Ever known a hatchery to make a mistake?

I would definately call them. It may have been a mistake, either way its best to let them know.

 

Quote:I'm sure it is easy to get a chick order mixed up, just think of how many orders they must fill every spring and how many different breeds they must have. I was fostering a black copper marans that also should've had feathers on it's legs, it did, kind of, at least the ones the other chicks (who did not have feathers on their legs) left unplucked. I would think in a large scale situation where they are breeding lots of different breeds of chickens that I'd feel safe to bet that every once in a while they will end up with a mixed breed and not know it...? Also they can mix up sexing chicks. I purchased 8 pullets and 95% sure one of them is a roo. I'm going to keep him, but I hadn't bargained for a roo in the beginning.

 

Once I had ordered 25 pullets from Ideal. One turned out to be a cockerel. I didn't keep him. I found him a new home as some people wanted a roo for breeding and at that time I wasn't interested in breeding and thought he may be a brother to the girls and I know it's not good to breed brother to sister. Most hatcheries have a 90% guarantee. I'm sure that they can mix up breeds also with as many chicks they hatch.

 

Def doesn't sound like a brahma. Can u post pics and we can try to guess better??

 

I did get a Buff Brahma from TSC this year that has no feathered legs...wonder if it came from the same stock as yours... I also got a silkie with no feathers on the legs....and a sebright roo with a beard along with one with a single comb...Like my DH says, TSC and hatchery's have "Purebred Mutts! "

 

I have had hatcheries make mistakes but it is usually an error in sexing.

 

Quote:To start with,you have to remember this is a hatchery you're talking about.They breed first and foremost for production.To produce enough chicks for sales.They do not breed for color or standard or show quality.Simply babies.They do not cull stock just because it has 'light' feathering when it should be heavy.So if you think about them taking a certain number of young birds to grow out for next years production,they are just pulling birds from that breed.Not scrutinizing the quality.If you breed light to light you get light or lighter... The more you inbreed,breed down qualities,the more non existant it will be.Just like a person working a project,such as using lav ameraucana to a black australorp (per say) to try to create a lav aussie....they would breed for color first and foremost.Once the color is established,then they have to work on getting that peacomb out of there.Even a few generations down,you may happen to have a peacomb pop in there.

 

Could be a mix-up. Could just be poor quality breed. Did you specify substitutions?? That could be it too. I've only dealt with sexing errors, and only one at that...oh, and I've dealt with substitutions.