Lavender Orpington project ....

[matte]

About 10% of my lavender chicks that just hatched are almost all yellow. They have a spot of lavender on their backs (same lavender color as the other chicks) and a very small lavender spot on their heads. Other than that, even their beak is yellow as compared to some olive colored beaks in the rest of the chicks. They are certainly out of lavender X lavender, there hasn't been any splits in this line for at least a couple of generations, and the hens/roosters they are out of all look identical.
Is this normal? Will they turn out to look like the rest?

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
Do you have the parent stock yourself? If so, go look at their leg color. I believe you have a mottled in there.
Your yellow chicks are mottled.

 

[Evelle]

I have a lot to read here

But one day I will get it all if I have to take notes!!

 

[matte]

Quote:
Do you have the parent stock yourself? If so, go look at their leg color. I believe you have a mottled in there.
Your yellow chicks are mottled.

Yes, I have the parent stock. All of their leg color is the same---dark green/olive. Can I get chicks that are mottled when none of the parents are? What would a mottled lavender grow up to look like?

 

[pips&peeps]

Quote:
Do you have the parent stock yourself? If so, go look at their leg color. I believe you have a mottled in there.
Your yellow chicks are mottled.

Yes, I have the parent stock. All of their leg color is the same---dark green/olive. Can I get chicks that are mottled when none of the parents are? What would a mottled lavender grow up to look like?

Orpingtons are supposed to have white skin. Your birds should have dark slate legs, they should not be green at all. You may have gotten some mixed stock there. Do you have pictures?

 

[OSUman]

The olive legs would explain the yellow beak in the chicks.

 

[cukooformarans]

I wonder if the color you are describing as "olive" is slate. It sounds to me like you have pure early generation hinkjc line lavenders carrying the recessive mottling gene. The mottling gene won't show itself if there is only one copy (as opposed to two) so it is possible to have mottled chicks from parent stock that do not appear to carry the gene. However, the chicks would have to get a copy of the mottling gene from both parents, so it sounds like your rooster and at least one hen carries the mottling gene. When they grow up, they will still have yellow beaks and legs. The feather tips theoretically would also be tipped in white but this is very very difficult to see (in my opinion) in the lavender birds. It is very easy to see in black mottled birds. Most likely, some of your lavender chicks are also recessive carriers of the gene (statistically speaking) and the only way to weed it out is to test breed them. Hinkjc's website has more information.

ETA: I meant they will still have white legs and beak if mottled ... lol ... blaming it on lack of sleep

 

[OSUman]

Quote:
If the legs are yellow then it would make sense that the parent stock has willow legs. Neither are allowed to be in orpingtons according to the standard

 

[cukooformarans]

We would need to see pictures though. A lavender orpington carrying only one copy of the mottling gene wouldn't show it. (Since the gene is recessive.) It is entirely possible that Matte has birds with slate legs and is simply referring to the color as olive, Furthermore, in the early weeks after hatching, leg color can appear to have a yellow tint due to the yolk which could result in an "olive" appearance on slate legs. I don't think we have enough information to say these are not pure lavender orpingtons. In fact, it sounds probable to me that they are. The only way to be sure would be to look at pictures at other lavender orpingtons at the same age or wait a few weeks and see.

ETA: Matte, can you post pics of parent stock and chicks?

 

[cukooformarans]

Also, where did you get the original birds??