New Flock - what are they

[Annie-S]

After a small break, I am getting chickens again and I decided it would be fun to hatch them. I’ve hatched ducklings before but this was my first chick hatch. It is so fun that they hatch a week sooner than ducklings!

I ended up getting 2 dozen eggs; 2 were non fertile and 3 did not make it so I ended up with a new flock of 19.

The rooster is a Bielefelder and the hens are barred rock, buff Orpington, and Bielefelder.

I made picture groups with my mom guesses and would love your feedback.

Group 1
barred rock, 1 male, 1 female

Group 2
Buff Orpington 1 male, 2 female

Group 3
Bielefelder 6 female

Group 4
Mystery chick, Bielefelder? Male? I have no idea

Group 5
Bielefelder, 7 males?

 

[500Chickens]

I think some of my chicks i've been trying to identify are Bielefelders. here is a picture of one of them what do you think?

 

[Annie-S]

I think some of my chicks i've been trying to identify are Bielefelders. here is a picture of one of them what do you think?View attachment 4071161

I am absolutely no expert but I know that quite a few breeds have chipmunk chicks. I’m not sure you can tell which is what if you don’t know anything about their parents. You may want to find all the breeds that have chipmunk babies and start eliminating them as your cute little chick grows.

Oh! That will be fun. And then you can report back as they grow up.

 

[JedJackson]

I think your guesses are as good as any you'll find on here. With the crosses, I'm guessing you are judging by the quality of the head spots. Sharper borders for females, fuzzier, less distinct borders for males. I'm not sure how well that will work with the mixes, but it will be fun to find out.

In group 3, the one in the middle with a lot of gray highlights, looks different from the others. It could be natural variation or it could mean it's a male or a Orpington mix.

The chick in group 4 is a Bielefelder cockerel, in my opinion.

Group 5 is a little confusing because most of those chicks seem to have strong chipmunk stripes, and generally male Bielefelder chicks have more noticeably different pattern from the females. But the 'eyeliner' is lighter on these than those you identified as females, and the stripes on their foreheads are more narrow. These are generally qualities of cockerels, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are a couple of pullets in group 5.

Wait and see how it turns out. I think you're guaranteed a good many Bielefelder pullets at the very least.

 

[Annie-S]

I think your guesses are as good as any you'll find on here. With the crosses, I'm guessing you are judging by the quality of the head spots. Sharper borders for females, fuzzier, less distinct borders for males. I'm not sure how well that will work with the mixes, but it will be fun to find out.

In group 3, the one in the middle with a lot of gray highlights, looks different from the others. It could be natural variation or it could mean it's a male or a Orpington mix.

The chick in group 4 is a Bielefelder cockerel, in my opinion.

Group 5 is a little confusing because most of those chicks seem to have strong chipmunk stripes, and generally male Bielefelder chicks have more noticeably different pattern from the females. But the 'eyeliner' is lighter on these than those you identified as females, and the stripes on their foreheads are more narrow. These are generally qualities of cockerels, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are a couple of pullets in group 5.

Wait and see how it turns out. I think you're guaranteed a good many Bielefelder pullets at the very least.

Thank you your votes. I do also think #4 is a Bielefelder cockerel and did end up marking him as such.

And yes on group 5; so confusing. I pulled out all the chipmunks again and moved a couple from group five to male and left the rest as females. I’ll post pictures again in a few weeks and show how they are progressing.