Chicken Breeds, by L.J.

The breeds of chickens I think I have:

2 Barred Rocks

2 Buff Orpingtons

4 California Whites

2 Rhode Island Reds

3 Brahmas

1 Ameraucana

1 Mystery chicken (could be Black Star or Australorp)

The Barred Rocks are right in-between docile and aggressive in nature. I have two of them. One of them doesn’t really interact with the others while the other one struts around like it’s in charge. You can tell that they’re Barred Rocks when they’re young from the white spot on their head. Some Barred Rocks get white stripes on their wings too. By a month old you can see the grey and black speckles coming in on their chest.

The Buff Orpingtons are the most docile chickens I have. They always interact with the other chickens. They are easy to catch and they don’t ever peck me. It’s hard to tell a Buff Orpington from any other Buff-colored chicken until they are at least three weeks old. At about that time they will start getting a golden orange color on their chests, wings, and sometimes on their head.

My California Whites aren’t really white at all. They’re more of a buff color (for now). My oldest is the biggest of all of them. I call it the Monster. I have three chicks a week younger than the Monster that all look the same. California Whites are hard to tell apart because they all have the exact same plumage. California Whites and Buff Orpingtons look the same from birth to about three weeks old. That’s when the Buffs start to change.

At first I thought my two Rhode Island Reds were Ameraucanas, but a few weeks later their brown feathers started to turn to red. They lost some of their black dots which were replaced by red feathers. I wouldn’t call them aggressive but they don’t like anybody putting their hands anywhere near them.

Three of my chicks are Brahmas. You can tell very early on what they are. Want to know why? Their legs. Their legs are covered in feathers and fur. They are very docile, but they’re escape artists. Their feathers are a lot slicker than all the others’. They are mostly grey and black. They are slightly larger than the average chicken. I don’t like to pick them up because there is a lot of food, water, and droppings on their legs.

I have one Ameraucana. It is one of the smallest chickens I have. It can easily fit through the average fence. Ameraucanas come in a variety of colors. Many are gold-brown with black stripes on their wings, but mine is a deep brown with black dots on it’s wings. You can tell a chick is an Ameraucana because it’s intricate brown and black patterns.

One of my chicks is my mystery chicken. Ever since I got this chick, I’ve been pondering what it might be. It is almost completely black with a very small row of orange feathers. It loves to be outside. Before I got my next nine chicks, it was my smallest chicken. It could be a Black Star but I’m not too sure.

I just bought five more chicks at my local feed store. I must have forgotten how small they are when they’re just a few days old. Right now they’re probably about two to three days old. They are little fluff balls. They hardly ever move unless there‘s food involved. I hope they don’t get pecked to death by my other chickens.

Overall this has been a good experience for me. I’ve learned a pretty good skill. I plan to do this chicken thing for a while.