easter egger chicks

[cosorrells3540]

I have this group of 6 EE chicks. I purchased as ameraucana but didn't really matter to me since they were gonna go with my EE flock i already have. Well they have feathered out. They were supposed to be out of a black rooster and lav hen. However i have 4 blue 1 red and 1 black barred chick. My main question is they barred one is awfully light colored anyone wanna guess cockerel or pullet?

[/IMG] i love these chicks thhe blue ones are the most beautiful i have ever had so im very pleased with my purchase.

 

[cosorrells3540]

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Your barred didn't come from a black rooster and lavender hen, not with my understanding of genetics.

With unknown parentage, you can't diagnose sex with the clues as you would a Barred Rock (and those only work if you have controlled lines and gauge within that same line).

Right now, you have a non-descript barred chick. It may have double barring, which would indicate male, but again, we can't know what parentage is behind it...unless you bought it at a feed store and somebody mixed the bins....then you'd have a Barred Rock, likely male, but again hatchery lines don't necessarily follow rules of closely kept breeder lines.

You'll just need to watch and wait.

LofMc

BTW...I just ran the genetic calculator, and you only get black chicks from a black rooster and lav hen...vice versa as well....and I can't see the other chicks well, but they don't look particularly EE to me...no green legs (on my monitor at least), several clearly with no muffs (if Ameraucana were used), all look single combed. Some might have some ghost barring.

 

[cosorrells3540]

Oh I know it couldnt have come from that breeding. Problem is I got them from someone who bought hatching eggs. She said they hatched from green so I'm thinking they are olive eggers but I won't know till they fully feather and lay. They are also beardless.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Ok...interesting. If they hatched from green eggs, they are likely Easter Egger mixes as EE's, some Cream Legbars, and Isbars are really the only common birds to lay green eggs, with EE much, much more common than the others.

Watch the barred bird to see if the barring becomes more "cuckoo." Typically, Olive Egger would be a blue/green egger gene (Ameraucana, Cream Legbar, Isbar, EE) with a dark brown (Marans, Welsummer, Penedesenca) gene.

If it is cuckoo rather than crisply barred (although it looks crisp barring right now), you might have a Cuckoo Marans over EE. With EE mixes, the muff and beards can drop away pretty quickly by the 2nd generation EE (first generation being the parent)...which sadly also means 50% plain brown layers as well since the EE's will only carry 1 blue gene.

If you are lucky and they were green Isbar eggs, then you will have an Olive Egger if that is a Cuckoo Marans mix....green-ish (or brown) if that is Barred Rock with EE.

Good luck...time will tell.

LofMc

 

[cosorrells3540]