Black sex link with pea comb?

[ella2025]

I got 4 chicks at tractor supply last week. They are 2 weeks old now. Of the 4, 2 are black sex link pullets. Now both of them look dramatically different.

One seems to have a pea comb? Or some kind of comb that isn't a single comb. She also has chubbier cheeks (doesn't look like muffs or beards though) than all the others I got (black sex link, rir, amberlink.) she has a teeny tiny spot on the top of her head, while her "sister" of the same breed doesn't . I'm wondering if she might not be a black sex link. According to my understanding, since the black sex link breed is a cross between barred rocks and Rhode Island reds, which both have single combs, the offspring should have a single comb as well. Her sister has a very obvious single comb and has some reddish color feathers coming in near the neck area. She is completely solid black so far. She looks kind of like my beardless black Easter egger when she was little.

First 2 photos is the sister w/ single comb and last 3 photos are the chick with a pea comb And chubby cheeks.

 

[nuthatched]

Maybe some sort of olive egger

 

[ella2025]

Maybe some sort of olive egger

Is it confirmed that it's not a black sex link? Maybe the hatchery accidentally used a dominique in the breeding pen instead of a barred rock? Is that even possible? I don't know a whole lot about how they breed in hatcheries.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Is it confirmed that it's not a black sex link? Maybe the hatchery accidentally used a dominique in the breeding pen instead of a barred rock? Is that even possible? I don't know a whole lot about how they breed in hatcheries.

I would reach out to the hatchery, they'd know what potential breeding stock is among their pens most likely!

 

[nuthatched]

Is it confirmed that it's not a black sex link? Maybe the hatchery accidentally used a dominique in the breeding pen instead of a barred rock? Is that even possible? I don't know a whole lot about how they breed in hatcheries.

It could be, sex link doesn't really indicate any certain breed.

 

[ella2025]

I would reach out to the hatchery, they'd know what potential breeding stock is among their pens most likely!

Does tractor supply get their chicks from hoover's hatchery? Because I heard they completely closed their hatchery this year due to bird flu. I'm just not sure about this year if they used a different hatchery.

 

[NatJ]

Is it confirmed that it's not a black sex link? Maybe the hatchery accidentally used a dominique in the breeding pen instead of a barred rock? Is that even possible? I don't know a whole lot about how they breed in hatcheries.

Dominiques have rose combs.
Your chick has a pea comb.
The two comb types are caused by different genes.

So no, the hatchery could not have produced this chick by using a Dominique instead of a Barred Rock.

Given that the chick has a pea comb, I think it is likely to be an Olive Egger. Many Olive Eggers are produced by crossing Cuckoo Marans or Black Copper Marans with a pea-comb Easter Egger. It's common to get black chicks with pea combs from those crosses. And if a Cuckoo Marans is the mother, with a non-barred Easter Egger for the father, the chicks would be sexlink Olive Eggers (color sexable chicks with the genes to lay green eggs.)

 

[ella2025]

Dominiques have rose combs.
Your chick has a pea comb.
The two comb types are caused by different genes.

So no, the hatchery could not have produced this chick by using a Dominique instead of a Barred Rock.

Given that the chick has a pea comb, I think it is likely to be an Olive Egger. Many Olive Eggers are produced by crossing Cuckoo Marans or Black Copper Marans with a pea-comb Easter Egger. It's common to get black chicks with pea combs from those crosses. And if a Cuckoo Marans is the mother, with a non-barred Easter Egger for the father, the chicks would be sexlink Olive Eggers (color sexable chicks with the genes to lay green eggs.)

Oh wow, that's so interesting! So according to your analysis of this, I think the hatchery might have known what they're doing! I guess any se linked black chick can be called a black sex link lol. I actually am pretty sure she is an olive egger. I recently notice that she has one singular, barely noticeable little feathers growing on her foot. I'll try to get a photo when I get home.


Thanks for your input, I greatly appreciate it!

 

[ella2025]

Okay, I forgot to take the photo yesterday but I just went out and took some. That 1 little dot on the foot is a teeny tiny feather.

 

[WingItRanch]

Okay, I forgot to take the photo yesterday but I just went out and took some. That 1 little dot on the foot is a teeny tiny feather.
View attachment 4175902View attachment 4175904View attachment 4175905View attachment 4175906View attachment 4175907

One more clue pointing towards Olive Egger!