Pheasant or chicken?

[karollis]

What is this?? 6-7-2024 at Rural King I bought 5 melanistic mutant pheasant chicks (along with 3 Cream Legbar, 1 Barnevelder, 1 Salmon Favorelle, and 2 turkeys – all are now still in my brooder coop together). There were about 45 pheasant chicks in the tub. All pheasants looked same size (smaller than chicken pullets) and very similar to each other; but a few had slightly more light splotches. I picked one with more light splotches. Over 10 days it gained more light feathers and is clearly not like the other 4. Pics are 6-29-24, 3 weeks after purchase. Chick is significantly different color than 4 pheasants, and larger. But sticks with the 4 pheasants, and (like the 4 pheasants) is more flighty than the pullets or turkeys. Any ideas?

 

[RiDaGeckoGuy]

I don’t see any chickens

 

[TwoCrows]

Cute birds!

@007Sean are these all pheasants?

 

[karollis]

I don’t see any c

What is this?? 6-7-2024 at Rural King I bought 5 melanistic mutant pheasant chicks (along with 3 Cream Legbar, 1 Barnevelder, 1 Salmon Favorelle, and 2 turkeys – all are now still in my brooder coop together). There were about 45 pheasant chicks in the tub. All pheasants looked same size (smaller than chicken pullets) and very similar to each other; but a few had slightly more light splotches. I picked one with more light splotches. Over 10 days it gained more light feathers and is clearly not like the other 4. Pics are 6-29-24, 3 weeks after purchase. Chick is significantly different color than 4 pheasants, and larger. But sticks with the 4 pheasants, and (like the 4 pheasants) is more flighty than the pullets or turkeys. Any ideas?

First photo: the bird in question is upper left; the other 4 birds are the melanistic mutant pheasants.
Second photo: the bird in question is bottom left; the bird directly above it and the 4th bird at upper right are both melanistic mutant pheasants; the bird between the 2 pheasants is Cream Legbar.

 

[RiDaGeckoGuy]

wait this is a legbar

 

[karollis]

View attachment 3877013wait this is a legbar

Yes, that's one of the Cream Legbar flock mates. Here are more photos of just the bird in question, sold as a Melanistic Mutant Pheasant.

 

[karollis]

Yes, that's one of the Cream Legbar flock mates. Here are more photos of just the bird in question, sold as a Melanistic Mutant Pheasant.

Here is the bird in question surrounded by 3 of the pheasants

 

[007Sean]

Yes, that's one of the Cream Legbar flock mates. Here are more photos of just the bird in question, sold as a Melanistic Mutant Pheasant.

That chick is a regular ring necked pheasant Phasianus colchicus. The melanistic pheasants (Pc. tenebrosus) are a mutation of the regular ring necked pheasant. You may or may not know but all of the melanistic chick's are males. The common ring necked chick is not sexable yet, within a few weeks, around 10 weeks if it's a male it will have wattles starting to show, if not, then a hen.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

View attachment 3877013wait this is a legbar

Yay me, I knew that one was a chicken!

 

[karollis]

Yay me, I knew that one was a chicken!

And you got the breed!