How to make a super neat chicken.

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They really are!! You should see the video jakmallex posted of him!

WOW! I was thinking the same thing but I see it now! Amazing! Definately not symmetrical.

 

[jakmallex]

Here is Tang's video.

 

[chickypoo]

Oh my stars!

Tang is amazing!!!!

 

[Blisschick]

Tang appears to be a true chimera. A chimera is where two zygotes fuse to become one individual. Very likely, there were two female ovum, but only one was fertilized, and then the other was absorbed into the growing mass, which resulted in one bird with two different sides. What is cool is that even both sides are different colors!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(genetics)

 

[jakmallex]

Unfortunately Tang's babies are normal. His parents are both dead so there's no way of possibly reproducing him I guess. It's a good thing he is so unusual b/c if he was normal, his attitude would have earned him a place in the crock pot a long time ago.

 

[Chickndaddy]

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of my crosses, but I can tell you how to make them.

Cuckoo Faverolle:

Her name was Grey Girl and it was a complete accident. I got Cuckoo Marans and Salmon Faverolles at the same time. A few of the Salmon Faverolles started laying before I had the breeds separated. I set a few eggs and hatched out Grey Girl. Her body type was fairly close to the type for a Faverolle. She was cuckoo, although a little lighter than the Marans. She had good muffs, good placement for the fifth toe on both feet, and her egg was darker than a Faverolle and a bit larger. She was also a broody machine. I kept her on "the Yard" (kitchen flock, laying yard, etc...) with the rest of my extra birds so she had ample oppurtunity to go broody. Her nickname was "the Dragon Queen". If she even heard you coming to get eggs she'd start that broody war cry.

Wel-Marans:

Another accident, I recieved about 40 Welsummers, and a pair of Marans. The rooster Black Jack was Birchin x Black Copper. Pepper the hen was Cuckoo x Birchin. They all grew up together and when I got the Marans' breed pen finished I moved them. After hatching out some eggs from both pens I was surprised to find two black chicks with the Black Copper coloration. However these chicks hatched out of Welsummer eggs. They even had sparse feathering down their shanks. Their body type was closer to the Welsummer's than the Marans'. And the egg was darker than either one. The hens feathered out solid black and had the copper highlights in the hackle.

Later I put Wiley, and extra Welsummer rooster on "the Yard" where I put them. As I could tell their eggs apart and Wiley was by far the dominant rooster, I figured I'd hatch a few of their eggs. Surprise number 2. The chicks feathered out black with the Birchin coloration. They had feathering on their shanks as well. And their egg color was just as dark as their mothers. Their body type was very close to the Welsummer and their mothers'. I never hatched any roosters out of these crosses. They were always pullets.

Red Old English Game Bantam:

Mille Fleur OEGB x Black-tailed Buff Japanese. I let the Japanese set on the eggs and hatch them out herself. I got two pullets and two little roosters. They were darker than buff, but not nearly as dark as a Rhode Island Red. Which is what I was going to work for. The roosters body type was like a Japanese and the pullets were like OEGB in body type.

Birchin Faverolles:

Yet another surprise. I had a series of pens I referred to as "the six pack". From left to right and top to bottom the breeds were as follows: White Javas, LF Salmon Faverolles, Black/ Birchin/ Black Copper Marans, Blue-laced Red Wyandottes, Sicilian Buttercups, and Dominiques or Red-Shouldered Yokohamas depending on what time it was. Eventually another longer pen was added to "the six pack" than ran alongside the bottom where I had my quad of bantam Salmon Faverolles. I set some LF Salmon Faverolles and was hatching them when I found two littel surprises in the hatching tray. Two black and chocolate colored fuzz balls with five toes and the cutest muffs and beard. Apparently one of the Salmon Faverolles decided the rooster was hotter on the other side of the fence. This cross happened when Black Jack was still the breeding rooster on that yard. From the cross I got a pair of birds: A gorgeous pullet with excellent Birchin colors, huge muffs and beard with silver frosting in the tips, black well feathered legs, and good Faverolle body type. The rooster left much to be desired. He was black with the Birchin coloring as well; however, he also had the dark brown shoulders and some other off-type coloring from the cross. I would have loved to work with them in a breed pen, but never had the time.

A few other interesting crosses were:

Golden-laced Cochin x Blue Cochin = Lavender (ish) - laced Gold offspring.

And I always dreamed about Blue-laced Red Cochins, I just never got around to crossing them.

 

[Blisschick]

I got this guy from a fellow BYC'er at Chickenstock this year. She told me he's a Modern Game x Silkie x EE. She doesn't remember in what order everyone got bred in, but my pretty boy was the result. He's a fully laced silver birchen. You can see a little bit of each in him.

I also have a BLRW x Blue F1 Showgirl. She came out looking like a light splash Wyandotte, only with the extra toes. I have her in with EE's. She's a laying broody machine.

 

[LinckHillPoultry]

I want to go make myself a Tang now!

 

[miss_jayne]

Tang is like a half and half ice cream cone...just a surprise with every turn!

 

[eggzettera]

Normally I'ld say I hate tang but Tang is gorgeous