Beige vs. Platinum Blue

[Sonoran Silkies]

I have yet to see a true, genetic dun in the Serama breed here. Not one. I have had plenty of the pumpkin (called pumpkin by Cat) and they bred as she said they would. The Serama above is not dun. If you breed that cock to a black hen, you will never get a chocolate dun. I had plenty that color.

As far as my chick photo's, there is only one black chick in the four. Lighting doesn't show the dun chick well. They look sort of bluish when they first hatch, then sort of black but feather out dark chocolate dun color. The chick at the top is the one that may be dun plus recessive chocolate. The one on the very bottom is recessive chocolate only. The ones in the middle are a black and a dun chick, dun on the left, black on the right.

Here is the dun chick (on the left below) with the recessive chocolate chick on the right soon after hatching. Better lighting helps and because it's not all fluffy, the dun coloring is much more obvious. They are bluish looking at the start then fluffy and look black then feathering out a dark chocolate color but the hue is cooler than the recessive chocolate chicks. I have one good sized dun chicks all feathered out that I'll take photo's of this weekend. It's been dark by the time I get home from work lately.

I've had a wide variation in hue among my duns. I think it has to do with whether they are silver or gold, with silver birds being more taupe-ish, and gold ones being more beige-ish.

 

[smoothmule]

I've had a wide variation in hue among my duns. I think it has to do with whether they are silver or gold, with silver birds being more taupe-ish, and gold ones being more beige-ish.

I agree about the variations in the tones of the dun color. Here are the mothers to my dun chicks



Here is an older chick that is just dun chocolate, het dun.


Here is another of the same chick, shows how dark she is but definitely not black like the Araucana chick with her



The sire is black and carries chocolate. I just can't imagine how this chick could be only dun and be so much lighter. Not just the warm tones vs cooler tones but so much lighter. I do agree this chick "could" be just dun but because the sires all carry recessive chocolate in the pen, this chick seems more likely to be double diluted. I'll know more later. First off, if it's a cockerel, it can only be dun, no recessive chocolate. If a pullet, I will breed her to a chocolate and if 100% of the chicks are chocolate (or chocolate plus dun) then I'll know for sure.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: Any possibility of blue in the chick? I have a dun who is very blue when next to other duns, but very brown when next to blues. I'm guessing she is platinum.

 

[smoothmule]

Any possibility of blue in the chick? I have a dun who is very blue when next to other duns, but very brown when next to blues. I'm guessing she is platinum.

Nothing blue here at all so no blue in the mix. All I have are black Araucana's. For my project pen I have 2 Dun Sumatra hens and 2 Chocolate Orp/Ameraucana hens and in the project pen are 3 black cockerels hatched very early this year that are out of the 2 chocolate hens to my black Araucana roosters.

Does my light colored chick not look double diluted to anyone else but me? This chick hatched from the Sumatra's egg

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

It does look lighter to me. With the dun wyandottes and sumatras we've hatched over the years, we have never had any that shade. Most of the time, they are more of a dull, cold looking chocolate color. This chick looks like a warm cocoa color, not a 'normal' dun. Hopefully it stays that color

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: In this photo, it looks to be a warmer, more beige-like hue than in the next photo, where it appears to be a more taupe-ish hue. That taupe-ish colouring is why I asked about blue. Yes, it is very light (blue also dilutes, and was my reasoning for asking).

It does look lighter to me. With the dun wyandottes and sumatras we've hatched over the years, we have never had any that shade. Most of the time, they are more of a dull, cold looking chocolate color. This chick looks like a warm cocoa color, not a 'normal' dun. Hopefully it stays that color

I have had a wide range of hues in my duns.

 

[smoothmule]

I know, some colors are so hard to photograph. I took some inside, some in the sun and some in the shade. That seemed to be more confusing, lol Sorry.
The photo that is more tan/beige is more like what I see in person. The sun picked up something though.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

These two girls are both single dose dun, no choc. Notice how different their hues are. And I have another that is lighter, more beige-ish, same single dose of dun without choc.

 

[smoothmule]

These two girls are both single dose dun, no choc. Notice how different their hues are. And I have another that is lighter, more beige-ish, same single dose of dun without choc.

Thanks. I do know that I'll have to wait to know for sure if my chick has both chocolate and dun. It's definitely a keeper so I'll be able to breed and determine if there is chocolate present. Since breeding a split chocolate cockerel to non-chocolate cannot produce a visually chocolate male, I figured I would know but then thought about it and I can't tell visually if there is chocolate anyway (that's the whole point, lol) so I'll have to breed this chick to one of my chocolates and I'll know for sure if 100% of the chicks are chocolate or chocolate plus dun since this chick obviously has dun. So, late summer or fall and I should have an answer here

Your 2 there show the same sort of differences in color as my 2 dun Sumatra hens show. I'll post photo's as this chick develops. I just don't know but because I know it's possible for both chocolate and dun I have to believe this chick may be. I still feel it's too light for just dun. I wonder if the Silkie dun feathering would be so light if they were not silkied feathered??

For an example of what my dun chicks have looked like before, here is one of my Dun chocolate (one copy of dun) chicks. It's stunningly dark so you can see why I feel this light colored chick could be diluted by more than one diluter of black and this chick is from the same cross as the light chick.





Comparing this chick to the little pale colored chick, that is a Whole lot of variance and the other dun chicks all had nearly black down that had a hint of chocolate or blueish that I attributed to the cooler tone and warmer tone of the two hens I have.

I do understand the questioning about whether or not the pale chick is both chocolate and dun because there are so few of them that there is really nothing to compare. I've only seen a couple of photo's of a couple of adults and no chick down pictures to compare so I'm learning too. When I can, I will produce a khaki dun to cross to a chocolate but I'm not there yet.

 

[smoothmule]

An update on the pale chick and it brings more questions that maybe those with dun can answer. I know lots about chocolate, recessive chocolate. I know that it also dilutes the shank color, the beak color as well as the feathering to a sort of a chocolate color. My dun Sumatra hens have a cooler, grey brown color leg and beak. Is this typical for dun?

The reason I'm asking is that I have been watching this chick grow and noticing things and wondering and kind of "looking" for signs of the chick being recessive chocolate as well as dun. I "know" it's dun. I "think" it's too light to be only dun but I won't be satisfied until I can prove it by breeding. Hoping it's a cockerel but with the Sumatra comb, it's impossible for me to sex at this age. Probably a pullet since I wanted a cockerel.

Taken today - what I noted was the leg color. Very much the same color as my chocolate chicks.



The beak - This is the same color beak as my chocolate chicks. Anyone note this color beak with their Duns? Definite pea comb. Was hoping for a pullet but at least with a pullet, I'll know if she lays a blue egg, I'm on track.



Taken outside in the sunlight. The color here is a little "cooler" than what I see in person.