New Feathers

Backyard Poultry

Three Breeds

The other chicks' feathers were also growing as rapidly, if not as colorfully, as the Auracanas. Can you identify the breed of each chick above? The one on the far left is a Buff Orpington. Although its head is still covered in fluff, its back and tail feathers are showing the golden color of the adult hen. The Barred Rock in the middle is still mostly black, with only a few white highlights. It will not be until these chicks are much older that they get the characteristic zebra stripes of the adult Barred Rock. Finally, on the right, as well as in the photo below, the Golden Buff is growing a striking mess of feathers.

Golden Buff

It seems these Golden Buff chicks cannot decide between the white feathers of the White Rock and the brown of the Rhode Island Red! You can see the whole range from brown to white in the chick below. The color pattern will definitely change several times before the chicks grow up, and each hen will definitely be unique. That's the beauty of crossbreeds, I guess.