Hey all --
I FINALLY got update pics of all the mf cochins here at Egghead Hill.
You can see pics of the parents, now about 9 months old, here:
http://www.doberinfo.com/eggheadhill/mfbantamcochinpics/mfparents--04-20-09.html
Pics of the first chicks, now about 3 months old, here:
http://www.doberinfo.com/eggheadhill/mfbantamcochinpics/01-09chicks--04-20-09.html
Pics of the current batch of chicks, now 3 days old, here:
http://www.doberinfo.com/eggheadhill/mfbantamcochinchickpics/04-09chicks--04-20-09.html
This may be a good time to get into a discussion of what the mille fleur cochins should be "based" on, genetically speaking. My birds come from Mike, and they are based on wheaten. As you can see, the chicks are quite consistent in appearance. And, basically, they remain consistent as they grow (making allowances for the excess melanization in the two young cockerels).
OTOH, Lynne's birds are mostly *not* wheaten based. Some may be e(b) or e+, others look like something else.
Now, if you go to the chicken calculator, it will tell you that "mille fleur" is e(b) (aka partridge) based -- but other geneticists say that mille fleur is based on E(Wh) (aka wheaten) and/or e+ (aka duckwing, wild type, black-breasted red). So it appears that we could get there through different routes. BUT, whichever route we use, we need to make it consistent so that the birds will breed true.
Anybody got thoughts on this?