Iowa Blues - Breed thread and discussion

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So you think my barely 8 week old chick is a pullet? I took a look at it again tonight and the comb is a light yellowish color, not as pink as the pictures. It's a little bugger. Has never carried itself straight up like a roo, so I'm still guessing a hen.

As far as the cockerel, I took a good close look at him tonight too. No red anywhere, even when extending the wings. The black has the greenish gloss. The light coloring on hackles and saddle is much more white and there's no yellow/gold showing anywhere. Does this help with the silver/gold question?
 
I definitely think she's a pullet
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brown cockerels will have patches of white across their shoulders at this age.

I suppose at this age it might be too early to tell for sure he doesn't have the red. It might show up when he molts. I'm still learning how that works. If he was pure for gold he would have dark gold lacing instead of white. If he is split he may show it as light yellow in his back and saddle and even his neck will get more yellow in the sun. From my NYD cockerels I think I got 3 pure for gold, 2 mixed and 2 pure for silver.

I am not quite sure how to tell on the pullets. Since it's sex linked, they only carry 1 gene - silver or gold. I have been operating on the assumption they will have whiter neck feathers if they have silver. Someone chime in if they know how to tell Silver and Autosomal Red on pullets!
 
I would be inclined to say then that the cockerel is either pure for silver or split to gold. He's not in direct sunlight so if that has any effect on coloring (bleaching out, whatever) then that wouldn't show up at this point.

I grabbed hold of him yesterday and extended both wings. No red anywhere. Not even rusty coloring. Maybe the rustiness he exhibited before I got him was due to sunburn/bleaching? Either way, with this latest molt, he's green/black with white.

SO happy my little chick is a pullet! I couldn't have planned it better myself. Just luck that Patty had one chick from each batch hatch in the sexes I needed. lol
 
Lost one of my two iowa blues to a darn coon. I got the problem solved with a fence charger around all my pens. Not much i can do with just one. Guess i can keep it around as a yard ornament, untill i come across someone local selling IBs.
 
It's a Birchen for sure. Hard to know if its an IaB without seeing more of it. Interesting article! Sorry to hear about your plumbing problems anderson
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I don't have any issues though and I eat lots of chicken, both my own and store bought.
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