Cuckoo Orpington Coloring

[littleranchfarm]

How can I tell if an Orpington pullet is cuckoo? At what age does cuckoo show up? Are there any signs early on? Or is it there from hatch? Thank you

 

[NatJ]

It's basically there from hatch, in the chick down and then the feathers.

Cuckoo is white barring on black, just not as neat and tidy as the ones called "Barred."

So the chick would hatch out the same color as Barred Rock or Dominique chicks (black with some yellow underneath, and often a yellow spot on the top of the head. A yellow headspot should always mean barring, but a chick who does not have a noticeable headspot might have barring anyway.)

The white barring should be present in the feathers from the very beginning. Sometimes it is more obvious than others, but if the chick has quite a few feathers and they are all smoothly black, it is not cuckoo. Or if the feathers are entirely white, it is not cuckoo either.

If you have chicks that you are curious about, you can post photos and someone here can probably tell if they are cuckoo or not.

 

[kurby22]

This was my chick that was a lavender Orpington pullet according to the person I bought from…and I knew something wasn’t right when I noticed the coloring was mixed with yellowy white down instead of solid lavender like my others. HE is now a giant lavender cuckoo rooster. He’s a really pretty color and as soon as feathers started coming in I knew he was cuckoo! So very early on you will know!