when they feather out....will they look the same?

[newchik715]

right now i can tell my babies apart somewhat. when they feather out....especially the buffs....do they look the same at all as when they were chicks. i know i can get the leg bands as i saw another post similar to this but i was wondering if the coloring as a chick carries over at all?

 

[Tala]

They change a lot. My RIR had a lot of white down on his neck/chest and there's not a single white feather on him now. My red sexlink went from being kindof white/gold mottled to a fairly solid golden color.
My black sexlink males changed a lot as they feathered they got whiter feathers on their backs, the females started off almost all black but now they are half buff and half black (buff chest, black booties)

The solid colored Buff orpingtons and plain white Leghorns stayed pretty much the same their whole feathering process, but the multi-colored birds seemed to change a lot! They were different as chicks than they were as teenagers, and they were yet different again by the time they matured (they are 1 now).

 

[newchik715]

so when you name chicks how do you tell them apart later? my daughter wants to name them and i do not know how we will remember who is who?

 

[mom2jedi]

I had the same thing happen with my four Black Australorps. We could tell them apart as chicks but once they grew up they all looked the same! We decide to go with leg bands (read zip ties...) when they started laying and just renamed them with the original names once they got banded. So my 7yo got to see one of the chickens lay an egg, first one who did, and since she hadn't "found" an egg yet, that became her chicken Rosalinda since she got to watch! I have no idea if that really was that one but it didn't matter... she was so happy she got to find an egg.

 

[lauren6]

Quote:
Oh good Idea

I was wondering how we were going to tell the Barred Rocks apart

 

[gryeyes]

Last October I was a newbie with chickens. I KNEW I wouldn't be able to tell them apart if they were all one breed..... So I got a colorful flock (see my signature).

Right now I have four more chicks and two ducklings, and two of the chicks are the same breed. Oh, great. So they're Laverne & Shirley. Not sure which is Laverne, and which is Shirley, just yet. (They're a week old.) The two ducklings are Thelma & Louise. I sure hope they both turn out to be hens, not drakes. (Ducklings were straight run.) The RIR is Rhoda and the BR is Betsy. I can tell THEM apart okay!

 

[jettgirl24]

I have been thinking about the same thing lately. The only reason I can tell my Orpingtons apart is because one hasn't grown any tail feathers yet. One of my rocks has a way smaller white spot on the top of her head so that sets them apart. Also, the one with a smaller spot peeps like a mad-chick and acts like a little turd

LOL!

 

[Uzuri]

Take pictures every day, and label the pictures.

I'm not kidding, it worked for me

Every day for 4 weeks; then weekly for another 4. By then they were into their adult plumage.

You may have difficulty with very plain breeds; I do have some trouble with my Welsummers. When they're next to each other I can tell; just not when they're apart.

 

[catdaddy66]

I wondered the very same thing...I have 5 Australorp chicks that seem to be getting white on their wings and bellies, but the adult is solid black w/ a green sheen. Is this right? Do they morph from white to black at some point or are there chicks that resemble an australorp at birth, changing as they grow? It boggles my mind...(not very hard to do!

)

 

[radiodog]

Quote:
Oh good Idea

I was wondering how we were going to tell the Barred Rocks apart

One of my Barred Rock chicken does have white bars on its wings - the other chick is solid black. I wonder if this chick is an oopsey.