Hey guys! I have 10 black copper chicks that are a little over a week old. In humor of the discussion a few posts back, they are "Wade Jeanne" lines. The seller claimed to import new birds from the guy being overseen by Wade, or something to that effect, every breeding season. Anyways, I have a few questions specific to the breed. I have several other breeds, but I'm always trying to stay informed. They are as follows:
1. How accurate is sexing based on leg thickness and comb development in this breed? I have two chicks with very prominent combs already, which surprised me, and three or four chicks with very thick legs in comparison to the others (those four including the two chicks with prominent combs).
2. I have a lot of variation in color, and I'm wondering if that is normal, and if not, what it means for the adult plumage. One or two chicks seem to have a lot of white around their faces. They all have wing feathers and the beginnings of tail feathers, and almost all of them have two or three white feathers on each wing. A few have no white besides their original chick down. The amount of dark coloration on their legs and feet varies as well. Some are all black, some black with yellow toes, and some with black only halfway down the shank. Some chicks have yellow combs, and some have black combs.
3. Two chicks have very minimal feathering- maybe two or three feathers max- on their middle toes. The rest have the correct feathering of the shank and outer toe. Will the light middle toe feathering affect possible breeding in the future, and if so, how big of an issue is it? Should I not breed the birds all together?
Thank you all in advance! I'm very excited to add another breed to my flock.
