my multi quotes were eaten up
 
madamwlf, I frequently feel invisible on here. I have never thought that about you, but I understand the feeling 
 
Cynthia, 
 Nice to see someone local on here.
 
Those are the two that I remember. I hit "Multi" so that I can remember all the posts that I wanted to comment on...
 
Oh yeah! The question about the barred/lavender chick that is barred female but comb is male. I am slowly trying to figure out all of the genetics stuff, but my understanding is that if the male only has one copy of the barred gene, then they would bar like the female. It has been a while since I read this, but here's a shot: With the barred gene, the female barred bird passes one copy of barring to male chicks only. The male passes a copy to male and female. So, if only the mama is barred, then the male would end up with a single copy of the barred gene, or a more feminine version of a fully barred chick. So, if the bird has a red comb and only one barring gene, it is likely male.
 
I would like to point out that I am very novice at this, and someone may be able to correct me, but this is my simplified understanding of barring.
 
ETA: actually, if only one parent is barred then the male chick will only have one copy of the barred gene. Doesn't have to be the mama