Black Java or something else?

[Jgoldrn9]

This rooster and hen have Molted Java parents however they turned out black or fluorescent black with multiple reflective colors greens mainly in daylight. Are they still Molted Java or are they a evolutionary regression of the black java chicken

 

[TheOddOneOut]

They can't be from the parentage you stated - having two mottled parents would HAVE to mean they present mottling.
They also look to have the wrong body type and earlobe color for Javas, mottled or not.

 

[Jgoldrn9]

They can't be from the parentage you stated - having two mottled parents would HAVE to mean they present mottling.
They also look to have the wrong body type and earlobe color for Javas, mottled or not.

This is one of my hens and the rooster is hiding

 

[Jgoldrn9]

They can't be from the parentage you stated - having two mottled parents would HAVE to mean they present mottling.
They also look to have the wrong body type and earlobe color for Javas, mottled or not.

To add to the mystery, this is what google images search suggest

 

[TheOddOneOut]

To add to the mystery, this is what google images search suggest

Yeah…it’s not that, lol. Those aren’t even in the US i don’t think.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

This is one of my hens and the rooster is hiding

You have no other hen or rooster breeds?

 

[Isldgrl]

Hi there, I have a similar question. I have four hens that I believe to be black Java (mom inherited them years ago and has no idea what they are)… Beautiful black, feathers with that green oil spill sheen, red combs, black legs with a little bit of white or yellow, showing through. Two of them have perfectly straight combs and are structurally built like a proper Java. Or at least from what I can tell. The other two have misshapen crowns. my question is that a couple of them, including the ones with the straight, pretty combs, small red streaks in there chest feathers. is this leakage? If so, what from? Or are these not even Javas at all?

 

[NatJ]

my question is that a couple of them, including the ones with the straight, pretty combs, small red streaks in there chest feathers. is this leakage? If so, what from? Or are these not even Javas at all?

Yes, the red streaks in the feathers are leakage.
That's a handy word for small amounts of color that are not right (according to the person's idea of what is "right," because the chicken sure doesn't care!)

In the case of your hens, they have most of the right genes to be black all over, but not quite all of them. It can happen in purebred chickens but is more common in mixes. Breeders have been working for a long time, breeding just the blackest chickens and not the ones with any kind of leakage, but sometimes a bit of leakage happens anyway.

As for whether they are Black Javas: you might want to look at photos of Black Sexlink hens. It is very common for them to have leakage, because of the way they come from a mixing of breeds. The people breeding them are worried about egg production more than color of feathers, so they haven't worried about trying to make them completely solid black. Some are solid black, but many others have some amount of leakage, ranging from a little bit to extremely large amounts.
Examples of Black Sexlinks (sold under various names):
https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/black_star.html
https://www.hoovershatchery.com/BlackSexLink.html
https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/black-sex-links/

 

[Isldgrl]

Yes, the red streaks in the feathers are leakage.
That's a handy word for small amounts of color that are not right (according to the person's idea of what is "right," because the chicken sure doesn't care!)

In the case of your hens, they have most of the right genes to be black all over, but not quite all of them. It can happen in purebred chickens but is more common in mixes. Breeders have been working for a long time, breeding just the blackest chickens and not the ones with any kind of leakage, but sometimes a bit of leakage happens anyway.

As for whether they are Black Javas: you might want to look at photos of Black Sexlink hens. It is very common for them to have leakage, because of the way they come from a mixing of breeds. The people breeding them are worried about egg production more than color of feathers, so they haven't worried about trying to make them completely solid black. Some are solid black, but many others have some amount of leakage, ranging from a little bit to extremely large amounts.
Examples of Black Sexlinks (sold under various names):
https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/black_star.html
https://www.hoovershatchery.com/BlackSexLink.html
https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/black-sex-links/

Oh wow!! Thank you so much! This is the first crash tutorial on genetics that has actually made perfect sense!! And I only had to read it once! I greatly appreciate it! I just love the silkiness and sheen of their feathers so much!! I have a little black bantam Cochin that is a pretty, shiny black, but with none of that beautiful iridescent green sheen to them! (My partridge silkie x d’uccle mix roo has those same green feathers on his tail!) I was just hoping to maybe breed for more of that! Do ALL “black sexlinks” look the same? For example, I have a Silver Laced Wyandotte Rooster and a Barred Rock hen - which apparently = “black sexlink” (I think I read that this is also the same for my Colombian Wyandotte hens) - would they also have the green sheen black feathers? Sorry to ask such dumb questions, I’m just new to this! Thanks so much for your help!!

