The Smurf Project

[SourRoses]

How do you make a Smurf?


Well first, we needed some Clowns.

"Hey, good lookin!"

"Ugh, boys!"

Grownup Clowns, aka White Faced Black Spanish...

Next, we need some blue dye.

Brownie the Mosaic has some color to offer!

She and Bandit the Clown gave us some eggs... a total of 5, before the dark days of fall. 3 are developing in the incubator and due this Saturday!
(1 had cracks and 1 quit early)

It was high past time to start this chronicle of the Smurfs, the blue faced chicken, coming soon!

 

[SourRoses]

Spring shall bring a different arrangement of the Smurf pen.


This Mosaic boy with the pretty purple sheen will be the daddy...

The mothers will include the lovely Clown ladies, and this sweet Fibro EE (half Ameraucana / half Mosaic).

It's almost as if there's a color theme in Smurf land.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Love the sheen on the birds!
What exactly are you going for in your Smurf project?

 

[Amer]

Haha, I can’t wait to see the results!

 

[SourRoses]

Love the sheen on the birds!
What exactly are you going for in your Smurf project?

The primary goal is blue faced chickens. In all the areas that the WFBS have white on their faces. I'm not aiming for the super long earlobes, although big ears are nice, but mainly the transfer to the face.

The rest of the head should be dark, to contrast with the blue. Since partial Fibro like the Mosaics are providing often comes with mulberry combs, we're going with Pea combs. A big benefit will be the wattle delete, which I often think of as rather unfortunate protuberances.

Along with the Pea combs, we're introducing the blue egg gene. Because... Smurf.

I also want to see what we can do with the sheen. We love the purple, but according to Rob of the Purple Poultry project, between green sheen and purple sheen sits blue. The theme may require it.

So, some parts of this project may be easier than others. The faces I expect to be waiting on the F3's before the genes come back together enough to even see it, and longer of course to perfect it. It's working with Fibro, although thankfully only a dollop.

And we're not even sure what genes go into spreading the earlobe color over the face. Our last conversation on here about the topic yielded the hypothesis that it has something to do with purines, a pigment compound.
As we had to put one of the Clown roos down last month (Dumbo was our favorite and he had really huge ears) I took the opportunity after to inspect and feel his earlobes a bit better, and it's like leather. A buttery soft, kid glove leather. Surprisingly thick.
So, I think dermal thickness will be something to watch for.

They will also have blue / slate shanks. The Mosaic have green, so I have to avoid any yellow coming back.
The feather color should be black.
And I'm not sure what will happen with the Beards & Muffs. The question there, which I suppose will be answered with time, is whether the thickened facial skin will prevent follicular growth wherever the blue will be. Creating like mini muffs, which would be kind of cute. Or maybe just a beard? Alternatively, the muffs could try to grow over the faces, in which case I will have to select against it.
The clowns hatched with dense down on their faces, which they then lost as the skin developed more.

 

[SourRoses]

2 Pips!

I'm excited to see what they look like. Mosaics are pretty distinctive chicks with eyeliner.
The half Mosaic hen I posted above hatched super dark all over, but she's half Black Ameraucana.
Wondering if the Clown mix will be different. Hurry up and hatch!

 

[SourRoses]

The first hatch!

*I was using a flashlight which I think cast a hue. It's dark in here and a dark baby.

 

[WingsysRoost]

This seems like a really neat project! I'm definitely following along to see what happens next.

The first hatch!

*I was using a flashlight which I think cast a hue. It's dark in here and a dark baby.



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Adorable! I'm very curious to see what this one will look like once fully grown.

 

[SourRoses]

3 F1's hatched!

I imagined taking them out for a photo session where I would capture the three together, but that's not quite how it happened...

So helpful... not a Smurf!

There's one!

Two together. Both have red on their faces. I wonder what kind of red, genetically?

This one has almost an eye patch looking area on both sides. I wonder if it's an actual trait, or some residue or something from hatching?

The gang insisted on being included!

 

[Shaunb1003]

I am a follower here. I'd like to see you develope that to completion