All the breeds you mentioned should get along just fine and be nice hens...the toughest most likely will be the game hens. The Buff Orp should be the sweetest, then the Americaunas, then the Barred Rock, then the sex link, then the game hens at the top of the pecking order. Of course there are always individual variations, but that is how I'd expect them to end up. Fortunately Orps are large, so she shouldn't get picked on.

The term 'sex link' refers to the planned crossing of two breeds in order to get chicks that can be sexed visually by their markings, such as a dark spot on the heads of one sex or another. It isn't a breed unto itself. There are Black Sex Links and Red Sex Links, among others. To find out more about the characteristics of a particular sex link, you'd have to check out the characteristics of the parent breeds. Feathersite.com has a page with more info here:

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sex-links/BRKSexLink.html

When I first got interested in obtaining some black sex link babies a few years back, I tried to find out more about them by Googling the term, 'black sex link'. Ohhhhh my. To make matters worse, I then tried to refine my search by using the term, 'black sex link chick'.

I think I blushed for a week.

Velvet ~:>

Velvet, that is LOL funny!

CI, I just hatched some golden comet sexlinks, I had read they are very docile and terrific egg layers. The eggs I received to hatch were absolutely enormous. I believe the cross of the parents are White Rock male with New Hampshire red female. The boys are suppose to be white and the girls golden brown. So far at about 4 weeks they are the friendliest of the chicks I hatched. One minor problem is that I have some white, some gold and some in betweens! I have no idea if the in between's of half white/gold are boys or girls! LOL, so much for the ease of sexlinks!

-Sheila

-ps. once you start getting the blue/green eggs I guarantee you will want more americaunas!

Thanks for all the info. I think I will get one of each just to see the differences in personality. especially since my flock has to be so small. I hope the fella has one of each.

Velvet, you would think my game hens would pick on my sweet baby (buff orp) they are really tough birds, small and really fast. but she is so large they definetly defer to her as the alpha Hen.LOL. and she lets them know right away that she rules the roost. L but is as sweet as she can be to us. she doesn't hop in our lap but does follow us around talking all the time.S

Sheila, maybe some will lose their feathers and turn colors I think I have read on this site where that happens sometimes.

Thanks again

CI

another question. do barred rocks and easter eggers lay most of the year like my buff orp or do they stop in the winter like my game hens. and what color & size should I expect.

CI

Depending on where you live (if you get deep winters with snow, ice and all for months) the more 'winter' you have, the better the chances your hens take a break in laying during the colder months. All chickens naturally do this.
I live in southern California and even mine taper off in winter.

Some people handle this by providing a few extra hours of light during the winter to kind of 'fool' the hens' bodies into thinking it's still sunny, that way the hens don't cease laying for winter. I allow my hens the winter break because I think they live longer and are happier with as normal a lifestyle as possible. It's up to you.

They both should lay medium to large-sized eggs. Barred Rocks lay your basic light brown egg, Americaunas (Easter Eggers) lay eggs in pastel colors of blue, green and pink. :) Very fun, and you never can tell what color a hen will lay until she comes into lay--but they don't change colors once the start, if she lays blue eggs she'll always lay blue eggs. I have one hen who lays huge, Army green eggs. :)

Velvet ~:>

Pure bred Ameraucanas will only lay blue eggs.

Green color usually comes from a cross of an Ameraucana, or another blue egg laying breed, and a brown egg layer. Those chickens are called "easter eggers".

Easter eggers are not a breed, but a mix or cross-bred chicken.

M

My hens are only 2 months old now and so they won't start laying until late summer. Will they still go into a moult in the winter and then start up again in the spring? I don't like the idea of artificial lighting and want them to do it on their own schedule. If you don't force them to lay eggs year 'round, it seems they would lay longer and be healthier.

Is this true? I now have 21 New Hampshire Reds (now that they aren't being "picked off by the cat") and have 5 Barred Rocks in the brooder that are only 2 weeks old right now. I feel this should be a manageable number to care for over the winter and really look forward to introducing the BR roos into the flock when they are ready. This is really fun!!! BTW, Velvet --- you are an education!!

