11 Week Easter Egger - mixed signals

[eclectic-em]

The male specific feathering needs more time to grow out, I think. The chick's comb is redder than its sibling though, and that's usually a sign that it's a potential boy

It would be nice if the breeder had a list of what breeds they keep. Maybe we would get a better idea of what he could be. @eclectic-em, did the breeder mention what breeds they had, or was it just totally random mix eggs?


He does have a small beard--there are some dark feathers under his chin. I think you are right about him still growing his beard out, because muffs and beards are linked and you can't have one without the other. He also probably has only one copy of the beard and muff gene, giving him smaller beard and muffs.

totally random. it was from my pet chicken lol i know i got fertile eggs and he was the only one to hatch. the add on “mystery eggs”. they said they don’t keep track of it and even if they did the breeder might not have known what it was which is why they sold it as a mystery?

so in review:
beard / muff but probably just 1 copy of the gene
cushion comb (which someone else said is a mix of pea and rose)
sex link gold leakage

i think that’s some pretty solid info to narrow things down. i know it doesn’t really matter but it’s just so interesting!!

 

[Pentatonchix]

this is probably because i hung photos of hens that i edited to be famous women in science and gov so that georgie had strong fem-hen-ists to look up to! probably should have done it for a rooster and some inspirational man too lol. and no.. i’m not kidding
View attachment 2572200
we have the congresshen katie poultry and then it’s hard to see but rhos-island franklin, for rosalind franklin as a rhode island white hen in his brooder. should put these up in the coop too

Do you still have the files! This is amazing! I want my hens to be "fem-hen-ists" too!

 

[eclectic-em]

Do you still have the files! This is amazing! I want my hens to be "fem-hen-ists" too!

This thread reminded me to print them, make "frames" from scrapbook paper, little art labels in the corner and laminate them for the coop

Rhosa-Island (White) Franklin.

Katie Poultry and her iconic whiteboard.

Yes.. that is their actual hair I edited onto the chickens. No I have no valid explanation for why I am the way I am LOL. Post pics if you hang these for your little fem-hen-ists!

 

[eclectic-em]

Do you still have the files! This is amazing! I want my hens to be "fem-hen-ists" too!

I also did Sally Rhide-Island Red but it wasn't my best work. I should work on it and post later. But I'm willing to take suggestions for iconic womhen

 

[Pentatonchix]

I also did Sally Rhide-Island Red but it wasn't my best work. I should work on it and post later. But I'm willing to take suggestions for iconic womhen

Mi-shell Obama
Jane Aust-hen
Cather-hen the Great
Henne Frank
Marie Jersey (Giant)
Houdan B. Ant-hen-y
That's all I could come up with, they're pretty bad ...

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

If he hatched from a green shell, that makes him at the very least an F2 cross.... unless the Araucana or Ameraucana hen that laid his egg came from a line that laid green eggs instead of blue ones. Green-laying purebred Ameraucanas are something that's frequent enough in Canada that I look twice at their breeders before buying chicks, but if you're in the USA it shouldn't be too much of a problem, as they prefer their girls to lay blue.

Gold leakage happens most often in sex-linked crosses, in the male chicks. But I'm pretty sure there's one type of white plumage that can also leak gold, but I don't remember which one it is...

I wish I could help you more with finding the possible parentage of your cockerel. Maybe you could post pictures of your EE on this thread? His parentage may be unknown, but if someday someone posts pictures of an EE matching yours and knows what chicken breeds went behind its creation, that could potentially solve your mystery

His coloration, which looks like mixed gold/silver split columbian, isn’t exclusive to sex-linked crosses. Gold/silver split males, which are usually silver with yellowish feathering and often red leakage, can result from many crosses. Gold hen x silver rooster, silver rooster x gold hen, gold/silver split rooster x gold hen, gold/silver split rooster x silver hen, and silver rooster x silver hen (with autosomal red) can all produce gold/silver split male offspring or ones that appear to be gold/silver split (in the case of autosomal (non-sexlinked) red). All but one of the above crosses is sex-linked.

I'm guessing his mom was an EE, but his dad is a different breed because of his white legs and cushion comb (not common in EEs). It's too bad there are no breed tests for chickens yet

Agreed.

I suspected sex-linkage too, and it's nice to see my hunch confirmed The best breed test that can be done is to have the breeder keep track of which birds he breeds together, so whoever buys the resulting chicks knows what the parents are if they want more of that cross.

@InterestingChickens - the muffs are on the sides of the chicken's cheeks, while the beard sprouts over the throat. I spotted cheek feathers but no throat feathers on OP's EE, so that's why I said Araucana over Ameraucana for a possible parent xD (then again, ten weeks old is still young, maybe the EE hasn't fully grown its beard yet.)

@sourland - What makes you think the EE is a pullet? Is it its eyes?

Araucanas have ear tufts, completely different from muffs. Unless they’re tailed araucanas, which have muffs and crests.

 

[eclectic-em]

His coloration, which looks like mixed gold/silver split columbian, isn’t exclusive to sex-linked crosses. Gold/silver split males, which are usually silver with yellowish feathering and often red leakage, can result from many crosses. Gold hen x silver rooster, silver rooster x gold hen, gold/silver split rooster x gold hen, gold/silver split rooster x silver hen, and silver rooster x silver hen (with autosomal red) can all produce gold/silver split male offspring or ones that appear to be gold/silver split (in the case of autosomal (non-sexlinked) red). All but one of the above crosses is sex-linked.

Agreed.

Araucanas have ear tufts, completely different from muffs. Unless they’re tailed araucanas, which have muffs and crests.

Thank you for this!! Also love the username hehe

 

[jsroberts]

this is probably because i hung photos of hens that i edited to be famous women in science and gov so that georgie had strong fem-hen-ists to look up to! probably should have done it for a rooster and some inspirational man too lol. and no.. i’m not kidding
View attachment 2572200
we have the congresshen katie poultry and then it’s hard to see but rhos-island franklin, for rosalind franklin as a rhode island white hen in his brooder. should put these up in the coop too

I LOVE you. This is delightful. Bwahaha!

 

[eclectic-em]

I LOVE you. This is delightful. Bwahaha!

got my POULitical pictures up in the coop now hehe

 

[eclectic-em]

oh yes, it’s a boy he has been dating (well attempting to mate) his chickhood stuffed dinosaur. i think it’s because sophie isn’t laying yet and i think he’s being supportive (he tried to show her how to nest yesterday) and waiting or i just raised him like a hooman and he doesn’t know what to do.

he’s still a sweetheart besides being frustrated.. er.. you know. still wants to sit on my lap in the evenings while sophie is on my shoulders and only tried to mate with my arm once. awk.

oh and later in the spring or early summer when sophie is laying well, the gal who hatched sophie said she would incubate george x sophie eggs to see what kind of monster they make hehe.

just thought it would be a fun little update for all y’all who we’re so helpful on this thread!