Hatchery Whiting True Blues

[KKicons]

You might be right. I would think that the genetic hackle lines are an industry secret.
I vaguely remember watching on of the videos of YouTube with dr whiting and he said something like we found that some of our chickens were producing blue eggs.

I heard that he also worked with blue egg genetics back at the University of Arkansas.

 

[TexasBlues]

That’s what I heard. In the interview he says he got the original lines from a buddy at Colorado state.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hatchery-whiting-true-blues.1608138/page-3#post-27442926

 

[TexasBlues]

Here’s my whiting true blues today. I have several barred cockerels and 4 pullets, a blue, a black, and 2 have a partridge type of look.

 

[Snickers11]

Hi, I normally just read everything and don't reach out but I have a couple of questions... if he keeps different male and female lines are we not able to wing sex if we hatch from some we raise? Also, since they are so many colors if we get a barred male and breed with non-barred would they be able to be sexed by coloring or only by wings?

 

[TexasBlues]

I’m not sure how you would breed forward for feather sexing once the 2 lines have been combined.
My chicks are several generations removed from whiting. All of my cockerels seem to be barred and none of my pullets are barred.

 

[NatJ]

Hi, I normally just read everything and don't reach out but I have a couple of questions... if he keeps different male and female lines are we not able to wing sex if we hatch from some we raise?

If you take chicks that were feather-sexable, and when they grow up you breed them to each other, you will not be able to feather-sex the chicks in the next generation. You will get males that feather fast or slow, and females that feather fast or slow.

But from that unsexable mix, you should be able to pick a set of chicks that can produce feather-sexable chicks in the next generation. Mark the fast-feathering and slow-feathering chicks, or separate them into two brooders. Then when they are old enough to tell sex, keep fast-feathering males and slow-feathering females to be your new breeding stock. There will be some males and some females that have the "wrong" feathering speed for this: either eat them, or sell them, or use the hens for layers but not for breeding feather-sexable chicks.

Crossing fast-feathering males with slow-feathering females will give sons that feather slowly like their mother, and daughters that feather fast like their father.

Also, since they are so many colors if we get a barred male and breed with non-barred would they be able to be sexed by coloring or only by wings?

Barred females with non-barred males will produce color-sexable chicks: sons will have barring like their mothers, daughters will have no barring like their fathers. Barred males can be used to breed barred daughters, who can then be the mothers of color-sexable chicks.

You may also be able to pick chicks for gold/silver sexing: gold males and silver females will produce silver sons (like their mothers) and gold daughters (like their fathers.)

 

[fat brown hen]

My Whiting True Blue chicks arrived this week. I am very impressed with Murray McMurray. The chicks arrived within 2 days, lively and full of energy. I believe they were eating gro-gel during the trip, as most of them already had wing feathers coming in.

Out of 25, I got 3 yellow chicks (one has black dots), 4 black chicks with yellowish bellies, and the rest are chipmunk brown. All of them have puffy cheeks. I assume the yellow chicks will grow up to be white or wheaten? And the black ones will grow up to be black or barred? And the chipmunk ones will look like partridge easter eggers, right?

Was hoping for a little more color variation, but such is life. I wonder if Mcmurray sometimes interbreeds their Ameraucana flocks with WTBs. Overall, I am pleased with Mcmurray and would definitely order from them again.

 

[fat brown hen]

I didn't take a group photo before they disappeared under the brooder plate, but most of them look just like this:

 

[NatJ]

I believe they were eating gro-gel during the trip, as most of them already had wing feathers coming in.

That happens whether they eat gro-gel or not. Wing feathers start coming in very fast on some chicks.

4 black chicks with yellowish bellies... will grow up to be black or barred?

If they have a yellowish dot on top of their heads, barred.
If no dot on top of their heads, black.
Although "black" may not be quite accurate-- they could be solid black, or they could have various amounts of leakage of other colors (example of a possible coloring: Black Sexlink hen are "black" but often have large amounts of red in their breast and neck feathers.)

Out of 25, I got 3 yellow chicks (one has black dots), 4 black chicks with yellowish bellies, and the rest are chipmunk brown. All of them have puffy cheeks. I assume the yellow chicks will grow up to be white or wheaten? And the black ones will grow up to be black or barred? And the chipmunk ones will look like partridge easter eggers, right?

You might be right about the coloring, but there is also a chance they could be more varied in appearance than you currently expect. For example, the yellow chicks could be white or wheaten-- but they could also be silver wheaten, or columbian, or buff columbian, or some mixed-looking color that isn't quite like any of those. And chipmunk-striped chicks can grow up to have some variety of appearance too: with silver or gold in their coloring (gray/white shades rather than red/gold shades), and sometimes other color patterns than the one you mentioned (example: Dark Cornish adults are a dark red with black double lacing, but they look chipmunk-colored at hatch. I don't expect any Whiting True Blues to look exactly like that, but it is an example of another adult appearance that has chipmunk striped chicks.)

I would love to see photos as they grow, because I'm also curious about how they will look

I wonder if Mcmurray sometimes interbreeds their Ameraucana flocks with WTBs.

I should hope not, given this part of the description on their website:
"Whiting True Blues are not Araucanas, Ameraucanas, or 'Easter Eggers' — they are their own breed named after the poultry geneticist* who developed them."

If they want to consider WTB a distinct breed, then they should not be mixing them with anything else. (I do not know what they actually do. This is just my opinion about what they should do.)

 

[fat brown hen]

That happens whether they eat gro-gel or not. Wing feathers start coming in very fast on some chicks.


If they have a yellowish dot on top of their heads, barred.
If no dot on top of their heads, black.
Although "black" may not be quite accurate-- they could be solid black, or they could have various amounts of leakage of other colors (example of a possible coloring: Black Sexlink hen are "black" but often have large amounts of red in their breast and neck feathers.)


You might be right about the coloring, but there is also a chance they could be more varied in appearance than you currently expect. For example, the yellow chicks could be white or wheaten-- but they could also be silver wheaten, or columbian, or buff columbian, or some mixed-looking color that isn't quite like any of those. And chipmunk-striped chicks can grow up to have some variety of appearance too: with silver or gold in their coloring (gray/white shades rather than red/gold shades), and sometimes other color patterns than the one you mentioned (example: Dark Cornish adults are a dark red with black double lacing, but they look chipmunk-colored at hatch. I don't expect any Whiting True Blues to look exactly like that, but it is an example of another adult appearance that has chipmunk striped chicks.)

I would love to see photos as they grow, because I'm also curious about how they will look


I should hope not, given this part of the description on their website:
"Whiting True Blues are not Araucanas, Ameraucanas, or 'Easter Eggers' — they are their own breed named after the poultry geneticist* who developed them."

If they want to consider WTB a distinct breed, then they should not be mixing them with anything else. (I do not know what they actually do. This is just my opinion about what they should do.)

Thank you for the helpful information. I was planning on keeping one of each color, but it sounds like I will need to keep them all, ha ha ha. Will post more pictures once they achieve their final form (in about 6 weeks, I presume).