Chicken Study - Part II

(Part I found here.)

Shortly after getting our 24 (26 minus 2 fatalities) chicks we took time one evening to try and figure out what breeds we now have.  It was hard!  Many of the breeds look so similar to each other as babies, if not downright identical.  We wrote down the identifying characteristics of each type we'd been given and did our best via the website's pictures and videos to guess.  There can be variance among chicks within a breed (like the Araucanas) making it a bit harder.  There were ten distinctly different looking groups within our little flock.  Here's the run down of our best guesses:

 Breed 1.  FOUR amber color with slightly lighter wing tips - Buff Orpingtons (excited for these ones!)

Breed 2.  FIVE mostly brown with light yellow underbelly, variegated wings, deep brown stripe on head and across eye - Araucanas 

Breed 3.  THREE completely pale yellow - White leghorn, White Rock, or Red Star (we can tell now that Red Star is out as their feathers are coming in pure white)

Breed 4.  ONE buff color with variegated wings, mottled head with large brown spot on back of head and brown stripe down back - Golden Penciled Hamburg

Breed 5.  ONE extra fuzzy mostly buff color with black undertones, brown stripe down back, and brown and white mottled flight feathers - More Araucanas?  This breed is incredibly varied as babies and adults.  We have two adult hens already and they are completely white and lay light greenish-blue eggs.

Breed 6.  TWO extra fuzzy light yellow and gray, feathered feet, dark beak and dark wing tips - White Cochin?

Breed 7.  THREE mostly black with white spot on head, some yellow penciling of face, black spots on beak, yellow underbelly, some white tipped flight feathers - Barred Rock

Breed 8.  ONE black and gray back and yellow underbelly, yellow and black mottled face, white and black flight feathers, feathered feet - Black Langshans

Breed 9.  ONE golden color, light brown spots on head, brown and black streaking on lower back, thin black eye stripe - ???

Breed 10.  TWO yellow and black color, black back, yellow underbelly, black spot on head, white tipped wings - Possibly more Araucanas...

These may be wrong but they're our best guesses!  

Inside their coop

Barred Rocks and Golden Penciled Hamburg

White Leghorn or White Rock

Black Langshans

White Cochin (these ones are really playful!) on the left, Golden Penciled Hamburg on the right 

One of the Araucanas

Buff Orpington in the background (these ones are super mild and friendly), Araucana on right

Barred Rock (I'm happy about these ones!)

Checking out the younger models.  
Brian divided the run with some more fencing so that the older hens could get used to the new ones without hurting them.  There are now two hatch doors on the coop and the coop itself is divided in two for each group.

The turkeys are doing well and getting big.  They're plenty goofy and when we let them out it is hysterical to watch them follow Brian around the yard.  Who needs a puppy?  I'll have to get a pic of our pirate turkey as well, poor thing.  Our old lady hens are hanging on.  Two of our Rhode Island Reds haven't been laying for a while now and are bit cranky.  The two Araucanas are still going, though they've never given a high yields so we only get one egg or so a day.  The four pullets aren't producing yet but seem to feel more at home.  It'll be so nice to be able to fill the egg tray again!  Hoping they begin to produce by next month...

And then?  Then we may have some pullets and eggs to sell...


2 comments

  1. I love your colorful flock. Hope we can get some more next spring. 5 seems like such a lame-o number (even if we do have more eggs than we know what to do with). So much fun at your place right now!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wish we were close, we'd totally buy your eggs! So cool ....

    ReplyDelete

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