What breed and what sex are my 12 week old chicks?

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neener

neener

In the Brooder
11 Years
Sep 15, 2008
17
0
22
Nova Scotia, Canada
Hello everyone! I have 6, 12 week old chicks that I'm pretty sure are all hens, which is great, but I'm pretty new at this so I thought I'd ask on here to make sure. 4 are Barred Rocks, and the other two are unknown. I was told the little light colored one was a Buttercup, but she does not look like one to me. I was told the dark one was a blue Austrolorp, but the tan colored feathers coming out in it's wings does not seem right to me. Perhaps they are hybrids, but I really don't know. Can anyone help me with these chicks breeds, and can you confirm that I have hens, and not roosters? Here are some pics, the first three are of the flock in general, the fourth pic is of the light colored chick, and the other two are of the dark colored chick (a little wind blown in the second pic!). He has almost no tail feathers yet, which seems a little strange to me. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give. (o:





 
Where did you get these birds? Those barred rocks are better than any hatchery rock I've seen.

I see 2 BR cockerel (centre of first picture), and both boys centre of second picture. The last one (black with beige on wings) is an EE cockerel. The white one is a Light Sussex pullet. The two other barred rocks are pullets as well. Looks like you have a 50/50 girl/boy ratio going on.
 
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aoxa said:
Where did you get these birds? Those barred rocks are better than any hatchery rock I've seen.
I see 2 BR cockerel (centre of first picture), and both boys centre of second picture. The last one (black with beige on wings) is an EE cockerel. The white one is a Light Sussex pullet. The two other barred rocks are pullets as well. Looks like you have a 50/50 girl/boy ratio going on.
Click to expand...
Yep agreed, light sussex is a beauty!
 
Thanks so much for responding to my post. I am so happy you think they are good looking birds. I, of course, think so too! I got them from a breeder just outside of Liverpool, in Queens county, NS. They are actually my second set of chicks. My other 4 (1 Chantecler rooster, and 3 hens, 1 Rhode Island Red, and 2 black Austrolorps) are full grown, free range, and starting to lay! YAY! I will be integrating them really soon, so if anyone has any advice on how to do that, I'd appreciate that as well.
I was wondering how you can tell male from female? Is it the combs? I thought also that the cockerels would have tail feathers that stand more upright, but they all have tail feathers that point out or down. Also, you said the dark one is an "EE" pullet. Is this an Easter Egger? What does "EE" stand for?

Again, thanks so much for the info. I really appreciate the help.
Kristina. (o:
 
neener said:
Thanks so much for responding to my post. I am so happy you think they are good looking birds. I, of course, think so too! I got them from a breeder just outside of Liverpool, in Queens county, NS. They are actually my second set of chicks. My other 4 (1 Chantecler rooster, and 3 hens, 1 Rhode Island Red, and 2 black Austrolorps) are full grown, free range, and starting to lay! YAY! I will be integrating them really soon, so if anyone has any advice on how to do that, I'd appreciate that as well. I was wondering how you can tell male from female? Is it the combs? I thought also that the cockerels would have tail feathers that stand more upright, but they all have tail feathers that point out or down. Also, you said the dark one is an "EE" pullet. Is this an Easter Egger? What does "EE" stand for? Again, thanks so much for the info. I really appreciate the help. Kristina. (o:
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The EE stands for Easter Egger, and it is a cockerel. :th - I did not know you lived so close to me! Yes, I'd like that breeders name. I want some lol. I got my Barred Rocks from Circle Pond Farms in Chester Basin, NS. I really don't care for the way he runs his farm, but his birds are nice. You can tell the difference by comb, feather colour and leg colour.
_MG_9274.jpg
Feather colour difference between male and female. Your group is still too young to have the rooster feathers just yet. A couple of more weeks and you will see them.
_MG_4980.jpg
_MG_4986.jpg
Are you keeping your boys? I'd take one ;)
 
