Possible White “Orpington” rooster (technically will be a cross)?

[CaliFarmsAR]

Really hoping I can get some help/confirmation on this.

I little bit ago, we had 4 chicks hatch (two pullets and two roos), just Barnyard mixes. Well, unfortunately, I lost my Buff Orpington rooster, Peter, a few months ago during a cold spell (he was amazing and my favorite). Now that 3/4 of the chicks have grown up and are 4-5 months old, the pullets are buff and the rooster is white, but he literally LOOKS just like Peter, just white… are they part Buff Orpington? Do you think Peter is the dad??

Bossy, the possible son.

Peter, buff Orpington.

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

@Overo Mare

 

[NatJ]

are they part Buff Orpington? Do you think Peter is the dad??

It is definitely a possibility.

I'm assuming the Buff Orpington was not the only rooster at the time, or you wouldn't be asking this.

Depending on how many hens & roosters you had, and what breeds they are, it might be possible to figure it out, or it might never be possible to know for sure.

I notice the white rooster has white legs (so at least one parent has white or slate legs), and has a single comb (so he might have parents with single combs, but cannot completely rule out parents with other comb types.) He does not have feathered legs, muff/beard on the face, or a crest on the head, so parents with those traits are unlikely (but not impossible.)

I would expect at least one of his parents to show some amount of white in their feathers, although they may not be white all over.

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

It is definitely a possibility.

I'm assuming the Buff Orpington was not the only rooster at the time, or you wouldn't be asking this.

Depending on how many hens & roosters you had, and what breeds they are, it might be possible to figure it out, or it might never be possible to know for sure.

I notice the white rooster has white legs (so at least one parent has white or slate legs), and has a single comb (so he might have parents with single combs, but cannot completely rule out parents with other comb types.) He does not have feathered legs, muff/beard on the face, or a crest on the head, so parents with those traits are unlikely (but not impossible.)

I would expect at least one of his parents to show some amount of white in their feathers, although they may not be white all over.

The only white hens we have are some Brahma (hope that’s spelled correctly) crosses.

 

[Sussex19]

My buff Orp hens throw about 80% white chicks, and they don't have any white on them.
Although, the rooster does have some light sussex in him, so I guess it could come partly from him.

 

[NatJ]

The only white hens we have are some Brahma (hope that’s spelled correctly) crosses.

Yes, that's spelled correctly.

Hmm, I would normally expect a chick from a Brahma-cross mother to show at least a few feathers on the feet, but I suppose it doesn't always happen that way. Maybe?

One way to get white chicks is to have a chicken with Dominant White (commonly found in White Laced Red chickens, and white-tailed reds like ISA Browns or Gold Comets) crossed to a black, blue, or lavender chicken. The one parent contributes genes that would make a chick black all over, and the other contributes the Dominant White that turns black to white, resulting in white chicks from parents that don't show much white.

Sometimes gene interactions can do odd things.