Chicken Chat

A lot of chicks can look very similar to each other and it might not be until they grow out to easily tell between them. Can you identify the chick above?

Baby Chicks (Day-old to 2 weeks)

Bielefelder

• Autosexing: males and females look different at hatch.

  • Females: dark chipmunk stripes, defined “eye liner.”

  • Males: lighter overall, washed-out stripes, larger pale spot on head.

• Legs: yellowish.

• Known for being very big, sturdy chicks compared to most.

Cream Legbar

• Also autosexing.

  • Females: sharp chipmunk stripes, darker head, clear “V” on top of head.

  • Males: paler, fuzzier stripes, bigger pale head spot.

• More slender and sprightly than Bielefelders.

• Legs: slate-gray to willow.

Speckled Sussex

• NOT autosexing.

• Chicks are brownish with soft mottled patterns, sometimes chipmunk-like but more smudgy.

• Legs: pinkish/whitish.

• Smaller body compared to Bielefelders.

✅ Chick Tip:

• Check leg color (yellow = Bielefelder, slate = Legbar, pink/white = Sussex).

• Check body size (Bielefelder = biggest, Sussex = mid, Legbar = sleekest).

• Both Bielefelder and Legbar show chipmunk striping, but Sussex is blotchier.

Starter Pullets

Bielefelder

• Begin showing their cuckoo (barred) gold pattern early — kind of like a barred rock but with warm golden tones.

• Roosters show lighter barring, pullets darker.

• Still hefty in size compared to the others.

Cream Legbar

• Pullets develop cream-gray barring across the body.

• Sleek body, upright tail, and crest (little puff/tuft on head) becomes noticeable.

• Legs clearly slate-gray now.

Speckled Sussex

• Feathers fill in with a mahogany base and scattered white tips (speckled).

• No barring or striping.

• Stocky but not as big as a Bielefelder.

✅ Pullet Tip:

• Bielefelder looks like a big “golden barred rock.”

• Cream Legbar has a small crest and is grayish barred.

• Sussex is solid mahogany speckled, no barring.

Hens

Bielefelder

• Large, calm, heavy-bodied.

• Feather pattern: cuckoo/gold barring, almost camouflage-like.

• Comb: single, upright.

• Legs: yellow.

• Eggs: Large brown.

Cream Legbar

• Medium, athletic build, upright carriage.

• Crest: small, backward-facing puff of feathers on head.

• Feather pattern: cream barring, lighter and “frostier” than Bielefelder.

• Legs: slate-gray.

• Eggs: Blue.

Speckled Sussex

• Medium-large, but more compact than Bielefelder.

• Plumage: rich mahogany with white speckles (more speckles appear after each molt).

• Legs: pink/white.

• Eggs: Light brown.

✅ Hen Tip:

• Egg color is a dead giveaway (brown = Bielefelder, blue = Legbar, light brown = Sussex).

• Leg color and size are the other quick checks.

• Plumage patterns:

  • Bielefelder = barred (golden cuckoo).

  • Legbar = barred (cream-gray, sleeker, with crest).

  • Sussex = mahogany speckled, no barring.