Thanks so much! That is great information! I will be looking for homes for the roosters and you can certainly have one if you'd like. I actually wanted to originally get rid of my Chantecler rooster and keep a Barred Rock rooster, as I was told they are very mellow and calmer and kinder, but I have fallen in love with my "Big Lou"! He not only has tons of personality, but he put up a huge fight last week when I believe a racoon got one of my hens when I didn't get home in time to close the coop. He got away with only a lot of feathers missing, but you can see by where his feathers are strewn that he really put up a fight, and survived! I am sad about my hen, but "Big Lou" has earned a permanent place in my flock as a result. I will never be late to get my chickens in again! I will see if I can find the guy I got my chicks from. I see his ad is gone now, but I think I have his # somewhere. I'll send it to you when I can. I also am not a fan of how he keeps his birds, but his chicks are lovely. There is a guy however in Maitland near Mhone Bay who ha s a beautiful farm (this is where I got my other chickens from), and I believe he has much better conditions for his animals. I will see if I can find him too. Thanks again for all your help. we'll be in touch soon. Kristina. (o:
 
neener said:
Thanks so much! That is great information! I will be looking for homes for the roosters and you can certainly have one if you'd like. I actually wanted to originally get rid of my Chantecler rooster and keep a Barred Rock rooster, as I was told they are very mellow and calmer and kinder, but I have fallen in love with my "Big Lou"! He not only has tons of personality, but he put up a huge fight last week when I believe a racoon got one of my hens when I didn't get home in time to close the coop. He got away with only a lot of feathers missing, but you can see by where his feathers are strewn that he really put up a fight, and survived! I am sad about my hen, but "Big Lou" has earned a permanent place in my flock as a result. I will never be late to get my chickens in again! I will see if I can find the guy I got my chicks from. I see his ad is gone now, but I think I have his # somewhere. I'll send it to you when I can. I also am not a fan of how he keeps his birds, but his chicks are lovely. There is a guy however in Maitland near Mhone Bay who ha s a beautiful farm (this is where I got my other chickens from), and I believe he has much better conditions for his animals. I will see if I can find him too. Thanks again for all your help. we'll be in touch soon. Kristina. (o:

 
Click to expand...
http://www.activelifefarm.ca/
This is the best farm I have found in NS and in NB. He free ranges his birds during the off season, and I really like that. He's super nice and his straight run sales run higher in favour of females (I had bought 8 from him and only two were boys), bought 9 more from him and 3 are boys. I think that's really good!

He's also British, and I love his accent :lol:

My BRs are very sweet. You can't keep two roos?
 
Thanks for the info on the Active Life Farm. That's great to know. I would love to be able to keep a few roosters, as I have grown to love them all very much, but will they get along ok? I'm afraid of them fighting. They will all be free range with tons of room to roam (I live on a big farm in the woods). I'm pretty new to this so I'm learning as I go. Would you still be interested in one? If so, how will I get it to you?
Also, I'm planning to integrate them all together soon, and my plan is to place a doorway in the pen that the little ones are in that is big enough for them to get in and out of, but not big enough for the older chickens to get into the pen. Does this sound like a good plan, and can you tell me if you think the little ones are big enough yet to do that? If you have any more suggestions about this, I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much. (o:
 
neener said:
Thanks for the info on the Active Life Farm. That's great to know. I would love to be able to keep a few roosters, as I have grown to love them all very much, but will they get along ok? I'm afraid of them fighting. They will all be free range with tons of room to roam (I live on a big farm in the woods). I'm pretty new to this so I'm learning as I go. Would you still be interested in one? If so, how will I get it to you? Also, I'm planning to integrate them all together soon, and my plan is to place a doorway in the pen that the little ones are in that is big enough for them to get in and out of, but not big enough for the older chickens to get into the pen. Does this sound like a good plan, and can you tell me if you think the little ones are big enough yet to do that? If you have any more suggestions about this, I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much. (o:
Click to expand...
That plan does sound really good. That's exactly what I would recommend :) They will get along once they develop a pecking order. I have plenty of roosters. 13 permanent ones, and many mixes growing up for meat. I'd still take one - if you are ever coming close to NB area (Amherst even) - I can meet you. I do think you can keep one of each, and that you should. We are in serious need of Barred Rock breeders in Atlantic Canada, and those are some of the nicer ones. They could use a bit of work of course, as could my own. They are an improvement on many I've seen, and will only get nicer barring with age. My girls were messy in the barring until they were a bit older. One of my boys was really crisp in that respect at a young age. He looks the best now, but his tail is still not in completely.
_MG_5318.jpg
Even if you keep yours, maybe we could trade chicks in the spring to get some genetic diversity :) Mine are related to one another, and I'm sure yours are too. I'm not really sure how closely related my own are, but I'd like to shake it up a bit, and I don't want to go back to Chester Basin!
 

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