Larkwell Valley (2023)

[JacinLarkwell]

Java has a 3rd big boy baby! That's half of what I've ever managed to hatch entirely

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It's another barred one,so another boy. But it shows that maybe Lady's meat spotted eggs are decreasing. I put 7 in a nest to see if someone would set on them

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I lost my Partridge silkie hen. I'm thinking Crow, the mother, has genetic issues. That was the only chick of hers that made it to this age, and Crow herself is very small, so that's 2 of my 6 hens that definitely won't be producing anymore. I'm thinking I'm just not going to hatch any more silkie eggs after all the ones that seem to have failed at thriving

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Golden Child seems to still have all of her chicks. Seeing some promising ones.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Hmm......

One Leg hatched her chicks yesterday (and stole one of Butterball's fosters).

I'm not sure what to make of the 4 she hatched.

2 blue chipmunks
2 solid white

All have tailbones..
Both whites and one chipmunk have heterozygous pea combs...
One has a single...
At least one hatched from One Leg's eggs

I'm thinking the whites are from my white Phoenix and my white Cornish bantam, both are recessive white.

The blues have to be from One Leg if they're actually blue. But then why does one have a single comb. She should have a pure comb since she is an araucana. It's definitely straight though.

She's my only blue hen in this pen. Maybe they're darker pseudo blues?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

So, my duckling has both eyes, but we're thinking that the damaged one will either be blind or eventually go away. But as long as we can keep it from getting infected, it should do okay in that aspect

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Hmm......

One Leg hatched her chicks yesterday (and stole one of Butterball's fosters).

I'm not sure what to make of the 4 she hatched.

2 blue chipmunks
2 solid white

All have tailbones..
Both whites and one chipmunk have heterozygous pea combs...
One has a single...
At least one hatched from One Leg's eggs

I'm thinking the whites are from my white Phoenix and my white Cornish bantam, both are recessive white.

The blues have to be from One Leg if they're actually blue. But then why does one have a single comb. She should have a pure comb since she is an araucana. It's definitely straight though.

She's my only blue hen in this pen. Maybe they're darker pseudo blues?

I'll probably get pictures tomorrow. She's pretty goof around me now, it's just me remembering to do so that usually means I don't get any.

I'll get some Golden Child chick pics too. The fosters for Butterball are French Paul's chicks with a phoenix, so they're nothing really special at this moment

 

[JacinLarkwell]

White hen weaned her chick today

 

[JacinLarkwell]

@Canadian Wind , when can you usually sex your muscovy. Do they show the size differences before they're feathered? I'm convinced that my barred is a male, but that's comparing him to the chocolates, which are all much smaller than him. The white and my little butt head one are closer to his size, but still a bit smaller.

And @Pyxis, do these all look blue? Or does one look black? It's darker, but I don't know how variable ducks are with blue. The other blues I've bought all are the same shade, give or take some darker small patches on them

 

[Canadian Wind]

I'm usually able to tell around a month old or so. But, it's not a guarantee. The size difference is a big indicator though usually. If the two in that picture are the same age, I would say the barred is almost definitely male. Check their legs too, males have much bigger ones. Also, for the most part, males feather out slower, especially the wings.

As for your blues, I think both of them in the first picture are, but the one in the bottom looks black? The lighting is different on both images, so it's a bit difficult to say, especially if that last duckling is the same as the one on the left in the one above, lol!