Just because they are yellow doesn't mean they won't feather white and also broiler to me always referred to the size or age so I don't specifically know what you are asking...Usually in a hatching situation you have a mixture of males and females but unfortunately seems way too often more males than females...

Since they are all yellow fluff balls you can safely assume they will be white...I'd say most likely White Leghorns or Cornish Rocks. If the legs are short, yellow, set wide apart and are thicker around, I'd say Rocks--also the birds themselves will be stockier and rounder. If the legs are longer and more slender, set close together and more of a pale white color, Leghorns--they have a more slender body as well. The primary wing feathers will appear first, then the tail--that will give you more of idea on breed too.

You can post pics here (we always like to see chick pics anyway! *G*) and also go to feathersite.com to see breed pics, they are a great resource.

Velvet ~:>

I know they'll feather white - that's why I assumed they would be white leghorns or some type of lightweight layer breed. I'm thinking though that these are meat birds, which is what I meant by broilers, i.e. some type of cornish crosses that will gain weight quickly and not be any good for their egg laying capabilities.

First of all I want to apologize if my follow-up post seemed snippy - I really didn't mean it to sound that way. Secondly, why in the world can't I figure out how to post pictures. Please send instructions if you don't mind.
Thank you!

If they are little eating machines, they are probably Cornish Xs. Can you just call the school and ask what was ordered? If by 8 weeks, they are 5/6 pounds, you will probably want to fill your freezer.

Here's the problem, the school was so pathetically unprepared - not only did they not know what they had they also got them so that they hatched the day before they let out for Christmas break AND they hadn't made arrangements for them to go anywhere. The entire thing was really ridiculous.

I guess I should have put a ruler next to him so you could tell, but this little guy is only a week old and see how big his shanks are and how spread apart his feet are? What do you think? ( I hope I did this picture thing right)

{{gwi:49381}}

Clearly I need to figure out how to decrease the size of my picture before posting! Sorry!

Looks like a meat bird to me!
It amazes me how schools are still hatching out eggs w/ out any preparation as to where the chicks are going. My cousin's daugherer's class hatched out eggs and then sent the chicks HOME WITH THE STUDENT THAT HATCHED THAT EGG! I ended up w/ her chick, but God know's where the other 20 or so chicks ended up, or for how long they lived. They don't consider the life of the bird, or even really acknowledge that its' an animal! Drives me nuts!

Yep, drives me nuts too. My sister called me from the school the day they hatched because the teacher had no clue what to do. They had pulled them out of the incubator and put them under a desk lamp and they were huddled and shivering underneath it. Of course this was at 10:00 that morning and school was letting out for break at 11:30 and nobody had a clue as to where these chicks were going. What a great lesson they're teaching these children...

Your post didn't sound snippy at all, no need to apologize... :)

I'd say ya got yerself some Cornish Rocks there...going by the nice wide breast area, shorter beak, thicker legs, wide stance, stocky build and HUGE feet...*L*

Good for you for taking these little guys in, and I'm sure you'll find someone who will love to take them off your hands if you don't want them.

I have one little Dark Indian Cornish Game hen named Gwen in my flock, and she is just the sweetest, most comical thing. When she runs for goodies she has the rolling gait of a sailor, she has a very amusing gravely chuckle, and her feathers are incredibly beautiful. We've had her about a year and a half and she lays regularly and has nary a hit of any typical Cornish Rock health problems. We were surprised at what a nice addition to the flock she is, and now we're sold on them, we'll always have at least one.

Velvet ~:>

So that was my biggest fear - that they were going to have health problems and then I was going to be forced to cull them (I'm working my way up to that....still having a hard time!). You're saying that they may be just fine to hang out with the rest of the flock? That would be much better.

Cornish game hens and Cornish rocks are much different birds. Cornish rocks are cross bred to grow fast and furious... and big!
If they turn out to be Cornish Rock X, put an ad out and sell them... that way you don't have to do the dirty work if you don't want to.

If they are the hybrid broilers, chances are they won't integrate into your flock well. We get them every year for meat, but compared to utility/laying hens, they are a nuisance. They hog the food, have no personality and are lazy. (They will even sit down to eat--don't use those calories!) And yes there can be leg problems. You should withhold food from them at night or they can eat themselves to death. Here in AZ, if we don't get them in the freezer before it turns hot, they will just die. Before I realized that that could happen, we lost four! They will over eat and then with the heat, they cannot survive. I have also heard that they won't live much past a year, that they're organs start shutting down. But as I haven't kept one longer than 10 weeks, I wouldn't know. For meat, they are great, but I much prefer all other chickens to them. Poor things, it's not their fault, they were bred that way.=) If you decide to keep them in your flock, let us know how it goes. It would be interesting to see how long they actually can live. Hope this helps with your decision.

That definitely helps with my decision. I had also heard that they don't last very long. On Feathersite, there is a pic of a broiler named Bertha (?) at 18 months of age which they said is extremely rare as well as some other broilers that are already having leg problems at a few months of age.