[chickity]

Hello,
My partner found this site and thought you helpful people might be able to help us identify some chickens we have acquired.
These poor girls, (I'm assuming they are girls) were abandoned by their owners and left without food and water for nearly a week. The conditions they were left in is absolutely shocking. We rescued them yesterday, we've called them the lucky seven. I've searched on the net but being inexperienced its quite hard to distinguish what they are. I think one of the dark birds is a black orpington (I could be wrong). They are all quite small so I'm assuming they are young birds particularly as they make sounds like young chicks.
We went of and got some advice from some friends at the neighbouring chicken farm and then went off to buy some food for them. The poor things were so thirsty and hungry.  My partner being the practical type built a temporary chicken house for them last night to keep the rain and weather of, I put them in and this morning they seem fine. They came out all a frolic and they've had a good day doing chickeny type things.
We can't seem to stop chicken watching at the moment they are so funny to watch.
We always wanted to keep hens its just happened sooner than we expected.

So I was wondering if anyone could help identify what breeds they are, I think there are three different types of bird.

Any advice would be useful

[Helenaj]

Good for you for rescuing them!

The greys look like a Bluebell and the other like a Buff Sussex cross - maybe a hybrid version.

[New shoot]

Lucky girls that you were there to rescue them 

The picture of the single dark coloured bird looks very like my Beyonce.  She's a blue orp.

[chickity]

Thanks for your comments they are really helpful, I have looked up Orpington's, Bluebell's and Buff Sussex and they look very similar to these breeds. Particularly the Orpington and Bluebell. I'm not surel which of these they could be. The smaller hens are not easy to see in the pictures so I've got some others here. Not sure if they are much help though. These are particularly small birds and look like they have some down still so its difficult to tell what they could be. 

[Casey76]

Well done you on your rescue!

What are you feeding them?  I'd hazard a guess that at least two of them are very young (10-14 weeks old) based on their lack of tail and the small pale comb.

It is quite difficult to tell you exact breeds; most back yard chickens are  comercial hybrids or backyard mixes, unless you can get information from the previous owner to tell you about their origins.

E.g. the brown coloured ones, could be poor examples of buff Sussex, or they could be commercial Colombian Blacktails

Have fun... and be prepared to have no garden worth speaking of

[chickity]

We are feeding them a mixed wheat and corn mix after getting advice from the supplier and we are off today to get some flubenvet to worm them with I think they need it. As for  the garden, yes they like the grass compost bins which happen to be in there temporary home they have a good scratch around in there and seem to want to keep digging to Australia.

[Casey76]

Are they going to be staying with you?

Personally I would buy some commercial growers pellets (if you get one without ACS (which is a coccidiostat) you will still be able to eat any eggs the older girls produce).  This will have the correct balance of vitamins and minerals for the younger pullets.

You should also have some grit available, and some crushed oystershell (you should be able to get both at the same place as the food).  Chickens eat grit to help grind up thier food in their gizzard.  The oystershell is a ready form of calcium which is needed for good egg shells.  The two shoul dbe available separately so the hens can pick and shoose what they need.  They are pretty good at self selecting.

Once the younger pullets are laying (which will probably not be until next spring) you can switch everyone to a commercial layer pellet, which is nutritionally balanced for laying hens.

Wheat and corn should be restricted to a very small handful per hen at the end of the day as a treat.  If you think of the pellets being a healthy balanced meal, and the wheat and corn being like chocolate.  Hens will often prefer the "high value" food like wheat and corn, so this is good for bribes (to go to bed etc) or for treats only.

I hope you have fun with your new girls.  I really miss not having some in  my garden

[chickity]

Thanks for the advice Casey76.
Is the mixed food we have to rich for them to be fed all the time? Is this why it should be restricted?  I have no idea about the difference in the nutritional value of feed and which is best. I am open to any advice. My book I have on begining with chickens talks about mixing your own food but I think that should come later with more experience. They do have mixed poultry grit available in another feeder. We have also been giving them lettuce and greens and so on.
We have decided to keep them and there is no chance of speaking to the owner about what breed they are they have long gone. I don't know if I could bare it without loosing my temper about the terrible conditions we found them in.
They are so funny and such characters and they have perked up a lot. Their feathers are looking a lot better. We have even got names for a few of them. The smallest one is nicknamed Titch, the larger golden bird is Rusty and the largest grey girl is Delphie so how could I part with them They recognise my voice already and come running and they only have to spy me walking to their gate and they run across to meet me. They are not to hot on being touched they behave like they've just been given an electric shock. Any thoughts on getting them to trust being handled, although they do eat grain out of my hand. I try stroking them in the morning when they are fed. They tend to duck away from my hand.
I will also say that after much searching I also found new homes for two hens and their partners, two lovely looking cocks who now have a nice new family on a farm. These fella's were also left behind.
Here are a few pictures of what it was like. I wouldn't want to live like this so why should these poor things.

[Casey76]

If you don't already have it, I really recommend the Haynes Chicken Manual.  It is a fantastic book for novices (and not so novices) covering all kinds of information from husbandry to how to make a coop to descriptions of various breeds.

While theoretically it is possible for chickens to live on wheat and corn, it would be similar to us trying to live on roast beef and bread.  It would keep us from being hungry, but not very nutritionally balanced.

A commercial pellet, while it may not look appetising, does provide a balanced diet.  Wheat and corn fed chickens also tend to put on weight very easily, especially around the breast and abdomen.  And one thing you wil learn is that fat hens don't lay well - to the point where it can exacerbate problems like prolapses etc.  Also, while chickens are good at slef selecting, they still may not get adequate calcium from the oystershell (especially if it is mixed with grit), and you may start to see an increase in soft or thin shelled eggs (which can become complicated if they break inside the oviduct or cloaca).

Some hens never become hand tame, though if you have the time to spend with them, just sitting in their area with a book, most hens are inquisitive enough to come and visit - especially if you sprinkle a few grains around our feet.  it is handy if you can hand tame them, as it makes health checks much less stressful for everyone.  You can check a bird over, gauge their weight etc.

If you are feeding lettuce and greens, please ensure that these are either directly from your garden, or if they are shop bought, they do not enter your kitchen prior to being chicken food (DEFRA rules).

I wish you many hours of chickeny happiness... and lots of fresh eggs