My chickens are nearly grown and I still don't know what gender or breed they are. Help!

[SStickChick]

I got these chickens as straight run chicks from another backyard chicken raiser. I was told that the black babies were Jersey Giant/Barred Rock mixes and the white one was a white Leghorn/buff Orpington mix. Two of them are definitely what I was told, but two of them are definitely NOT any of those breeds. I got them in mid November, so they're basically full grown...well, I hope, because these two are HUGE. And I still can't tell with certainty whether they're hens or roos. when they were getting their feathers, we thought they were male. They also acted a little more aggressively than my little black hen. But then as they got bigger those sex characteristics were lessened, to the point where I had hope they were hens. But...I'm fairly certain one crows. It's never done it while I'm watching. I know it isn't my rooster because he has a no crow collar, which makes his crow...very distinct. (We check it nearly every day to make sure he's doing okay. He seems to only notice it when he crows...please don't let any fanatics jump on me about it, I did my research and chose to accept the risk. If he didn't have the collar he'd end up in a gumbo because we'd have to rehome him and I live in Louisiana where pet chickens still kind of make you weird)

Anyway, back on the original topic. The reason why I'm not writing one off as a rooster and one as a hen is because they look freaking IDENTICAL. I've been around chickens my whole life and I've NEVER had two I couldn't tell apart eventually. I think one may be a little more boss-hog than the other, but I can't be sure they aren't switching rolls all the time. So I've attached pictures. The red ones are the ones I can't tell. I attached the picture of the other two just to show you they are definitely sexed and identified. They are very, very large. When I got them they were black with white dots on their heads (so for a little while I had hope they were Black Sex Link). They were younger than my other two by a week or two. They're a little skittish despite the time I've spent handling them.

The one in the picture with the rooster is a different bird than the one in the picture with the little black hen (who I adore and is named Princess Layer...the roo is Dr. Samuel Peckett and also pretty sweet)

Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated! I need to know if I need to find homes for these guys!

 

[SStickChick]

I just got a hold of the lady I bought them from. She says she thinks they might be Jersey Giant/RIR mixes. No idea which is mom or dad. Does that sound right? And does that make it easier to figure out the sex?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Are you saying they are 4 months old? If so, both with large combs are roosters.

 

[donrae]

Not sure you got the birds you're asking about in the pics? I see a white cockerel, a blue cockerel with red leakage, and a blue pullet.

 

[SStickChick]

They are about four months old. The ones I'm talking about are the two black and red ones. There are two of them, but they look almost identical. I know the white one and the blue one. These two pictures show two different red and black chickens. One was standing next to the rooster, one was standing next to the hen.

The person I got them from says she's pretty sure I got hens, but that she's having trouble telling with her own. I'm mainly leaning towards hens, and that maybe one of them is a little full of extra testosterone (I've had bossy hens that crowed before...thought we had a rooster until she laid an egg...). Because one of them definitely acts like a hen, but one of them occasionally acts like a rooster, and also looks exactly like the one that is definitely a hen. Also, their comb and wattles aren't really very well developed, especially compared to my white rooster.

I'm also hoping someone can give me an idea of the breed? Because they don't look like any of the pictures I can find of giant/RIR crosses.

 

[Gray Farms]

The white one and the blue/red one are cockerels. The solid blue is a pullet. Your not likely to find matching pictures of them. Even full siblings don't mature exactly the same in crossbreds.

 

[SStickChick]

Except that these two red/blue ones (again, there are TWO, a different one in each picture), are in all observable ways exactly alike?? I mean...exactly. As I said, I'm sure it looks like two pictures of the same chicken, but they each actually show a different chicken.


But usually, as you said, every cross breed looks at least a little different! I had hoped at least one picture of a breed would kind of look like mine, at the very least blue/red and huge as a bus! I can't seem to find any pictures of giant/RIR crosses. Any help on that?


And, to definitely show that those are in fact two different chickens (like I said, I know about the white one and the blue one):

 

[donrae]

I'm not sure what them looking alike has to do with anything? They're mixed breed cockerels.

That coloring is very typical of mixing blue and red birds. Since they are blue, not black, one parent had to be blue or splash.The other parent was red. Parents were straight combed and yellow skinned. That may help the breeder narrow things down, but overall it's not going to matter so much.

If you want to see similar colored birds, look up anything that's black crossed with red. Those birds will be black where your birds are blue, but the pattern of red leakage will be the same.

 

[BantamLover21]

I'm not sure what them looking alike has to do with anything? They're mixed breed cockerels.

That coloring is very typical of mixing blue and red birds. Since they are blue, not black, one parent had to be blue or splash.The other parent was red. Parents were straight combed and yellow skinned. That may help the breeder narrow things down, but overall it's not going to matter so much.

If you want to see similar colored birds, look up anything that's black crossed with red. Those birds will be black where your birds are blue, but the pattern of red leakage will be the same.

x2

 

[drumstick diva]

agree with donrae