BCM x red sex link - updated 14 week old photos

[VillageChicken]

most of my hens are still recovering from molting. I'll try to snap a pic of the darker hen soon and post. The "white copper" is in heavy molt still.
I had one hen that I lost in the fire that was a beautiful version of this cross. She had a red enhancer - mahogany or some other autosomal red that made her hackle deep red, and she had decent amount of colored hackle. The rest of her was super shiny beetle green black. She reminded me of Christmas.

 

[hdowden]

has the first one gotten any feathers in yet?

 

[keckels]

Starting to, I'll see if I can get a pic tonight

 

[keckels]

Quote:
This would be just shy of 2 wks old. The 1st chick in the thread. Colors really starting to come in. Looks like maybe some black coming in on the back.

 

[tadkerson]

I agree with Village Chicken but would like to add additional information.

Your black copper is a wheaten/ birchen heterozygote. That is typical for the marans. The wheaten chick will be a columbian restricted wheaten marans- basically a black tailed red; without the leg feathering.

The other chicks could be any of several possibilities. The birchen allele is quirky and does not always produce the same phenotype on birds with the columbian gene.

The white chick will be white with red leaking through the white; I can not predict a red pattern on the adult plumage of the white or the black chick because the birchen allele and the columbain gene do not always interact and produce the same red patterns. Some times the columbian gene is hypostatic ( does not cause changers in the birchen color pattern) to the birchen allele, the columbian gene can sometimes only cause lacing on a birchen breast, the columbian gene can sometimes produce a modified columbian restriction or at other times produce a columbian restricted bird. The preceding information is specific to birchen/wheaten heterozygotes. Homozygous birchen and other E locus heterozygous birchen combinations interact differently with the columbian gene.

I have been consulting Bev Davis for about 4 years concerning her Marans. Do not get upset about your Marans being heterozygous. You can import birds from France and their bird varieties are genetically diverse also. It will take the American Marans breeders to clean up the mess and produce Marans varieties that are homogeneous population.

Egg color always suffers when a Marans is out crossed.

Tim

 

[keckels]

Whoa, I'm gonna have to re add that several times. Thanks for all the good information. This was just to replace some birds, but you've got me wanting to learn more.

 

[keckels]

Oldest chick is now 3 wks old. It was a beautiful day here before the blizzard that's supposed to hit tomorrow, so I gave the them some time out of the run & got some better pictures of the sex links & rooster.

This is mid crow just to show his approval for being let out.

Eating some left over veggies.

And finally, the mutts.

About forgot, I did have a helper (he's declawed)

 

[keckels]

Fast forward several months with my mix. I really like the way the two black chick's have turned out.


Several look just like a red sex link.


And they follow me and the dogs all over the place.



If they lay anything like my red sex links, the project is successful.

 

[draye]

Those are pretty.

I done a cross with red sexlinks. Used a White Rock rooster over them. Produced a bunch of colors and patterns on the chicks.
Never took picture though and only kept 5 of the pullets from this cross they all startred laying (usually 5 to 6 days a week) then they all the sudden started dying off until I was left with only 1 hen. Gave her to my dad and she still alive a laying almost everday.

 

[Kansaseq]

Keckels,
Thanks for posting all of the info and pictures. How dark are the eggs these girls lay? Pretty flock!