Full Mottle(d) Jacket.. - my journey to a colorful coop...

[AbL]

So, after 6+ months, I have actually 11 hens left, 5 roosters and three young pullets.
One mille-fleur hen turned out quite nicely, her offspring will hatch in a couple of days I hope.The mille-fleur rooster has color issues, excluding him normally from breeding, but as I am currently short on mille-fleur roosters (what odd things to say, when everyone ccomplains to have to many..) I'll keep him until a better one comes along. Mille-fleur is a crazy complicated to breed color apprently and I confirm.
So with two millefleur hens and 1 rooster I'll try to have some nice shortlegged bantams in the right color next year.

 

[AbL]

On the monchrome project results have been better. I have some very nice hens and the little black rooster, who took his time to blossom will have hs own flock of black and blue hens. The goal are blacks and blues with black combs. We'll see what this will do!

 

[Farmgirl283420]

As always your birds are very pretty. If you don’t mind, could you post some pictures of the chicks when they hatch?

 

[AbL]

Three little cuties hatched with some difficulties ove the last week.
A lot of eggs died on the 18/19 day, I'm not yet sure if it's a genetic problem or external factors. These luckily made it to full term.

They are from left to right 5 days, 3 days and 1 day old. One millefleur coulored, the others I am not yet sure about. I'll tell you in a couple of weeks

 

[Farmgirl283420]

Three little cuties hatched with some difficulties ove the last week.
A lot of eggs died on the 18/19 day, I'm not yet sure if it's a genetic problem or external factors. These luckily made it to full term.

They are from left to right 5 days, 3 days and 1 day old. One millefleur coulored, the others I am not yet sure about. I'll tell you in a couple of weeks

They’re cute little guys. Glad they made it, sorry you lost a bunch.

 

[AbL]

For those who are interested, I had some oddly colored wheaten mottled(?) offspring this year. I bought a light yellow mottled hen this spring and bred her to a) a eww blue mille fleur and later to an black eb-millefleur - i got a whole palet off yellow and wheaten mottled hens, not one alike the other.

The fist was a indefined yellow pullet with lighter wings and tail. I can't say how she turn out definitly because I rehomed her.
Then I got a wheaten without black markings which let me think the hen has to have some dominante white to erase any dark color. this was confirmed by the third pullet, full sister who is now sommes sort of light wheaten mottled.
The cross with the eb millefleur produced a real yellow mottled pullet who is currently very pretty. It looks like a "real" color. as a chick she was buff colored, with a touch of orange.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

The color shades are beautiful.

 

[AbL]

This years breeding session opens with a 50 shades of gray theme. Due to the unexpected death of my nice little black rooster (I think he've gotten in a fight with another one and broke his neck against the coop, I found him lying straight on his back, dead, a hour before he was all well) I put every egg from his girls available into the incubator. Got 7 little chicks with color variation from solid black (comb and beak included) to slate blue, two black mottled maybe.

The millefleurs are still a difficult theme. Currently I have the last batch of hopefully MF eggs in the incubator, due in a couple of weeks.

Anyway, things looking bright this season.

 

[AbL]

These are somme of my black pearls and the late rooster

 

[AbL]

and here some of my Millefleurs, it's still quite difficult tohatch or find birds who respect le standards color scheme, which is quite restrictive when it comes to the color pattern.