I think your chick is too young to see spangling in the feathers- although I think I can see one secondary wing feather with a spangle- and I'm guessing that's a pullet, based on how dark it is. I would have expected a cockerel to be lighter from this cross, than what this chick appears to be :D
I am guessing it's a Buff Orpington rooster? Then you can expect buff chicks, but they won't be a nice clean gold colour like the rooster (should be). A good monochrome buff without different shades is difficult to get, and by crossing with Buckeyes the chicks will have one copy of the mahogany...
I'm not quite sure I understand your question, but the genes for lacing are inherited separately from the blue genes. So if these were my birds I'd cross them to the ones with the best lacing. You can get the blue colour back more easily than you can get quality lacing, from a genetics perspective.
Thanks for posting my chicken project......it's such fun to crossbreed! I expect to see much more variability in the F2 generation, so I will have to be very very picky with who I choose to produce the next generation. Ultimately, I'm hoping for a dark red Columbian coloured chicken, with...
I like the wings too- last thing I want to do is cut the tip off, so I do a combination of dry plucking and skinning. I pull the wing feathers first, right away- starting at the tip- when the wings are still warm. Pliers help. If the wings cool off it's very tricky to pull the feathers, but if...
I don't think Sigrid Van D. has checked out Buckeyes- I don't think they have made it to Europe which is a shame. ........ very sweet too or they should be ......... sorry I couldn't resist!
Handsome dude! Looks like a good tail angle, not too low, and looks like he doesn't have the excess cushion problem either! I know that there are some who think Buckeyes are a bit "plain" but when you see a nice rooster like that, well put together and proud, the Buckeye breed can't be beat for...
That seems to be a very long time for them to get around to laying, eight months...... but as a slower growing heritage breed I don't think that's out of line. As far as getting in a rooster from another breeder- That's a difficult question to answer. If you like the Buckeyes that you have, you...
Warning!!!! Graphic autopsy photos!!!
Buckeyes- the Schmaltz breed!
I dug out those photos of the Buckeye hen I autopsied. She had developed a large lump and bald spot under her bum, and it looked and felt as if she had ascites and I was afraid intestines were going to pop out of...
I have not processed any other Buckeyes so I can't say if this is common or not. I wonder if your Buckeye hen had some sort of hormonal imbalance, that un-Buckeye like psycho behavoiur and excess fat might be symptoms?
I culled a Buckeye hen that had some weird things going on with her abdomen- I thought it was ascites so I euthanized and did an autopsy. It was just fat, and there was tons of it. She had a fatty liver too- the liver was large and pale. Perhaps Buckeyes are super easy keepers and we don't need...
The hybrids that are exceptional layers will lay almost an egg a day (you can expect more than 300 eggs per year) without going broody. A dual purpose breed will of course lay fewer eggs, but what happens is they often lay pretty well, but may be broody in between which will affect the total...
I would agree, if you want to find Buckeyes that lay well, look for a strain that has been selected to lay lots of eggs that have a good shape. My first buckeyes were fairly poor layers and the eggs they laid were very long, and did not fit well in egg cartons.
I think you will find that she will grow into that tail. Those teenage weeks are awkward- one of my roosters took so long to grow in sickle feathers I thought he didn't have any. Looks like she has nice dark colouring, too, I'm sure she will be a very fine looking hen.