Black Minorca? Leghorn?

[Michael OShay]

Thank you. That is great news!

You're welcome.

 

[showinbirds]

Just throwing this out there, she looks like she could be an black andalusian.

 

[Poop Cleaner]

Would it be easier to tell in a few months?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I'm with Oldhenlikesdogs and Showinbirds- Smaller Mediterranean body and small ear lobes rules out Minorca. It's a Andalusion in black color. Blue varieties breed out blue, black and splash color. This one is black.

Few Google images to illustrate difference:

Minacro- Huge earlobe and will be bigger sized Mediterranean type (top size of Mediterranean class).

Andalusion which are blue, splash and black. Same size as Leghorn. Black inhibitor gene- one copy of gene is blue feathers, two copies makes splash (white with blue leakage) and no copy of inhibitor is black. So a splash bird mated with a black bird would result in all offspring carrying one copy of inhibitor gene- all would be blue birds. Blue mated to blue results in blue, black and splash as the gene given to offspring from that loci is random of the two located there from each parent. Of two possibilities at each loci given to each offspring it's a 50/50 chance a blue bird gives inhibitor or not, being two parents that results in neg/neg (black), pos,neg (blue) and pos/pos (splash) offspring relative to the black inhibitor gene location.

Also of note is the beetle green sheen is different on birds from a black breed than black birds from a blue breed.

 

[Poop Cleaner]

I'm with Oldhenlikesdogs and Showinbirds- Smaller Mediterranean body and small ear lobes rules out Minorca. It's a Andalusion in black color. Blue varieties breed out blue, black and splash color. This one is black.

Few Google images to illustrate difference:

Minacro- Huge earlobe and will be bigger sized Mediterranean type (top size of Mediterranean class).

Andalusion which are blue, splash and black. Same size as Leghorn. Black inhibitor gene- one copy of gene is blue feathers, two copies makes splash (white with blue leakage) and no copy of inhibitor is black. So a splash bird mated with a black bird would result in all offspring carrying one copy of inhibitor gene- all would be blue birds. Blue mated to blue results in blue, black and splash as the gene given to offspring from that loci is random of the two located there from each parent. Of two possibilities at each loci given to each offspring it's a 50/50 chance a blue bird gives inhibitor or not, being two parents that results in neg/neg (black), pos,neg (blue) and pos/pos (splash) offspring relative to the black inhibitor gene location.

Also of note is the beetle green sheen is different on birds from a black breed than black birds from a blue breed.

 

Thanks! That does look more like her!

 

[showinbirds]

Nice big hen.

 

[Poop Cleaner]

Hello,

I got this bird from Craigslist along with some others. They said she was a Black Australorp but she has white earlobes and a long slender body. She is also rather small.

What do you think? Is this maybe a minorca or leghorn instead? Or a mix? She is very calm so it seems unlike the breed descriptions for those birds as well.

Also, any guesses on what age she is?

Thanks!

Update: here is a new picture. Could she be a leghorn with the larger comb That is now flopping toward the left?

 

[Chris09]

She's decently not a Leghorn, Leghorns have Yellow legs.

She looks like hatchery stock, if so she could carry Andalusian, Leghorn, and Minorca blood in her and be a cross of all three breeds.

 

[Michael OShay]

She's decently not a Leghorn, Leghorns have Yellow legs.

She looks like hatchery stock, if so she could carry Andalusian, Leghorn, and Minorca blood in her and be a cross of all three breeds.

X2 on Chirs09's post; if she originally came from a hatchery, she was likely marketed as a (hatchery quality) Black Minorca. Hatchery quality Black Minorcas often lack the larger earlobes of those from a reputable Minorca breeder.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

She's a black Andalusian getting close to resuming laying.