FERTILITY!

[PeepsCA]

Chocolate and Royal Purple together for reference (Royal Purple keet on the top, Chocolate keet on the bottom)...


And here's a Blonde...

 

[nailladi]

Yuo, I was right. I am sure there were at least 4 chocolates in that batch, I had blonds too. Looking 4 pics, I have some but blurry/fuzzy. The brooder was nasty but they were all sleeping so nice I had to get the shot. If there are no chocolates there is potential for them.

 

[PeepsCA]

Yep I see Chocolates and Blondes, cool beans

Thanks for digging up a pic, looks a lot like my hatches (lol, except for the silly lil chick in the mix).

 

[JLeigh]

Beautiful hatch, naillady. Congrats. Yes, a Chocolate is partially pearled like a Royal Purple. I haven't had a Brown yet, so I can't compare the color as adults, but I think the Chocolates are basically the same color as Browns - just with partial-pearling. I think I'm about to find out according to Peep's prediction. I may have to keep a Brown unless I can convince my husband to give in and let me have some Pea Fowl next year (still working on it), in which case I won't be expanding my flock in any way except to add a few Peas.

Thanks, Peeps. What I can't seem to keep in my head (among a zillion other things important and not) is that fully pearled is dominant over partial-pearled. I want to say that dark is dominant over light, like humans with dark hair and eyes carry the dominant color gene. They can certainly have blonde haired, blue-eyed kids, but they will have more dark hair/dark eyed kids than blonde - as a very general rule. I just know I don't want a bunch of Pearl Grays. They're my least favorite. I have three beautiful Chocolate hens, so if they eggs that hatch turn out to be rainbow, I'm not concerned. I know I get Buff Dundottes, and they're beautiful, too.

 

[nailladi]

K, this is hatch my friend Ali hatched for me when I went to my son's wedding last month. Think that was #10 hatch this year.

 

[JLeigh]

Beautiful hatch!

I candled again last night and I have 31 (up from 27 last week) confirmed fertile eggs.

 

[nailladi]

Thank you JL, I am currently only running 2 incubators for the first time this year. Had 5 going there for a while.. Whew.

 

[nailladi]

That is the best compliment I have ever had in my life Peeps!! Thank you..

Hope you do not mind but I am sending you a gal named Debby for color questions I do not have answers for. Told her you were the one to ask. She bought 3 doz eggs from my mixed pen so you already know what my hatches look like. I have a pearl pen and a color pen, no more separation than that untill next season.
Thank you so much for all your help!!

 

[critters]