Dark Brahma x Isa Brown Day Old Chicks

[Hellomylittleladies]

3 little eggs hatched under my broody yesterday, they are Dark Brahma rooster x Isa Brown hen (what a mix, not my idea). Want to follow the colour/gender guesses?

I read in another post on this forum that this is the colour they could be:

I do have 3 yellow/buff/cream chicks but the lady who gave me the pipping eggs also showed me a grey/brown chick with a dark stripe down its back that just hatched from the same batch, so I know that colour is possible too.

So here are the 3 cuties on Day 1. #1 and #2 look the same and are indistinguishable to me, while #3 has grey spots down the back of its head.

I tried to take photos of their wings as best as I can:

Any thoughts on what colours/ genders they may be?

 

[CloneFly]

3 little eggs hatched under my broody yesterday, they are Dark Brahma rooster x Isa Brown hen (what a mix, not my idea). Want to follow the colour/gender guesses?

I read in another post on this forum that this is the colour they could be:
View attachment 3744652
I do have 3 yellow/buff/cream chicks but the lady who gave me the pipping eggs also showed me a grey/brown chick with a dark stripe down its back that just hatched from the same batch, so I know that colour is possible too.

So here are the 3 cuties on Day 1. #1 and #2 look the same and are indistinguishable to me, while #3 has grey spots down the back of its head.

View attachment 3744653

I tried to take photos of their wings as best as I can:

View attachment 3744654

View attachment 3744655

View attachment 3744656

Any thoughts on what colours/ genders they may be?

So cute!!
I'm not a specialist on breeds or seeing, but I would venture to guess that #2 is a hen- maybe #1 as well. I know feather sexing supposedly only works on certain breeds, it's worked well for my mixed flock (with the exception of barred chicks)

Keep us updated on the little cuties!

 

[NatJ]

they are Dark Brahma rooster x Isa Brown hen...

I read in another post on this forum that this is the colour they could be:
View attachment 3744652

I assume you are talking about this other post:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/dark-brahma-crosses.1441969/#post-24065422

I do have 3 yellow/buff/cream chicks but the lady who gave me the pipping eggs also showed me a grey/brown chick with a dark stripe down its back that just hatched from the same batch, so I know that colour is possible too.

So here are the 3 cuties on Day 1

I tried to take photos of their wings as best as I can:
Any thoughts on what colours/ genders they may be?

The prediction that some would have black in the tail and neck and some would not:
Yours will not have the black.
The grey/brown chick you saw, with a dark stripe down its back, probably will have black in the tails and neck.

I know this from seeing the wing feathers (if the chick will have black, it will show in those wing feathers too), and from the color of the chick down (there is a gene that changes black to white in the feathers, and it also affect the color of the down at hatching.)

So I predict that your chicks will be most white, maybe with small amounts of black. As they grow up, they may have red leakage in various places (it tends to be most obvious in the breasts of females and the shoulders/wings of males.)

I cannot tell whether yours are males or females.
Sexing by the wing feathers, as described in many articles on the internet, requires a certain cross of parents: fast-feathering father and slow-feathering mother, which makes sons that feather slowly and daughters that feather quickly. But the father of these chicks is a Dark Brahma, and Brahmas often have the slow-feathering gene, which is wrong for creating feather-sexable chicks.

I know feather sexing supposedly only works on certain breeds, it's worked well for my mixed flock (with the exception of barred chicks)

It only works on certain mixes. They can be fast x slow feathering within the same breed, or crossing two different breeds with the correct feathering speeds. In your flock, if you happen to have a fast-feathering rooster and slow-feathering hens, that would be the right combination to make it work.

 

[CloneFly]

It only works on certain mixes. They can be fast x slow feathering within the same breed, or crossing two different breeds with the correct feathering speeds. In your flock, if you happen to have a fast-feathering rooster and slow-feathering hens, that would be the right combination to make it work.

I've yet to hatch out any of my own chickens, so all these chicks are from the store. It's worked 21 out of 25 times lol. (Disincluding my BSLs) Though, I've likely been lucky. Count my guesses as just that- a guess

 

[Hellomylittleladies]

I know this from seeing the wing feathers (if the chick will have black, it will show in those wing feathers too), and from the color of the chick down (there is a gene that changes black to white in the feathers, and it also affect the color of the down at hatching.)

So I predict that your chicks will be most white, maybe with small amounts of black. As they grow up, they may have red leakage in various places (it tends to be most obvious in the breasts of females and the shoulders/wings of males.)

I cannot tell whether yours are males or females.
Sexing by the wing feathers, as described in many articles on the internet, requires a certain cross of parents: fast-feathering father and slow-feathering mother, which makes sons that feather slowly and daughters that feather quickly. But the father of these chicks is a Dark Brahma, and Brahmas often have the slow-feathering gene, which is wrong for creating feather-sexable chicks.

Thanks, NatJ! What colour would you call my chicks' down? I'd like to read up more on it.
What do you think of chicks' personalities as an indicator? If that's accurate at all, I definitely have two little roosters who come running towards my hand.

 

[Hellomylittleladies]

Day 2

Wing feathering anyway on Day 2 for documentation's sake:

 

[nuthatched]

Thanks, NatJ! What colour would you call my chicks' down? I'd like to read up more on it.
What do you think of chicks' personalities as an indicator? If that's accurate at all, I definitely have two little roosters who come running towards my hand.

That's a pretty good hint that they are roosters, they aren't necessarily being friendly.

 

[NatJ]

Thanks, NatJ! What colour would you call my chicks' down? I'd like to read up more on it.

Unfortunately, I would just call it "white" or "light yellow," and there are many genes that can cause this color in chickens.

If you are looking for the e-locus genes involved, that usually have a big effect on down color, your chicks probably have e^b (Partridge) from the Brahma, and E^Wh (Wheaten) from the ISA Brown.

They also have Dominant White stripping out the black, which makes most down colors look pretty much alike (white/yellow, with red in gold-based chicks like ISA Brown pullets but not in your chicks who inherited Silver from their father.)

What do you think of chicks' personalities as an indicator? If that's accurate at all, I definitely have two little roosters who come running towards my hand.

I've never been able to tell by that, but some people say they can, so I don't really know what to think.

 

[Hellomylittleladies]

Here's the chicks on Day 3.
I think I am getting the hang of differentiating them!

38 degree summer day, but coop was well shaded. The mama hen requested to come out this evening so I decided to take the plunge and let her free range again.

My two other hens didn't approach the chicks, except for when they all wanted to dust bathe with the mother hen (she is the top hen). They pecked the chicks a couple of times then, probably to chase them away. I have to go check on them again at bedtime in case the mother hen gets forgetful.

And thanks for the info, @NatJ !

 

[Hellomylittleladies]

Week 1 completed!
Exploring daily in the garden now, but I am still supervising them as they are easily separated from mum, and the magpies in my garden were eyeing them.

I know now feather sexing and pea combs rows aren't relevant to these mix breed chicks. But I'm still documenting them to see who will become who: