks to be an olive egger. The size of the comb is a little concerning.

I was just reading on single vs double barring and I’m a little confused cause I can’t find side by side pics. But to my understanding, females have single and males have double? Do you know much about that or if this chick is single or double barred?

 

[NatJ]

I was just reading on single vs double barring and I’m a little confused cause I can’t find side by side pics. But to my understanding, females have single and males have double? Do you know much about that or if this chick is single or double barred?

Double barring always means male.

Single barring can exist in females or in males, depending on what breed or mix they are. For example, Barred Rock hens have single barring, and Black Sexlink roosters have single barring.

Regarding whether your bird has single barring or double barring, I don't know. I'm not really good at telling the difference when there is just one bird. It's much easier to tell when there are some of each together, so the differences stand out.

 

[SJsChickies]

Double barring always means male.

Single barring can exist in females or in males, depending on what breed or mix they are. For example, Barred Rock hens have single barring, and Black Sexlink roosters have single barring.

Regarding whether your bird has single barring or double barring, I don't know. I'm not really good at telling the difference when there is just one bird. It's much easier to tell when there are some of each together, so the differences stand out.

I don’t know how to tell either I’m ready to go back to the feed store though and look at the rest to see if there’s a smaller comb or different barring!

 

[NatJ]

I don’t know how to tell either I’m ready to go back to the feed store though and look at the rest to see if there’s a smaller comb or different barring!

I would trust combs more than barring.

The problem with sexing by barring is that it only sometimes works.

Purebred Barred Rocks: single barred females, double barred males.
Black Sexlinks: no barring on females, single barred males.
Both of those can be sexed by barring if you know what kind they are. But single barring means female in one and male in the other, so you can't do it the same way for both kinds.

And when people make Olive Eggers, crossing the same two breeds in one direction or the other can give very different results. For example:
Black Copper Marans rooster x Cream Legbar hen gives no barring on daughters and single barring on sons.
Cream Legbar rooster x Black Copper Marans hen gives single barring on both sons and daughters.

If you see birds that obviously have double barring (overall lighter color), they would have to be males. But single barring could go either way, since you don't know what breed or mix you are dealing with.

 

[SJsChickies]

I would trust combs more than barring.

The problem with sexing by barring is that it only sometimes works.

Purebred Barred Rocks: single barred females, double barred males.
Black Sexlinks: no barring on females, single barred males.
Both of those can be sexed by barring if you know what kind they are. But single barring means female in one and male in the other, so you can't do it the same way for both kinds.

And when people make Olive Eggers, crossing the same two breeds in one direction or the other can give very different results. For example:
Black Copper Marans rooster x Cream Legbar hen gives no barring on daughters and single barring on sons.
Cream Legbar rooster x Black Copper Marans hen gives single barring on both sons and daughters.

If you see birds that obviously have double barring (overall lighter color), they would have to be males. But single barring could go either way, since you don't know what breed or mix you are dealing with.

Well that’s nice and confusing lol Would you agree that this is likely a male? Due to the comb?

 

[NatJ]

Well that’s nice and confusing lol

Unfortunately true

Would you agree that this is likely a male? Due to the comb?

The comb is a little on the small side for a male of this age.
Then again, it's big for a female of this age.

If I assume this bird has been bred for high egg production, which usually goes with a large comb for the age/sex of the bird, then you might have a female. This is especially likely if the bird is a little older than you were told, and has been growing up during the long days of summer (which can cause a chicken to mature earlier than it otherwise would.)

On the other hand, if the bird is a little younger than you were told, and is a slow-maturing type, then that exact same comb could easily belong to a male.

My gut feeling is that the bird is female, but I don't trust that unless I can point to specific reasons to back it up. In this case, obviously I can come up with a list of reasons either way.

If there are others of the same kind to look at, you might be able to tell more about the combs. If they are supposed to be sexed females, and they all have similar sizes of combs, that probably is the correct comb size for females of that age for that breed or mix. But if the others all have much smaller combs, then yours is probably male. It does look old enough that male vs. female should be pretty obvious if you get a chance to see both sexes.

 

[SJsChickies]

Unfortunately true



The comb is a little on the small side for a male of this age.
Then again, it's big for a female of this age.

If I assume this bird has been bred for high egg production, which usually goes with a large comb for the age/sex of the bird, then you might have a female. This is especially likely if the bird is a little older than you were told, and has been growing up during the long days of summer (which can cause a chicken to mature earlier than it otherwise would.)

On the other hand, if the bird is a little younger than you were told, and is a slow-maturing type, then that exact same comb could easily belong to a male.

My gut feeling is that the bird is female, but I don't trust that unless I can point to specific reasons to back it up. In this case, obviously I can come up with a list of reasons either way.

If there are others of the same kind to look at, you might be able to tell more about the combs. If they are supposed to be sexed females, and they all have similar sizes of combs, that probably is the correct comb size for females of that age for that breed or mix. But if the others all have much smaller combs, then yours is probably male. It does look old enough that male vs. female should be pretty obvious if you get a chance to see both sexes.

So I went back and got another of the same and notice a difference in the comb and the barring. This will probably help cause they definitely look different. When I asked the guy at the store if they were 2 months he said yes but he thinks maybe a little older. Also, the beak on the first one…it’s so curved! None of my other breeds have that. Is it supposed to be that way you think? Or did it grow too much? And do you have any thoughts on what breeds they might be a mix of?