2022 Peachick Color Questions

[PoultryFanatic22]

This past breeding season I had the opportunity to hatch out eggs from my own peafowl. The pen consisted of:

White peacock

India Blue Pied peahen

Purple peahen

India Blue peahen (white throat patch/ white wing feathers)

Cameo peahen (white throat patch)

I have decided to keep 2 peacocks and 9 peahens for future breeding but am not sure of exactly what colors I have. I believe they are Purple Pied, Pied, Dark pied.

 

[AmeraucanaHank]

I don't know much at all about peafowl.
@KsKingBee?

 

[KsKingBee]

Could you post pics of the parents? Also remember White is not a color, it is a pattern. Patterns include White, Black Shoulder (Black Wing), Pied, White Eye, Silver Pied, Dark Pied, and Brown Wing. IB is considered both a pattern (Wild Pattern) and a color or type. In IB the color mutations are listed first followed by the oldest pattern to the newest, then the known splits. IE: IB Pied WE/ Cameo, BS, SP. You say you have a White cock but you could not get those Purple cock chicks unless that cock is Purple under the White or split to that color. White is the great eraser and will hide both color and patterns.

 

[PoultryFanatic22]

Could you post pics of the parents? Also remember White is not a color, it is a pattern. Patterns include White, Black Shoulder (Black Wing), Pied, White Eye, Silver Pied, Dark Pied, and Brown Wing. IB is considered both a pattern (Wild Pattern) and a color or type. In IB the color mutations are listed first followed by the oldest pattern to the newest, then the known splits. IE: IB Pied WE/ Cameo, BS, SP. You say you have a White cock but you could not get those Purple cock chicks unless that cock is Purple under the White or split to that color. White is the great eraser and will hide both color and patterns.

Yes here are pics of the parents. I bought the cock from a guy on Craigslist and don’t know any background information on him except that he should now be 5 years if what the seller told me is correct.

I guess I am way off, I thought all the purple chicks I have are hens

 

[KsKingBee]

Yes here are pics of the parents. I bought the cock from a guy on Craigslist and don’t know any background information on him except that he should now be 5 years if what the seller told me is correct.

View attachment 3336653

View attachment 3336654
View attachment 3336656

I guess I am way off, I thought all the purple chicks I have are hens

Right, but a Purple hen does not pass on her color, that is done by the cock. So your White cock is actually a Purple White cock. It is possible for him and your Purple hen to make Purple cock chicks. Any of your not Purple chicks should be IB split to Purple unless the White Daddy is only split to Purple, then only half.

 

[KsKingBee]

The cock chicks out of the Cameo hen will be IB split Cameo and Purple, (if White daddy is not just split but actual Purple) breed him to Peach to make Peach.

 

[Midnightman14]

Yeah you're not going to get any cameos or purples from a breeder group like that. Only males that are split to the color.

 

[PoultryFanatic22]

Right, but a Purple hen does not pass on her color, that is done by the cock. So your White cock is actually a Purple White cock. It is possible for him and your Purple hen to make Purple cock chicks. Any of your not Purple chicks should be IB split to Purple unless the White Daddy is only split to Purple, then only half.

That makes perfect sense! I am still learning genetics and definitely have more studying to do. Is Daddy also carrying the gene for pied? All the chicks I hatched out are pied.

I also see a variation of color in the purple chicks, with one being much lighter. Is this bird still a purple? I don't think she is a cameo because of the iridescent feathers on her neck?

 

[PoultryFanatic22]

Yeah you're not going to get any cameos or purples from a breeder group like that. Only males that are split to the color.

I am confused, I thought some of the chicks that have hatched out are purple pieds. As far as I can tell they are hens, is this not genetically possible?

 

[KsKingBee]

That makes perfect sense! I am still learning genetics and definitely have more studying to do. Is Daddy also carrying the gene for pied? All the chicks I hatched out are pied.

I also see a variation of color in the purple chicks, with one being much lighter. Is this bird still a purple? I don't think she is a cameo because of the iridescent feathers on her neck?

To create Pied you need one White gene and one Pied gene. Daddy give one White and momma gave one Pied to make Pied. Yes, White genes will make lighter offspring, The lighter hen may be SP, I could not tell from the front view only but it is very possible. There will be no iridescent color on the back of a Cameo neck so she is Purple.