*L* marquisella, you need to come to my house and whisper that bit about only purebred Americaunas laying blue eggs in the ears of several of my crossbreed ladies, 'cause they're breaking the rules...*G*

Figures, my chickens are weirdos anyway... :)

Velvet ~:>

LOL Oh, Velvet your too much!!

I logged on to ask about comets, but when I read over the posts I think sulli answered it for me. I had called the vendor that I hope will have what I want and he said he would have some sexlinks and some comets. sullie posted that comets were friendly are they mostly white and yellow.? I logged onto feather site but they didn't have comets one their list. I wonder is that because they are a mixed breed?

CI

feathersite has them listed under 'G' for 'Golden Comets', and when you click on the link it takes you to their all-purpose 'sex link' page, since just as you thought, that's what Comets are. :)

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sex-links/BRKSexLink.html

Velvet ~:>

Velvet...I didn't say only Ameraucanas lay blue eggs, I said that "Pure Ameraucanas will only lay blue eggs", no other color.

There are mixed breeds that do lay blue, and other purepreds that lay blue, but if your egg is green, it wasn't laid by a Pure Ameraucana!
The breed standard states they only lay blue eggs.

I have a 1 year cross of Ameraucana & somthing else, and she still lays a blue egg, but I'm sure if I incubated her daughters eggs, mixed with another color, they would be more greenish. If I bred her back to an Ameraucana, then probably the egg would be blue, but the chicken would be a mix.

Years ago I had mixed colors, but they were mutts. I like to have a variety of colors, its neat!

M

Sorry M., you are right, I misread it...we're all getting over a bout of the stomach flu here and my brain is still a little woozy...it's like a poor man's acid trip...*L*

I've never delved into the breed standard and egg color thing with pure Americaunas before....ya learn something new every day! It's funny, though...among my hens Babs, who looks to be a sure-enough pure Americaunas lays pink eggs, and Louise, who also has all the looks of a pure Americaunas lays very pale blue eggs. But Beast, who is a mix of Americaunas/Barred Rock/mystery breed lays BRIGHT robin's egg blue eggs--but has no facial tufts or thick cape feathers. She's built like a RIR to boot. Beast's mother, Bear, also looks like a RIR and is the one who lays the army green eggs. Very amusing. :) How the genes carry through is fascinating!

I still stick to my theory that my chickens are weird, though. :)

Velvet ~:>

Velvet,

When I first got chickens, they all came from the same person who told me there were Ameraucanas. I got eggs of all colors! I didn't know the difference, I just like having a mix.

When I became interested in purebreds, I discovered the blue only thing, so it stuck in my mind. Now, I have some pure black ameraucana chicks, all from very nice blue eggs I incubated, so I'm into the blue thing!

Unfortunately one developed a crooked beak, you don't have a remedy for that do you! Its very crooked all the way back to the head. I'm not sure it can eat anymore.

M

Ooh, black Americaunas! I'll bet they're beautiful... :)

Don't know of any cure for a crooked beak other than having a vet try to correct it with a Dremel tool. *ouch* I also have a little hen with a crooked beak...I didn't think she would make it as a chick but figured she deserved her shot...she's now more than a year old, and 'Picky', as we named her (after DH's grandfather with a once-broken crooked nose), gets along fine. What's funny is, after we named her, she became the preener for the flock. The other chickens will actually stand in line so Picky can preen their face feathers.

See? Wierd....*L*

Velvet ~:>

My easter eggers are a pain in the butt. They love to roost in trees, stop laying in the winter, and jump the electric fence daily. If they're picked on at all by the other chickens, more often than not they just give up and die. The egg to feed ratio on them is so low, I was thinking of getting rid of them until recently when I started selling eggs to a wedding cake bakery. The bakers say the blue and green eggs make the richest buttercream. I guess all the ticks and voles are on the other side of the fence...

BTW the sweetest hen I own, out of 60 or so, is a Dark Brahma named Bronwen. She actually stands next to me while I'm gardening and picks off mosquitoes one by one. She lays all winter long, too. The pot is definitly not in her future!