Help me out with these chickens please. It probably doesn’t matter what they are . . just so they aren’t meat birds. Please excuse the photo quality. The bigger chickens have a red light on them and it makes the color really bad.
It’s probably impossible to tell their breed since you can’t see their true colors but look at their wings. They have typical chicken wings. They’re kinda yellowy/orange. I really don’t think they’re Cornish meat hens.
But, this is the weird one. Look at its wing. This is the one that’s yellowy/white in front. Can you see those little short wings? What does that mean?
And, just so you can see the new babies . .
They’re doing good. They’re a whole lot friendlier than the first batch. Don’t ask me how I’m going to mix the two batches without problems but we’ll figure it out. Their wings have a little bit of dark brown or blackish feathers. They’re not going to be the same breed as was Ruby but at least they’re nicer than the others.
Karin says
have you found the website backyardchickens.com ? – TONS of helpful and very knowledgeable people there!
JudyL says
Yes, that’s one of my favorite resources. I looked there for the past couple of days . . there’s just so much info there. We both have sweatshirts from backyardchickens.com that say “Our pets give us breakfast!”
Karin says
one of my favorite sites when I had chickens too 🙂 And when I had quail – loads of quail people on there too 🙂
Judy Whitehead says
http://
http://www.backyardchickens.
com/t/473961/the-tetra-tint-thread-photos-info
Judy, Take out the spaces. They could be Tetra Tints. I tried to post this as a direct link and it disappeared into cyber-space.
Karin says
http://www.backyardchickens.com/products/cornish there are pics of cornish chicks on this page – maybe yours aren’t cornish afterall (or maybe a cornish cross)
Jay in Nebraska says
I find your blog a must read every day. I finally figured out why! LOL…its because you and Vince remind me of Betty McDonald and her husband. She wrote the book, The Egg and I. Its a good read about chicken farmers in Washington State. I believe it was also a movie with Fred McMurray and Claudette Colbert in 1945. And I mean this comment in the nicest way. Its one of favorite books! I re-read it all the time!
Marla says
“The Egg and I” was my mother’s favorite book. I think that is was where Ma & Pa Kettle came from.
Anne G says
I adore your chickens and have huge chicken envy! I love your pictures too! Thanks so much for sharing them with the “chickenless” people like me!
Denise ~ Justquiltin says
I don’t know about those chickens in the first photo – they look like the come from the “red light” district of town. 🙂
Debbie says
hahaha! Sorry, Judy, I could not help but laugh!
HeideW says
Me too. Denise, you are just too funny!
Roberta says
Meat chickens are almost always white all over. If those first ones have real yellowy wings your golden on them not being meat chickens. You might have one that is if they wing is all white but then it could be a Leghorn especially if it’s a bit smaller than the rest, they are the better egg layers of white eggs.
Hugs!!!!
Debbie says
I don’t know a thing about chickens but I’m praying that they will grow up to be big strong egg layers for you, Vince & Speck.
marion usborne says
I’ll have my husband look at them; he’s an Aggie. His speciality is meat, but he knows a chicken or two. Don’t forget your county agents out there; you can call at any time. They are a great service to the big-time chicken growers and the small at-home farmers i.e. hobby farmers. I figure with all your experience, you and Vince are somewhere inbetween.
Becky in VA says
wow – they grow so fast.
glenda says
If you e-mail a pic to one of the hatcheries, they might id them for you. I did that once. Good luck !
Kate says
I think those first chickens need names like “fry”, ‘stew”, or “bake”…
I had a friend who raised a pig, named it ‘lard’… and then later it WAS lard…
Such is life… enjoy.
Gladys says
Your chicks are cute! They bring back fond memories! They may be Rhode Island Reds which are very friendly. I used to raise baby chicks. When they got big enough, we would put them out next to the other chickens with a wire fence between them. Eventually they got used to being by each other and we would remove the fence. To Jay in Nebraska, I also love the book The Egg and I by Betty McDonald.
Kathy Ackerson says
Judy, I love your posts, but I must admit, I couldn’t tell the difference in those chickens no matter what the light looks like….but it is obvious that you are enjoying them…..I just hope they “turn out” to be OK….sort of like wondering what your kid is going to be like when they grow up, huh. We’re “city transplants”, but I think we can just consider ourselves “gentlemen farmers.” When told we could have cows or sheep or goats, but not chickens or pigs on our 23 acres, so we could qualify for a tax break, I was just rather dumbfounded………we were just happy to move out of the city (DC) and cut our property taxes by 70%…….happy Saturday to you…..
tammy says
those chickens look like they could be hot wings…. sorry! 🙂
Debbie in Alaska says
I’m so glad to have chicken stories to read again!
Sally H says
Your newest chicks are most probably a hybrid layer sold as “Red Comets” or “Red Stars.” I say that because they look darker than the New Hampshires I’ve raised. (Rhode Island Reds are almost exactly the same color as NH’s.) The hybrids are, if I remember correctly, a cross between Leghorns and RI — bred to lay very well, especially for their first year, but not long term. And even if you have a rooster, they won’t breed true (the chicks won’t look/act like their parents.)
Broiler chicks (Cornish cross) have yellow down and white feathers. If that short-winged chick matches that description, it has the best chance of being a broiler. The other sort of chick that is yellow/white are Leghorns which tend to be small and flighty.
As for putting the two groups together, I’d do that when you move them outside. They will all have feathers by then, and be very close in size, and too busy getting to know a new environment to pick on each other. Whenever you decide to integrate the flocks, do it at night. If they wake up with each other, they tend to not pick on each other.
A different chicken site, with some chick identifying help: http://www(dot)feathersite(dot)com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html
JudyL says
We had red stars before and I don’t think the new ones look like those. Our red stars weren’t that dark. I think they may be “production reds” which is another RI cross.
Peggy Reid says
You can order your chicken from Missouri and they send them . We used to do that made it so much easier. We ordered Rhode Island reds, pretty brown eggs. I will have my husband look at chickens and see what he thinks. Love the chicken and animal stories too.
Angie says
I don’t want to mention this—but, looking at all the chickens is the proposed chicken house big enough?
Doe in Mi says
Angie is wondering the same thing I am. Looks like a whole lot of chicks for the chicken coop getting built. Baby chicks are so cute.
Jennifer W says
My sister bought chicks about the same time you did. I noticed that hers looked exactly the same as yours. She bought hers from Tractor Supply in Sweetwater. I had her send me some pictures of what they look like today. I can forward the pictures if you would like to compare with yours. Hers are red cornish hens. My husband and I also saw some cornish hens at our TSC the other day and they looked the same. Not trying to be negative, just offer help.
carol c says
since I know nothing, and online is not helping you enough, I would go find me a farmer lady who runs her own chicken and take her pics and info and see if she can help, invite her over with cake and iced tea-lol
Brandy M. says
I’m working on starting a new job on 3/26, so I’ve been busy doing the “before the job starts” stuff… haven’t been able to read the blog daily, so I think I missed out on something! Did you get a 2nd batch of chicken babes? YAY!
I sure love your adventures. I’m learning so much through you!
🙂