Black Cockerel with Gold Flecking

[ClickerChick]

Hey everybody! I have two black Japanese bantam cockerels that I ordered earlier this year from Murray McMurray hatchery, and they are NOWHERE NEAR the SOP for the breed. Recently the feathers on one of cockerels began to change, and I am curious about the genetics involved.

The hackle, saddle, and wing bow feathers (basically any of the partially translucent feathers common to cockerels) have recently begun to exhibit gold "flecks". It looks like someone has sprinkled him with some gold dust! Anyone have any ideas about the genetics/cause of these gold flecks?

Thanks in advance! If you would like a picture, I can see if I can get one for you.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Hey everybody! I have two black Japanese bantam cockerels that I ordered earlier this year from Murray McMurray hatchery, and they are NOWHERE NEAR the SOP for the breed. Recently the feathers on one of cockerels began to change, and I am curious about the genetics involved.

The hackle, saddle, and wing bow feathers (basically any of the partially translucent feathers common to cockerels) have recently begun to exhibit gold "flecks". It looks like someone has sprinkled him with some gold dust! Anyone have any ideas about the genetics/cause of these gold flecks?

Thanks in advance! If you would like a picture, I can see if I can get one for you.

A picture would definitely be helpful. That being said, being hatchery stock it is no surprise that they are not all that close to the SOP.

 

[keesmom]

A hatchery isn't the best place to get birds if you want them to be close to the SOP. A picture would help but it sounds like gold leakage.

 

[donrae]

A hatchery isn't the best place to get birds if you want them to be close to the SOP. A picture would help but it sounds like gold leakage.

This. I can't explain the genetics like some folks can, but I can say it's common to have these colors come through in birds that haven't been from flocks culled for color. I guess a good comparison would be a Labrador retriever that has excess white on the body. It's against the breed standard and overall a sign of poor quality breeding.

 

[ClickerChick]

Yeah, now that my friends and I have found a show that attracts a few good breeders (and we have begun looking up breeders ourselves), we have decided to stop ordering from hatcheries. Before, we had no choice but to order from the hatchery and take a chance with whatever we received in the mail. Now we have more options and a better chance at getting some good quality birds. Some of the hatchery birds that we have received over the years are actually not too far from the standard, but these Japs are just crazy! The breeder is obviously breeding for quantity over quality, like any commercial producer, and is not doing any sort of selective breeding. The female Japs that my friend ordered actually look fairly close to Sumatra bantams! This makes me really want to become a breeder so that I can breed my own show-quality birds!

Ok, I'll see if I can get a good pic for you in the morning.

BTW, (I have to tell somebody!) I just discovered that chickens have a single claw on each of their wings! Chickens really do come from dinosaurs!

 

[ClickerChick]

Here you can clearly see the gold flecking in his hackles.


You know, he kind of looks like a slightly oversized OEGB to me...