Color genetics and sexing of double laced Barnevelders

[TheCopperCoop]

@Lawgirlyjo @TheCopperCoop

Sure, here's some updated pictures from this morning. They are right at 3 months old.

"Tango" the one that had the black chest:
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Next to her sister (Tango on the left, Mambo on the right)
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So beautiful, thanks for sharing! About what age did Tango start getting lacing in her chest?

 

[clickchicks]

So beautiful, thanks for sharing! About what age did Tango start getting lacing in her chest?

I’d say by around 8 weeks most of the black feathers were being replaced with laced. I didn’t document precisely but looking back at a few pics around that time the chest feathers were a lot less uniformly black.

 

[Lawgirlyjo]

Gorgeous, that makes me excited to see.

 

[New2diss]

I know there's probably a better place to ask this question but are there any double laced breeds other than barnevelders?

 

[Lauren86]

I know you're asking @clickchicks but wanted to share some of my own photos (I know I always like to see more photos and I'm feeling highly motivated this morning). I do have one mature Barnevelder already who turned out to be a rooster (he had black chest feathers as a chick) and my current Barnevelders are 5 weeks old and showing pretty different feather patterns from each other. The first set of photos is my for sure rooster Trout. The second set are my two current chicks at 3 and 5 weeks.

Trout, my current roosterView attachment 2735564View attachment 2735565View attachment 2735566View attachment 2735567View attachment 2735568View attachment 2735569View attachment 2735570

Now this is Nutmeg and Clover from 3 and 5 weeks old. Nutmeg has a darker and splotchier pattern, like Trout, though neither have quite the comb Trout did at the same ages.
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Ultimately, my suspicion based on my first round with Trout is that I have another cockerel and only one pullet but I'd be curious to know from @clickchicks around what age did the black-chested chick get her laced feathering in.

So I've incubated 6. They are 12 weeks old and it was only the two blue laced pullets that I wasn't fairly bang on with in the first week, that was due to their behaviours, and in one pullet her size and slow feather developement. I kept track of weights, wing feather pattern, tail feather developement, combs, and took note of their feather patterning from hatch day. I also looked at the eggshape theory and measured circumfrences and wasnt sold on that one. Barni barnivelder I was convinced was a roo, she was born the biggest, slower wing feather developement, ages to develope a tail, and from hatch day was the strongest but looked after the weakest chicks as they hatched and gave any others trying to pick on them a quick pummelling. Within the first week (and I know the literature says otherwise) I noted clear pullet wing patterns and one roo wing pattern, this ended up being 100% accurate in hindsight even though I had my doubts. All the girls had a more solid stripe to the back of their heads. Tail feathers and combs weren't quite as accurate but my roo began developing wattles a good 2 weeks before the others. Barni still remains the biggest of my pullets, I have 2 that are blue laced (the rest standard gold laced), midge my other blue started as the tiniest of all the chick's but she's actually now next behind barni for weight and from word go her charachteristics developed much faster than the others and that still continues. On lockdown I marked her as ? Underdeveloped unlikely or late hatch. Well of course she was the bloody first to hatch, splayed legs (which rectified rapidly) and underdone wings, all completely normal within 2 weeks. She was my other ? Roo because despite being tiny she drew blood on my kelpie at 1.5 weeks, by two weeks repetitively tapped on the side of the brooder and glared at me for attention and if that didn't work she screeched. My roo diezy is completely black but seems to have some laced feathers of different colours starting to come through. He's huge, it's only this week that his legs seem to be a bit more confident, he wasn't jumping or roosting till now and was very clumsy. He still looks awkward with downy feathers underneath, I'm curious, was tout completely black at about the 10-11 week mark? Diezy as a chick was more yellow than the others and had mottling to the back of his head
Kind reguards,
Lauren.