Cochin Coloration & Subsequent Progeny

[EmilyRobb]

Last year around this time, I had acquired a few bantam cochins for show. I wasn't exactly sure what color they were, so I listed the hens as blue and the rooster as birchen. However, the hens have slight silver coloration on the edges of their neck feathers which doesn't seem to be a trait in blue cochins, and the rooster appears to have blue coloration as well besides the silver neck (sun exposure has turned it slightly yellow). I'll attach pictures, but does anybody know what colors these cochins would qualify as. The hens have won awards in a blue-birchen color category, but I didn't even think that that was an accepted APA/ABA variety in bantams.

Additionally, the rooster and hens have mated and I've hatched their chicks, but I'm really not sure what colors to expect. It looks like I have a splash, some silver pencilled ones (tan/brown with white stripes down the back), maybe some blue or black, and a few chicks with certain feathers that are both white and black. They're only 2.5 weeks at this point, but maybe the progeny of the chickens could help to determine parental genotypes which I'm curious about. If anybody thinks they know what's going on there, don't hesitate to let me know because I'm equally as curious.

 

[nicalandia]

They are either undermelanized Blues or Melanized Birchen.

Edit. I ser You are hatching stripped chicks, then this birds are E/eb heterozygotes si they are the result of Blue x Partridge cross

 

[nicalandia]

The rooster's shoulders and back are melanized. True Birchen have white(some lines turn Lemon color fue to sin exposure) shoulders and white back

 

[EmilyRobb]

@nicalandia Do you know how I could breed these chickens to produce a birchen progeny without the excess melanization at all? What would be the best options for breeding to get show-quality birds of recognized varieties?

 

[nicalandia]

@nicalandia Do you know how I could breed these chickens to produce a birchen progeny without the excess melanization at all? What would be the best options for breeding to get show-quality birds of recognized varieties?

It's hard to say as these are E/eb so if you breed them together you will get E/E, E/eb and eb/eb, some E/E will likely be nearly all black but could show some silver on hackle specially the top of the head as Homozygous Extended Black are not a guarantee of solid black phenotype. now the E/eb will look just like your birds and eb/eb will be partridge looking but may have bad patter or even be melanized partridge like double laced Barnevelders due to eb/eb, Pg/Pg and Melanotic from Self Blacks. I would just start over with a True Birchen type. I have heard many breeders producing Pseudo birchen by crossing them with Columbian, but these don't breed true so it would really be up to you.