Is this a Melanistic Mutant?

[PeepsCA]

I know nothing about Pheasants (I hatch and raise Guinea Fowl by the 100s tho)... I just happened to get an offer of 2 dozen "Pheasant eggs" from a friend of a friend, so I took them on a whim and incubated them (yes, I am a hatch-o-holic!). I have no clue what varieties of Pheasants are running around breeding on the ranch the eggs came from, I was just told that the guy had so many pheasant eggs he was just tossing them out in his pasture.

They are starting to hatch. 2 were early and hatched yesterday, the rest are pipped and being noisy but haven't hatched yet. The ring neck chick is obvious (to me), the other one is... uh... kind of odd. It looked black as it hatched, but it's not quite black now that it's dry and it has a little patch of mottled gold feathers above one eye, lol (it's kind of cute). There's a light spot under the throat and the wingtips are light too.

Anyone know what it is? Is it an MM, or is it something else?

 

[pbjmaker]

I hatched some that were supposed to be MM's a month ago and there were some that were like that. They were all varying degrees of yellow and blackish brown. But this is my first pheasant hatch also so I'm about as clueless as you

 

[turkaholic]

Yup. That's a melanistic. Green mutation probably. The black mutations are a dark coal black with white throats. Yours looks more brown. If it turns out to be a male, it may feather out as an intermediate, showing both melanistic and ringneck feather patterns.

 

[PeepsCA]

Quote:
Thanks for the info Turk, sounds like it will still be a pretty bird if it turns out to be a male. Is it worth keeping, and pairing it up with a mate... or should I just sell it with the rest? 8 more regular ring neck chicks have hatched now and there's still several more pipped eggs. 5 were early quitters. Do you know if the light colored egg that it hatched out of played any significance to the chick's color, or are all ring neck eggs just random shades of olive greens?

 

[turkaholic]

Quote:
Thanks for the info Turk, sounds like it will still be a pretty bird if it turns out to be a male. Is it worth keeping, and pairing it up with a mate... or should I just sell it with the rest? 8 more regular ring neck chicks have hatched now and there's still several more pipped eggs. 5 were early quitters. Do you know if the light colored egg that it hatched out of played any significance to the chick's color, or are all ring neck eggs just random shades of olive greens?

Personally, I find the intermediates more interesting but it's your call whether you choose to keep it. I've had ringneck hens lay eggs from creamy white to a dark olive/brown. I'm not sure what influences egg color...... genetics, nutrition, health.....probably all have a role.

 

[PeepsCA]

Sheesh, I thought Guinea Fowl keets were noisy in the hatcher but these Pheasant chicks have a super high pitch peep that's like almost fingernails on a chalkboard! They aren't dry yet so I don't want to take them out... where's my earplugs!?!

 

[pbjmaker]

Quote:
That quits eventually - it reminded me of what a dog must hear when one blows on a dog whistle

Mine only do it now when they are out of water (I swear they drink more than any chicken chick I have ever met - almost as much as the ducklings)

 

[dutchhollow]

I have never seen a ringneck egg that light, and we see thousands? Not saying it isn't possible, also the melanistics are black/white when hatched. Could be as stated above, but the first thing that caught my eye was the color of the egg?

 

[PeepsCA]

These are the first Pheasant eggs I've ever seen, (and my first time hatching them). I had 4 eggs that pale color, the dark chick came out of 1, 1 candled clear @ 10 days, the other 2 are still in the hatcher, doing nothing. I'll candle them in a lil bit to see if they there's internal pipping or any movement.

I'm wondering if I should put in a request for a couple dozen of just the light eggs and see what hatches... lol.