I recently acquired a quadre of Silver Duckwing OEGB at a local livestock sale. I took care of their scaly leg mites, got their nails all trimmed, and made them as comfortable as I could in a repurposed small-animal cage (impulse purchase, bad me, didn't have coop space for them).
They must have appreciated all my efforts, because some of the hens began to lay. And when I used the quail-sized eggs, I noticed they were fertilized.
Being the not-so-bright person that I am, I figured, what the heck, and incubated some of the eggs. After all, I was raising a couple of ducklings indoor for the winter, why not tiny chickens, too? Three hatched over the weekend. There are two more batches in the incubator, due for the next two weekends, as well as one of the hens brooding another bunch.
Thing is, none of the chicks appear to be Silver Duckwings! Now, I'm very good at Muscovy genetics, passable at Rabbit ones, but Chicken genetics I haven't even bothered looking into, wanting to keep what's left of my sanity.
I've looked at many pics of the down colours on various OEGB, and am thinking these might be Mille Fleurs? But I honestly don't know... Is Duckwing an incomplete dominant? What other traits could these guys have hidden? Any ideas as to what my chicks might turn out to be?
1-2 days old
These were taken today, 3-4 days old:
They must have appreciated all my efforts, because some of the hens began to lay. And when I used the quail-sized eggs, I noticed they were fertilized.
Being the not-so-bright person that I am, I figured, what the heck, and incubated some of the eggs. After all, I was raising a couple of ducklings indoor for the winter, why not tiny chickens, too? Three hatched over the weekend. There are two more batches in the incubator, due for the next two weekends, as well as one of the hens brooding another bunch.
Thing is, none of the chicks appear to be Silver Duckwings! Now, I'm very good at Muscovy genetics, passable at Rabbit ones, but Chicken genetics I haven't even bothered looking into, wanting to keep what's left of my sanity.
I've looked at many pics of the down colours on various OEGB, and am thinking these might be Mille Fleurs? But I honestly don't know... Is Duckwing an incomplete dominant? What other traits could these guys have hidden? Any ideas as to what my chicks might turn out to be?
1-2 days old
These were taken today, 3-4 days old: