CharliesGarden
In the Brooder
Hey everyone! I have been fawning over my first home-hatched babies in years, and I wanted to create a thread here to track our progress and share all of the precious moments that come with raising chicks.
I currently have 5 pens: Black Orpingtons, Silver Phoenix, BBR + Red Pyle Old English Games, and a cross pen with Silver Phoenix rooster and Red Pyle OEG hen. The Phoenix and OEG pair was planned to test whether the hen is hetero- or homozygous for Dominant White. Six of their eggs have been put under hens, and one has hatched so far. This baby is so interesting to me, as I was expecting either a yellow or brown chipmunk chick, but got a bright white baby with very faint eyeliner. This baby was also the same size as the Orpington chick that hatched the day after them, and looks ginormous compared to the Phoenix chicks that hatched just a couple days later.
We've had Phoenix and Game chicks together before, and the only difference between the two groups was their color. I'm not sure why combining the two resulted in this large-breed-chick-sized nugget, but I am enamored with them. I had planned to mate the pair just long enough to see what color their chicks were, to see what mom's genes are, and then give away or sell the chicks and move the OEG hen to my OEG pen, but "Henry" has stolen my heart. I don't know why I ever thought I could just keep their baby/ies long enough to check chick plumage color, because I am obsessed with color genetics and absolutely must keep this tot at least long enough to see what their adult plumage is. What I am expecting is a white bird with salmon chest and, if they're a rooster, "yellow" hackle, saddle, and wing triangles. I am hoping that the Red Pyle hen from the pair is homozygous, and the rest of the batch come out like "Henry". I really want to see what these genes look like on males and females.
Photos: "Henry" (06/05) the cross breed chick at hatch, 4 days, and 5 days old. "Stevie" (06/06) the Black Orp at hatch and 2 days old. "Jack" (06/07) the Silver Phoenix at 3 days old. "Duke" (06/09) the Silver Phoenix at 1 day old.
I currently have 5 pens: Black Orpingtons, Silver Phoenix, BBR + Red Pyle Old English Games, and a cross pen with Silver Phoenix rooster and Red Pyle OEG hen. The Phoenix and OEG pair was planned to test whether the hen is hetero- or homozygous for Dominant White. Six of their eggs have been put under hens, and one has hatched so far. This baby is so interesting to me, as I was expecting either a yellow or brown chipmunk chick, but got a bright white baby with very faint eyeliner. This baby was also the same size as the Orpington chick that hatched the day after them, and looks ginormous compared to the Phoenix chicks that hatched just a couple days later.
We've had Phoenix and Game chicks together before, and the only difference between the two groups was their color. I'm not sure why combining the two resulted in this large-breed-chick-sized nugget, but I am enamored with them. I had planned to mate the pair just long enough to see what color their chicks were, to see what mom's genes are, and then give away or sell the chicks and move the OEG hen to my OEG pen, but "Henry" has stolen my heart. I don't know why I ever thought I could just keep their baby/ies long enough to check chick plumage color, because I am obsessed with color genetics and absolutely must keep this tot at least long enough to see what their adult plumage is. What I am expecting is a white bird with salmon chest and, if they're a rooster, "yellow" hackle, saddle, and wing triangles. I am hoping that the Red Pyle hen from the pair is homozygous, and the rest of the batch come out like "Henry". I really want to see what these genes look like on males and females.
Photos: "Henry" (06/05) the cross breed chick at hatch, 4 days, and 5 days old. "Stevie" (06/06) the Black Orp at hatch and 2 days old. "Jack" (06/07) the Silver Phoenix at 3 days old. "Duke" (06/09) the Silver Phoenix at 1 day old.
