Black andalusian?

[jossanne]

I split an order of 10 rainbow variety chicks from McMurray with a friend this past spring. One of the chicks (my friend kept) is a blue andalusian. I got a feisty black bird, and I'm not sure if she's a minorca or an andalusian. In my vast experience

(two orders) McMurray tends to send duplicates in their orders more than single birds of one breed, so based on that logic I'm thinking my black girl is an andalusian. She's shiny greenish-black with an enormous comb, black legs, and her earlobes show a little white under a lot of black.

Does anyone have black andalusian pullets/hens with black-washed white earlobes? Is there any way to tell a difference between minorcas and andalusians?

 

[pkeeler]

I think you are right about the way Murray fills those variety orders. It will be hard at first to tell the difference between minorca, black andalusian, and anconas. They should be old enough to see mottling or the really big earlobes of the minorca.

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

Sounds like a black andalusian from your description.

 

[jossanne]

She's definitely not an ancona. I've had an ancona, and she was very different from the start. She's 27 weeks tomorrow, and laying fairly regularly. She is the queen of the flock, and appropriately named Queen Latifah.

I was just thinking that if she is a black andalusian, she has a blue gene in there, right? So if I were to get a splash or blue roo, she'd make pretty blue babies. But if she's a minorca, with a splash or blue roo she'd only make black babies?

 

[okiehen]

I have a Black andalusian pullet not laying age yet. And it sounds like your girl is a andalusian.
Splash to black will get blue every time.

 

[tadkerson]

The chances are very slim that your black bird carries blue. Almost every bird that carries blue is blue. Minorcas are a larger bird around 7 lbs while andalusians are around 5 lbs.

Tim

 

[okiehen]

This explains that when the three various combinations of Blue plus Blue cross matings are made, the following results in colour distribution can be expected:

Blue X Blue will yield 50% Blue, 25 % Black 25% Splashed white chicks

Blue X Black will yield 50% Blue chicks 50% Black Chicks

Black X Splashed White will yield 100% Blue chickens

 

[kinnip]

I have two Black Andalusians, a hen and a roo, and I love them. They're such pretty birds. I intend to breed them and my blue hen. As much as I love the blue, I'd really enjoy more blacks too. That gorgeous beetle sheen they have makes my heart skip a beat.

 

[jossanne]

Thanks all!

I love her, but boy is she bossy. Her name is Queen Latifah, and she is truly the queen of the flock. She picks on everyone, including the people. She can be forgiven though, because she climbs up on my lap for attention, and she's so darn pretty!