Bantam, Feather Legged, Gray Shanks

[Broomtown]

Any idea what breed he is? 3 mo. old...Hatchery grade shipped as an extra with Bantam GL Cochins. The Cochins all have yellow shanks. He is noticeably smaller than the Cochins.

 

[zookeeper15133]

Maybe a Mille Fleur? I'm not sure if they have dark shanks or not.

 

[Broomtown]

Millie Fleur crossed my mind but he has no sign of a beard and I'm not sure about MF leg coloring. Again, he is a hatchery bird so I don't expect all features to be to the standard.

 

[LizzieMac]

Quote:
I'm curious why that is....
Is it the process they go through that gets them mixed up?

 

[akcountrygrrl]

He could be a Mille Fleur Booted Bantam but I'm not aware of any hatcheries that carry those. It is also possible that he is a D'Uccle cross. Which hatchery did he come from? Hatcheries breed for production and quantity, not quality. So, you end up getting birds that will resemble the standard (maybe) but not fit it perfectly. I ordered some chicks from a hatchery and ended up with single combed Wyandottes and crested Old English Game bantams.

Keep in mind that mille fleur is a color and not a breed.

 

[Broomtown]

He came from McMurray Hatchery. He was the freebie exotic. McMurray does list Millie Fleurs. I don't know much about them though.

 

[akcountrygrrl]

Hatcheries will sometimes call mille fleur D'Uccles "Mille Fleurs" and porcelain D'Uccles "Porcelains". Those are actually color varieties and there are other breeds that come in those varieties but are most common in D'Uccles. It's similar to hatcheries calling EE's Araucanas or Ameraucanas.