What type of chickens do I have?

[MimiChick88]

Here is the yellow one

Here is the last breed

 

[NatJ]

Here is the next one.

Hmm.

single comb, yellow feet-- common traits
reddish down, also common
brown and black patterning in the wing feathers, also common

But I think I'm seeing white barring in the wing feathers too, which should really limit the options.

Maybe Calico Princess? Hoover's Hatchery sells them, so some feed stores stock them. I think their colors are somewhat variable, but can include brown shades with white barring.

Or maybe some kind of Easter Egger? Ones that descend from Cream Legbars can have a single comb and white barring. (The chick down looks wrong for a pure Cream Legbar.)

That one's got me rather puzzled.

 

[MimiChick88]

Hmm.

single comb, yellow feet-- common traits
reddish down, also common
brown and black patterning in the wing feathers, also common

But I think I'm seeing white barring in the wing feathers too, which should really limit the options.

Maybe Calico Princess? Hoover's Hatchery sells them, so some feed stores stock them. I think their colors are somewhat variable, but can include brown shades with white barring.

Or maybe some kind of Easter Egger? Ones that descend from Cream Legbars can have a single comb and white barring. (The chick down looks wrong for a pure Cream Legbar.)

That one's got me rather puzzled.

Mystery! Lol! Well please look at the others I posted. I posted a yellow chick and a lighter brown. When you can. Thanks again !

 

[NatJ]

Here is the yellow one

Feathers definitely look white in those photos, not buff.
Single comb, yellow feet.

I think the most likely three breeds are White Leghorn, White Rock, and Cornish Cross.

If that breed grows much faster and bigger than the other chicks, they are Cornish Cross, and should be butchered around age 2 months. The difference in size & growth rate would be VERY obvious. So if there is any doubt, then it's not Cornish Cross.

If they grow up to be relatively slender chickens, with white earlobes, and the females start to lay white eggs, then probably White Leghorns.

White Rocks would be medium-sized chickens (about the same as Barred Rocks in size and shape), with red earlobes, and would lay brown eggs.

Some other white breeds exist, but I think they are much less likely. And of course we can rule out ones like Sultans (crested head, extra toe, feathered feet-- definitely not!)

 

[NatJ]

Here is the last breed

Single comb, yellow feet
chipmunk stripes in the down
feathers show some black and several shades of brown

I expect that chick to grow up with "wild-type" coloration (also called Black Breasted Red, and found in quite a few breeds with other names just to confuse us.)

I think Welsummer or Brown Leghorn are the most likely. Welsummer grows up to have red earlobes and lay dark brown eggs, Brown Leghorn grows up to have a more slender body with white earlobes and lay white eggs.

It's not right for Cream Legbar, because it doesn't seem to have white barring (those light tips on the feathers are pretty common in non-barred chicks of certain colors.)

It could be some kind of Easter Egger or Olive Egger, because lots of hatcheries are making new combinations of those lately. For example, if they crossed a Welsummer rooster to a Cream Legbar hen they could end up with chicks that color.

I'm not really sure about this one either.

 

[MimiChick88]

Feathers definitely look white in those photos, not buff.
Single comb, yellow feet.

I think the most likely three breeds are White Leghorn, White Rock, and Cornish Cross.

If that breed grows much faster and bigger than the other chicks, they are Cornish Cross, and should be butchered around age 2 months. The difference in size & growth rate would be VERY obvious. So if there is any doubt, then it's not Cornish Cross.

If they grow up to be relatively slender chickens, with white earlobes, and the females start to lay white eggs, then probably White Leghorns.

White Rocks would be medium-sized chickens (about the same as Barred Rocks in size and shape), with red earlobes, and would lay brown eggs.

Some other white breeds exist, but I think they are much less likely. And of course we can rule out ones like Sultans (crested head, extra toe, feathered feet-- definitely not!)

I really hope it’s not Cornish. I don’t want to butcher. Why do you have to?

 

[NatJ]

I really hope it’s not Cornish. I don’t want to butcher. Why do you have to?

With Cornish Cross, if you don't butcher them, they usually have one of two problems: too heavy to walk (their legs aren't strong enough to support them), or heart attack and drop dead.

They are bred to grow really big, really fast, and they don't need to live longer than 2 months because that's when they are meant to be butchered.

To keep Cornish Cross alive and sort-of healthy longer is difficult. They need limited food (semi-starvation to stunt their growth, but not so starved they get sick or die). Because other chickens should have free-choice food, that makes them difficult or impossible to manage in a mixed flock.

I definitely hope you don't have Cornish Cross! If they are not obviously bigger than the other chicks by this age, there's a good chance they are not Cornish Cross. If they go another two weeks without being obvious, I would say you can be completely sure.

Mystery! Lol! Well please look at the others I posted. I posted a yellow chick and a lighter brown. When you can. Thanks again !

I was just trying to take them one at a time, so I didn't confuse myself or you

Unfortunately, there are still quite a few options for each of those chicks.

Other people might have other ideas, but I think most of those chicks are going to need to get a fair bit older before their breed becomes obvious.

 

[MimiChick88]

With Cornish Cross, if you don't butcher them, they usually have one of two problems: too heavy to walk (their legs aren't strong enough to support them), or heart attack and drop dead.

They are bred to grow really big, really fast, and they don't need to live longer than 2 months because that's when they are meant to be butchered.

To keep Cornish Cross alive and sort-of healthy longer is difficult. They need limited food (semi-starvation to stunt their growth, but not so starved they get sick or die). Because other chickens should have free-choice food, that makes them difficult or impossible to manage in a mixed flock.

I definitely hope you don't have Cornish Cross! If they are not obviously bigger than the other chicks by this age, there's a good chance they are not Cornish Cross. If they go another two weeks without being obvious, I would say you can be completely sure.


I was just trying to take them one at a time, so I didn't confuse myself or you

Unfortunately, there are still quite a few options for each of those chicks.

Other people might have other ideas, but I think most of those chicks are going to need to get a fair bit older before their breed becomes obvious.

Ok. I messaged Ideal Poultry which is the supplier to the feed store. The chat rep felt that the white chick is either a White Rock, Delaware or Rhode Island White. She said they have not sent any Cornish to Atwood’s. Whew! She felt that the lighter brown was maybe a Brown Star and the darker brown may be a Welsummer.

 

[MimiChick88]

Ok. I messaged Ideal Poultry which is the supplier to the feed store. The chat rep felt that the white chick is either a White Rock, Delaware or Rhode Island White. She said they have not sent any Cornish to Atwood’s. Whew! She felt that the lighter brown was maybe a Brown Star and the darker brown may be a Welsummer.

Im going with Rhode Island White because the feet are more of a yellow

 

[NatJ]

Ok. I messaged Ideal Poultry which is the supplier to the feed store. The chat rep felt that the white chick is either a White Rock, Delaware or Rhode Island White. She said they have not sent any Cornish to Atwood’s. Whew! She felt that the lighter brown was maybe a Brown Star and the darker brown may be a Welsummer.

In future, if you know the hatchery, definitely share that. It can help narrow down the choices

I would have expected a bit of black in the wing feathers of a Delaware, but it will probably become clear as it grows whether it is, or is not.

Im going with Rhode Island White because the feet are more of a yellow

Rhode Island White and White Rock should both have yellow feet. You'll probably have to guess from body shape when it grows up, because those two breeds don't have much else to distinguish them.