Yes, the red streaks in the feathers are leakage.
That's a handy word for small amounts of color that are not right (according to the person's idea of what is "right," because the chicken sure doesn't care!)

In the case of your hens, they have most of the right genes to be black all over, but not quite all of them. It can happen in purebred chickens but is more common in mixes. Breeders have been working for a long time, breeding just the blackest chickens and not the ones with any kind of leakage, but sometimes a bit of leakage happens anyway.

As for whether they are Black Javas: you might want to look at photos of Black Sexlink hens. It is very common for them to have leakage, because of the way they come from a mixing of breeds. The people breeding them are worried about egg production more than color of feathers, so they haven't worried about trying to make them completely solid black. Some are solid black, but many others have some amount of leakage, ranging from a little bit to extremely large amounts.
Examples of Black Sexlinks (sold under various names):
https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/black_star.html
https://www.hoovershatchery.com/BlackSexLink.html
https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/black-sex-links/

you were spot on! Mom was actually able to get ahold of the original owner and that’s exactly what he said! …but, without the leakage, there would have been no way to know they weren’t Javas! So now I’m confused even more lol …do ALL sexlinks, that are black sexlinks, have the iridescent feathers? My Black Cochin, for example, has very shiny black feathers but they definitely do not cast a green sheen. If I cross my SLW roo with my BR hen, I know I’d get “black sexlinks” but would they have the green sheen? Neither parent does, so I’m just curious! Hope these don’t sound like stupid questions- this is all new to me! Heck, I just had a couple chicks hatch from my black Cochin roo and my Paint Satin (all white w/black spots) - according to one color calculator, the baby should have been all black, but one chick is looking an awful lot like a blue splash and the other has marking like an orca!! lol - and last year when they mated, I got an exact replica of mom! White w/tiny black spots! (I feel like I need to go back to college! Haha)

 

[NatJ]

Do ALL “black sexlinks” look the same? For example, I have a Silver Laced Wyandotte Rooster and a Barred Rock hen - which apparently = “black sexlink”

That would make a Black Sexlink, yes. But any leakage should be silver (white), rather than red/gold in color.

Some Black Sexlinks have leakage, some don't.

(I think I read that this is also the same for my Colombian Wyandotte hens)

Columbian Wyandottes do not have the barring gene. If you want to make sexlinks from Columbian Wyandotte hens, cross them with a red rooster such as Rhode Island Red. You will get gold/silver sexlinks (daughters red or gold, sons white or pale yellow at hatch.)

Delawares do have the barring gene, so they can be used for barred/not-barred sexlinks (a solid black rooster would be a good choice for that, so the chicks will be black and the headspot will be easy to see.) Delawares can also be used for gold/silver sexlinks (same as the Columbian Wyandottes for that: red rooster, red/gold daughters, silver sons. Sons will still have barring, but it's not easy to see on a white chicken!)

you were spot on! Mom was actually able to get ahold of the original owner and that’s exactly what he said! …but, without the leakage, there would have been no way to know they weren’t Javas!

So now I’m confused even more lol …do ALL sexlinks, that are black sexlinks, have the iridescent feathers? My Black Cochin, for example, has very shiny black feathers but they definitely do not cast a green sheen.

I do not know what makes black feathers have the green sheen or not. I have certainly seen a green sheen on black feathers for many different breeds, but I just don't know what causes it. Since I don't know the cause, I also don't know whether it would appear in all black sexlinks or just in some of them.

I just had a couple chicks hatch from my black Cochin roo and my Paint Satin (all white w/black spots) - according to one color calculator, the baby should have been all black, but one chick is looking an awful lot like a blue splash and the other has marking like an orca!! lol - and last year when they mated, I got an exact replica of mom! White w/tiny black spots! (I feel like I need to go back to college! Haha)

Genetically, paint should have the genes to be all black, but then have one copy of the Dominant White gene (turns black into white, but misses some spots.)

Breeding a paint to a solid black should give chicks that are genetically black, with half of them having Dominant White and half being actually black.

"Black" chicks often hatch with coloring like penguins or orcas, so your orca-patterned chick will probably grow up to be all black. (It may grow a few white feathers in the wings at first, then be all black at maturity: that happens sometimes with black chickens of pretty much any breed or cross.)

The chick that looks like blue splash: I would guess it is a paint chick (black turned into white, with some black spots remaining), but it may become more obvious as it grows up. It sounds like last year's chick was definitely a paint, but paints can have different amounts of black, so they may not all look the same.