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agreed on the egg color and being easier for the selling eggs. Did you create those girls in just one cross or how did you end up with those? They really are striking
Well long story, but the yellow leg popped up in one of my hatches. I had only kept a BCM cockerel and a hen after culling from several hatches.
I also had one unrelated Blue Copper that lays the darkest egg so I was mainly hatching from her. The yellow is a recessive and also both parents
must be split for it for it to show. I also quickly began using a nicer son that was not carrying yellow, and hatched mostly from him. None of his offspring
would ever show the yellow, but some would be split for it. So it took me awhile to find out my original BCM pair were split for the yellow.
I am for the most part happy with the conformation and egg color of my Marans, so I did not want to start over. I have not had the white feather or
comb things and figured if I started over I would just get another set of "issues". I did a "consult" with Roger (Village Chicken) as to how to test them for pure legs.
He said when paired with a yellow legged rooster any hen split for yellow would throw approx. 50% yellow legged chicks. So I waited a month after removing the roo
and put my Wellie boy with them. I did two separate hatches; collecting, IDing and separating each hens eggs for hatch. I toe punched the chicks. From 6 hens I hatched
78 chicks. I kept them all for two weeks then sold most as 2.00 dark egg laying "mutts". I kept a few because they were so stinkin' cute and I wanted to see what
kind of layers they would be.
Out of 78 chicks not one appeared to have yellow/green legs. But a few weeks ago I looked at the bottoms of these girls feet, and one has yellow soles. A clear difference
from the pinkish white of the rest. This is that girl...no yellow beak or legs as you would expect, but clearly yellow soles:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/40145_dsc01153.jpg
So I've IDed one carrier but feel I have to retest them all again
keeping them longer and carefully checking the soles.
that's an interesting story. How many of those girlies did you keep all together then? On the yellow soled birds...that doesn't surprise me at all....in bantam Wyandottes in the BBS it will pop up from time to time where a line has darker legs and I have to work the opposite direction you are...I work towards bringing the yellow out in them. I always check the bottoms of the feet as the females grow. For me in the Wyandotte bantams when I've seen it, it is only in the females. So, I think if you are working in the opposites direction you should do ok as long as you know which girl she was out of. think you'll do another round of test mating on all your original hens then? or just the suspect?
