After posting on backyardchickens, it seems that my barred rock chick is actually a black australorp and my americauna is a silver laced wyandotte. I'm not really sure what to do. I really wanted a barred rock because I love the way they look. I wanted an americauna because they lay green, blue, or sometimes even pink eggs. Australorps are supposed to be very good layers and have a nice personality, but they're all black and rather boring looking, in my opinion. Silver laced wyandottes are pretty, but I don't know much about their personalities. So, I have a few options:
A) Keep the chicks I have and just deal with not having the ones I wanted.
B) Return the 2 incorrect ones and swap them for the correct ones. The gal still has 2 barred rock chicks so that switch wouldn't be a problem, but the americauna went to her friend's house so she'd have to get it from her and then get it to me. I'm worried about coccidia (a very serious, deadly chicken disease. The link is worth a read if you have or are considering getting chickens) with all this switching back and forth and I wouldn't get to pick out the americauna I want so who knows what color or condition it would be.
C) Return the australorp to my friend and get an americauna from the feed store. I didn't want feed store chicks because I didn't want ones that were stressed out from being excessively child handled. This option would at least get me an americauna and I'd have a laced instead of a barred.
I would love to just keep the ones I have AND get a barred rock and an americauna, but my coup really is only big enough for 6 chickens and I'm in the city so we can only keep 6. I am so torn. I like all the chicks I have, but I specifically chose the breeds I did for a reason. I was planning on having all my chicks together from the start so I was in complete control of their diet and supplements and so they could get used to each other since they'll be a family for the next 4 years or so. These aren't just "birds that lay eggs" to me; they are pets. What would you do?
This is a barred rock, what I wanted:
A) Keep the chicks I have and just deal with not having the ones I wanted.
B) Return the 2 incorrect ones and swap them for the correct ones. The gal still has 2 barred rock chicks so that switch wouldn't be a problem, but the americauna went to her friend's house so she'd have to get it from her and then get it to me. I'm worried about coccidia (a very serious, deadly chicken disease. The link is worth a read if you have or are considering getting chickens) with all this switching back and forth and I wouldn't get to pick out the americauna I want so who knows what color or condition it would be.
C) Return the australorp to my friend and get an americauna from the feed store. I didn't want feed store chicks because I didn't want ones that were stressed out from being excessively child handled. This option would at least get me an americauna and I'd have a laced instead of a barred.
I would love to just keep the ones I have AND get a barred rock and an americauna, but my coup really is only big enough for 6 chickens and I'm in the city so we can only keep 6. I am so torn. I like all the chicks I have, but I specifically chose the breeds I did for a reason. I was planning on having all my chicks together from the start so I was in complete control of their diet and supplements and so they could get used to each other since they'll be a family for the next 4 years or so. These aren't just "birds that lay eggs" to me; they are pets. What would you do?
This is a barred rock, what I wanted:
This is a silver laced wyandotte, what I have (Yes, the lacing is very pretty, which is why I got a golden laced wyandotte, which I also have):
This is a black australorp, which I have:
This is an araucana/americana (aka Easter Egger), which is what I wanted:
I find them kind of ugly. Their beards freak me out. But oh! what gorgeous eggs they lay!
What should I do?