Can anyone identify this 13 week old cockerel

[Mama_in_the_Dell]

I’ve added pictures of him from a chick to feathering out to now. The breeder he came from does not have other birds like him. She has mottled leghorns which he somewhat resembles but looks more cream legbar mix to me (which she does not have). He started feathering in mottled but now looks more barred. Can a mottled gene cause barring? She does not have any barred birds

 

[BastyPutt]

@NatJ

Any insight on the genetics question here?

incredibly interesting bird here. Def not typical. You are right, it does look like a cockerel legbar plumage, but then it doesn't. And that tail is something else.

 

[NatJ]

looks more cream legbar mix to me (which she does not have). He started feathering in mottled but now looks more barred. Can a mottled gene cause barring? She does not have any barred birds

It looks like barring to me.

A chicken can have both barring and mottling, but I have never heard of just mottling making a bird look barred like this. When he grows up, breeding him to some hens and looking at the offspring might settle the question of whether he has the actual barring gene or just something that looks like it.

You say she does not have any barred birds. The barring gene is also found in Cuckoo and Crele colors, and in all variations of them (like Lemon Cuckoo and Lavender Cuckoo), and in any autosexing breed (like Bielefelder and Rhodebar and Cream Legbar).

Some white chickens also have the barring gene, but of course white bars don't really show on a chicken that is white all over.

If you have a complete list of the available breeds, it might be possible to pick out what one gave barring. Otherwise, we're just guessing, and may never know for sure.

 

[BastyPutt]

It looks like barring to me.

A chicken can have both barring and mottling, but I have never heard of just mottling making a bird look barred like this. When he grows up, breeding him to some hens and looking at the offspring might settle the question of whether he has the actual barring gene or just something that looks like it.

You say she does not have any barred birds. The barring gene is also found in Cuckoo and Crele colors, and in all variations of them (like Lemon Cuckoo and Lavender Cuckoo), and in any autosexing breed (like Bielefelder and Rhodebar and Cream Legbar).

Some white chickens also have the barring gene, but of course white bars don't really show on a chicken that is white all over.

If you have a complete list of the available breeds, it might be possible to pick out what one gave barring. Otherwise, we're just guessing, and may never know for sure.

Thank you @NatJ

 

[Mama_in_the_Dell]

This is what she has.

I have Leghorns (various colors including Exchequer), salmon Favorells, Ermine Ameracuna and Bantam Cornish Game hens. Nothing else.

She also stated that she does sometimes let 4-H hatch out chicks and because we are both baffled she wondered if this was one she got back from them. She was gonna check to see if she had gotten any back just before I got these. That’s the only thing that would make sense but in honesty as a chick it looked like the others I had gotten and I think I had 2 of them but the other one passed away around 4 weeks old.

They were suppose to be black Ameraucanas but it was cold that morning so I was trying to grab the chicks quickly and put them in my box so I can get them home and under some heat. All the chicks she had just hatched were together but should have been distinguishable by traits. One that I went to grab she noticed did not have the fluffy cheeks so she said it was a mottled leghorn and put it to the side. When I got home or at least a day or 2 later I realized 2 of the blacks I picked didn’t seem to have much of the cheeks the other 2 had and then the crazy coloring started coming in that looked like mottling so I just assumed at first I had grabbed a leghorn by mistake. But the comb did not match a leghorn. Now I just want to solve the puzzle and have a better idea of what I have before I rehome him.

Here is another picture of him early on next to the black Ameraucanas.

 

[BastyPutt]

This is what she has.

I have Leghorns (various colors including Exchequer), salmon Favorells, Ermine Ameracuna and Bantam Cornish Game hens. Nothing else.

She also stated that she does sometimes let 4-H hatch out chicks and because we are both baffled she wondered if this was one she got back from them. She was gonna check to see if she had gotten any back just before I got these. That’s the only thing that would make sense but in honesty as a chick it looked like the others I had gotten and I think I had 2 of them but the other one passed away around 4 weeks old.

They were suppose to be black Ameraucanas but it was cold that morning so I was trying to grab the chicks quickly and put them in my box so I can get them home and under some heat. All the chicks she had just hatched were together but should have been distinguishable by traits. One that I went to grab she noticed did not have the fluffy cheeks so she said it was a mottled leghorn and put it to the side. When I got home or at least a day or 2 later I realized 2 of the blacks I picked didn’t seem to have much of the cheeks the other 2 had and then the crazy coloring started coming in that looked like mottling so I just assumed at first I had grabbed a leghorn by mistake. But the comb did not match a leghorn. Now I just want to solve the puzzle and have a better idea of what I have before I rehome him.

Here is another picture of him early on next to the black Ameraucanas.

Thank you for the info! This is fun!

A random 4H hatch is my vote.

Exchequer I am not super familiar with, but I know they too are mottled.

Nats idea of breeding would be neat, and hopefully wouldn't cause more of a mystery!

Thank you again for sharing all the info. Looking forward to seeing if we have any more contributors here!

 

[NatJ]

I have Leghorns (various colors including Exchequer), salmon Favorells, Ermine Ameracuna and Bantam Cornish Game hens. Nothing else.

Of those, a few Leghorn colors might have barring (white is the most likely), but a mix of White Leghorn and something else would probably be white in the first generation, and would only show white barring on black after a second or further generation of crossing. So unless she has been mixing colors for several generations, or has a Leghorn color that includes barring (example: crele), I think none of her birds really explain this cockerel.

She also stated that she does sometimes let 4-H hatch out chicks and because we are both baffled she wondered if this was one she got back from them. She was gonna check to see if she had gotten any back just before I got these.

If this chick doesn't come from her birds at all, that would most solve the mystery!

They were suppose to be black Ameraucanas but it was cold that morning so I was trying to grab the chicks quickly and put them in my box so I can get them home and under some heat. All the chicks she had just hatched were together but should have been distinguishable by traits. One that I went to grab she noticed did not have the fluffy cheeks so she said it was a mottled leghorn and put it to the side. When I got home or at least a day or 2 later I realized 2 of the blacks I picked didn’t seem to have much of the cheeks the other 2 had and then the crazy coloring started coming in that looked like mottling so I just assumed at first I had grabbed a leghorn by mistake. But the comb did not match a leghorn. Now I just want to solve the puzzle and have a better idea of what I have before I rehome him.

Here is another picture of him early on next to the black Ameraucanas.

I agree that he is definitely not a Black Ameraucana! Yes the chick photos do look a lot like mottled or exchequer chicks.

For rehoming, you might just have to say you don't know the breed but he is probably a mix of some sort