Hello, I hope somebody is still following this thread. I have some info to share as well as some pictures. Looks like a few of you may have some cuckoo EEs. I have a young roo who is really barred. He doesn't have a great comb, so I had to do some research to make sure it is actually a pea comb. I found some interesting info in that search. I have a book called
Genetics of the Fowl: The Classic Guide to Poultry Breeding and Chicken Genetics by F.B. Hunt. He describes the comb the same as others have, but adds the following about pea-combs, which seems to be particularly apt for easter eggers.
"In heterozygotes from a single-combed parent, dominance is only partial, and the central blade is well developed, thickened, and irregular, while the lateral ridges may be quite inconspicuous and appear as knobs resembling side sprigs. This is particularly so when the single-combed parent is a Minorca or Leghorn. In such stock, classifications should be made in adults rather than in chicks. Bateson and Punnett (1908) found 'certain types of pea comb in which so little of the pea character was evident that in young chicks they were easily mistaken for singles.'
"It was noticed by Munro and Kosin (1940) that in pea-combed birds a ridge of thickend skin runs lengthwise of the body in a mid-ventral line just under the keel of the breastbone. This 'breast ridge' was found in several pea-combed breeds, and in cross brreds, but never except in birds with pea-combs. It may be casued by some gene very closely linked with
P but is more likely another manifestation of the later."
Of course, I had to rush out at first opportunity and check out not only his comb, but his "keel" (as soon as I looked up that part). He has the pea-comb thickened in the middle with one tiny side sprig, and small lines on the side in back. Just to the side of his keel there is bare patch of skin with a line. His appears like a well healed scar. It is the color of his skin. I didn't try to get a picture of it as it would be hard to see in a picture. Here's a couple of pictures of him and his comb.
Here is a picture of the "mid-ventral line" on a different EE with a better pea-comb.
and a picture to show you the positioning of the line on the whole chicken. Don't worry, this chicken is alive and well, and was quite relaxed during this process.
This line was more obvious and thicker on the chicken with the better pea comb. When I checked the same area on a single-comb orpingtion, not only was there no line, there wasn't any bare spot either. Have fun rushing out to check your birds.
Now, here is my question, would any of you, really and truly, buy hatching eggs if you could get nicely barred EEs? We are definitely keeping this guy because we think he's so beautiful. Since he has a pea-comb and the line I'm hopeful he'll throw hens that lay green eggs. I have white EEs, cuckoo marans, dominiques, and barred rocks to breed him to. I'm thinking I could get some interesting barred colored layers from those breedings. We are going to have fun with it wether or not anyone would want such birds, but I'd like to know if others would be as enamored of them. Happy Summer.
