The "What Color Is My Chicken?" thread! Calling all color experts!

[BaileyMChicks]

Yes, Taemin is likely the offspring of a black, blue, or otherwise mostly dark Japanese and a Mille Fleur d'Uccle (which are bearded). I say this because I've owned blue silkie/MF d'uccle crosses (i.e. I have a decent idea of possible variations on how d'Uccle can manifest) plus I've had Japanese. Ahh... the faces on those little guys. I suppose Serama is another possibility for the mother but from a statistical standpoint less likely lol.

The second one, I'd need a better look at his face. His body shape seems a little bulkier/rounder than I would expect with a Polish parent if the other is a d'Uccle.

I'm afraid I can't help much with color. Birchen should have silver/white hackle and saddle feathers. Yours look like they've got some color (maybe they are silver and the lighting is throwing me off) and I have never found a name for that pattern in gold.
A potential shortcut to use in describing them to someone else is "same pattern as birchen but light gold instead of white."

Thank you. No, the lighting isn't throwing the color off, they are black and gold. On Key and Minho (Minho isn't in any pictures, he looks almost identical to Key) their hackles are almost blonde or a straw color. Taemin's hackles and saddles are more gold. That's why I was confused. And I can get a better picture of Key's face in a second. When I got them, the lady told me(it was her daughter who was breeding the birds, she was just selling them) that they were polish crosses and Japanese crosses. She didn't specify which. Or what the other parent was. And I'm just very curious as to what my little babies are made of.

 

[BaileyMChicks]

Here's some pictures of Key's face

He doesn't have a beard or muffs, and he has a slight crest, more like a mohawk. And I don't know if you could see his comb or not, but it's like a single comb that splits into two single combs at the end. Here's a picture of his comb

This was a few months ago, and the only change is his comb got a bit bigger and redder and then he started to crow. I'd say they are about 8 months old.

He was very interested in the camera that day too... Lol

 

[shanadienne]

Heh, that actually does look a bit like a Polish face from what I've seen at poultry shows.
I don't know the genetics of combs very well but that definitely looks like a combination of a single comb and the V-shaped comb Polishes have. And if the person you got them from said you got a Polish cross, then it's definitely that guy.

As for the color of the parent, the possibilities comprise most varieties of Polish--black, blue, cuckoo, golden laced, maybe silver laced or white.

And if you really want to know what they're made of, or if you might breed them, assuming the parents we've established, the following have a 50% chance of being passed on (they should have one allele for it from one parent and one allele for something else from the other):
-mottled plumage
-a beard (one gene can express itself to any degree from clean-faced with small wattles to a full beard, two should give you a glorious amount of feathers)
-feathered legs (as you know, just one gene will give you light feathering)
-vulture hocks
-a crest (same note as beards)
-buff coloring
-for Taemin, the way he holds his tail that's a bit more fanned out than your other chickens (that sounds weird and probably doesn't work the way I think it does but I'm going by my own experience)

And I think those are all the most notable traits. Sorry if I'm rambling. XD

 

[BaileyMChicks]

Thank you! That was very informative as to what I may get when I breed him. I don't really do any breeding for selling; I breed for my interests. But I will sell if I have to. In the future I think I would like to start selling pet quality chickens locally. I was thinking of crossing key with a mottled houdan(if he can reach lol) and also a cochin bantam/RIR hen that has a little bit of mottling on her face. As for Taemin I was thinking of crossing him with my EE banty hens and an EE banty/RIR hen. Just to stick with the beard lol. With the fact that it's birchen with gold Instead of silver, is there any chance if I crossed Key with a lemon blue cochin banty cross I could get more lemon blues? Since the base of the rooster is black and the base if the hen is blue? Shouldn't that produce blue chicks with a birchen pattern in gold? Or do I have genetics completely wrong....sorry. I'm new at this.

 

[Adorkable]

Removed my post

 

[shanadienne]

Thank you! That was very informative as to what I may get when I breed him. I don't really do any breeding for selling; I breed for my interests. But I will sell if I have to. In the future I think I would like to start selling pet quality chickens locally. I was thinking of crossing key with a mottled houdan(if he can reach lol) and also a cochin bantam/RIR hen that has a little bit of mottling on her face. As for Taemin I was thinking of crossing him with my EE banty hens and an EE banty/RIR hen. Just to stick with the beard lol. With the fact that it's birchen with gold Instead of silver, is there any chance if I crossed Key with a lemon blue cochin banty cross I could get more lemon blues? Since the base of the rooster is black and the base if the hen is blue? Shouldn't that produce blue chicks with a birchen pattern in gold? Or do I have genetics completely wrong....sorry. I'm new at this.

I can't help much there. I don't know how lemon works compared to buff. For base color you should get half blue chicks and half not-blue chicks from a cross with a lemon blue.

And a bantam rooster with a large hen is possible but it may take some time before she lets him try...

 

[BaileyMChicks]

I can't help much there. I don't know how lemon works compared to buff. For base color you should get half blue chicks and half not-blue chicks from a cross with a lemon blue.

And a bantam rooster with a large hen is possible but it may take some time before she lets him try...

Thanks. I think I will try it just to see what happens. And the hen is a cochin banty cross. Her mom was a cochin banty and her dad was a Rhode Island Red. She is a medium/bantam sized hen. And Taemin goes around mounting all of my LF girls, and he's only 24 oz at the max! The only problem is that when they squat for him, his vent is like on their saddle feathers lol. His body is just too short. Key doesn't though, but he has tried mounting her. After he like 'catches' her he doesn't know what to do...or maybe it's just because I'm there...idk

 

[CatoftheStorm]

Anyone know what color this might be? The father was a splash Cochin, the mother a Black Jersey Giant. The siblings were all the typical dark blue with lacing, but this rooster is paler and has no lacing. So I'm trying to figure out what it could be. It can't be lavender or self blue because I heard that was uniform, and he has "speckles" on his chest. Anyone know? I am willing to except he is just a pale blue without lacing, but I was wondering if there was a specific name for his coloration. We also got him from someone else so for all we know his lineage isn't even certain.

 

[donrae]

Anyone know what color this might be? The father was a splash Cochin, the mother a Black Jersey Giant. The siblings were all the typical dark blue with lacing, but this rooster is paler and has no lacing. So I'm trying to figure out what it could be. It can't be lavender or self blue because I heard that was uniform, and he has "speckles" on his chest. Anyone know? I am willing to except he is just a pale blue without lacing, but I was wondering if there was a specific name for his coloration. We also got him from someone else so for all we know his lineage isn't even certain.

I don't think the bird's parentage is correct. If his father is a Cochin, he should have at least lightly feathered legs. I'm seeing clean legs, so I'm thinking he had a different father.

 

[QueenMisha]

Ooh, just found this thread. Subbing now so I can help out! I like to think I'm pretty good with color variations.