Mille Fleur Leghorns from Sandhill Preservation

[NapsWithChickens]

Yippee!

I just received my order of 25 straight run standard sized Mille Fleur Leghorn chicks! They generously sent 28 and we (so far) have only lost one chick due to the shipping stress.

I've been lusting afar over these birds, but know very little about them. I've got a question that I hope someone can answer...

The chicks arrived straight-run... but they appear to have two distinct colorations. One is the standard "chipmunk" striping on their backs with rusty reddish on the heads and elsewhere... while the others are a solid light lemon yellow. Is there an obvious difference in the sexes when they're this young?

I've left a message with Sandhill and hope to hear back soon... but I know that they are flat out busy right now, so it may be several days. In the meantime, I'm swimming in chicks (have some due to hatch from my broody, a classroom incubator and have 11 month old chicks, too.) I'd like to sex these, keep a couple and sell the rest. (I really only wanted 2 or 3, but had to place the minimum order for 25. I'm not worried about selling the extras - these are seriously gorgeous birds - my nurturing time is just getting maxed out.)

Sorry for the long winded post. Can anyone help me out? I'll post pics as soon as I can.

Laura

 

[Sequin]

how many of each color do you have? The extras might just be the packing peanuts.

 

[NapsWithChickens]

I thought of that, too, Sequin.... but it was an order for 25... they sent 28.... so only three could be fillers... and there are 10 lemon yellow chicks and 18 chipmunk striped chicks.

 

[rachiegirl]

maybe they were short on chipmunkys and threw in white leghorns?

I just got some whites and they are light lemony yellow.

 

[NapsWithChickens]

Hmn.... I didn't think of that.

So I just went and checked the packing slip... Nope... only lists ML Leghorns.

Another dead end! ARGH!!!!

C'mon all you Poultry Wizards and Chicken Goddesses!

Someone must know about this one!!! LOL

 

[NapsWithChickens]

Please help... can anyone tell me if the pullets and cockerels are identifiable as soon as they hatch?

Please?

 

[Jeff9118]

Maybe the person filling the box got side tracked and when got back to it just read leghorns.

I am working on a project with this color and have had the color breeding true for 6 generations now. Now all the sudden half the chicks from one hen from the exact same line have been hatching solid yellow but feathering in the same color as they should. It may not be a sex-link just somthing strange in the genes with that color. Mine are not old enough to sex yet.

 

[amazondoc]

How did this problem turn out?

The down color should not be different in male or female mille fleur-patterned chicks. Mille fleur can be based on several different "E" alleles, but they are not sex-linked.

I'm curious to know what happened here!

 

[amazondoc]

Quote:
Jeff -- Mille fleur can be based on partridge (e(b)), wheaten (E(wh)), or duckwing (e+). Your flock may be carrying around the recessive wheaten gene, and this is just the first time that two copies of it have managed to find each other.

 

[NapsWithChickens]

All chicks grew gorgeous mille fleur feathers! Thanks so much for relieving my stress!