Thank you
@KikisGirls for the vote of confidence, however, this won't be as easy as the other thread in regards to the EE crossing as the breed choices are much greater for the EE crosses used at Cackle (per their breed statement for EE's....they breed from a wide variety to offer many different feather types.)
First, I agree the green legged bird is likely an EE, almost certain if it has a pea comb (I can't tell in the photo, the comb fades out), since it is a classic EE partridge pattern (for pullets no less) and has green legs....and Cackle carries EEs.
I also think the yellow legged bird is a Brown Leghorn...the chest is too dull to be a Welsummer, ditto with neck hackle color....and Cackle carries Brown Leghorn.
Feed stores, and in particular
TSC, are notorious for mixing the chick bins (and shipping boxes) and not knowing what they've got on hand. Feed store help simply sell product and are no experts in the product. They should be accurate that they get the chicks from Cackle Hatchery (but I've also had them tell me the wrong hatchery name too).
Let's assume Cackle is correct. EE's, Brown Leghorns, Welsummers, OEG, RIR, and a number of other breeds have similar chipmunk appearances, especially to inexperienced eyes...and all can be found at Cackle.
As to the possibility of the EE heritage, since (per their EE breeding statement) Cackle Hatchery carries a LOT of different breeds and varieties of birds, this makes the breed background of the EE pretty impossible to tell as there are so many that Cackle carries without dominant factors to leave clues.
All we could do is work through the Cackle selections, removing anything that has heavy leg feathers (as that
usually leaves traces in the chicks) and any dominant colors (such as White Leghorn which is dominant white), or black as it is dominant (therefore remove the Black and Blue Ameraucanas, carried by Cackle, blue produces either black or blue) as well as any comb type that would over ride the pea comb or change it to another pattern.
Now about that comb. I assumed a pea comb, but can't verify it with the photo.
@CDcluck ...could you get a good, clear, comb shot? That could give us a really big clue. It is so wide, it suggests a rose comb...if it is, it will look like a horseshoe with indent such that the luck runs down the beak.
If that is a rose comb, with gold partridge, green legs, but no beard, muff, then I think it likely is an EE mix with Wyandotte (since the green legs can't be better explained for Cackle than EE). Cackle carries Wyandottes. Wyandottes have rose combs. Their breeding stock EE should have pea comb (if they want to be honest and attempt to breed forward the blue shell gene...pea comb and blue shell are close on the gene strand and you generally get one with the other) but it could be a single comb EE.
The genetics get a bit complicated, but you could have Pp rr in the EE parent (pea comb, no pea comb, no rose, no rose) and Rr pp in the other parent (the Wyandotte, Rose comb, no rose, no pea, no pea), and by Punnett Square math end up with a pea comb chick from a pea comb and rose comb parents (Rrpp...Rose, no rose, no pea, no pea)....actual math works out 25% walnut (both pea and rose genes), 25% pea, 25% rose, 25% single (absence of both pea and rose genes).
If the EE parent was single comb, then rose is dominant and all offspring would have rose comb.
My educated guess then IF that is a rose comb on the chick is EE/Wyandotte. If it isn't, then it is *likely* EE cross with another EE cross since there is so little beard and muff, and it didn't come out black or blue (which Black Ameraucana and Blue Ameraucana would have created)...it should have a pea comb or even possibly single comb then.
LofMc
