Mosaic chickens

[MissLavender]

Hey @MissLavender! Do you (or anyone else coming across this thread) have pics you can post of the mosaic cockerels vs pullets at about 7-8 weeks? I have an opportunity to purchase some grow outs here in CO and I’d like to do my b.est in picking out one cockerel and rest pullets!

I got mine when they were 12 & 15 weeks old, so I never saw them that young. The two boys were 12 weeks and the five girls were 15 weeks. One thing I CAN tell you for sure, though, is that the boys will have noticeably more developed combs than the girls, and the girls' tail feathers will be more developed, rounded at the ends and more full-looking. Here are some pics from when I first got them for reference:

12 week old boy

15 week old girls

:

ALSO, if you do plan on breeding Mosaics, don't breed whites to whites! When you do that, you start to lose the fibro coloration, resulting in white skin and bright red combs in most of the next generation. If you have a predominantly white rooster, you'll want to use primarily darker hens with exceptional fibromelanosis (blue/black skin) expression. If you have a rooster with a lot of dark coloring and a nice, black comb you'll want to breed him to primarily lighter hens. This will help preserve the blue skin and turquoise earlobes unique to this beautiful breed.

 

[MissLavender]

For example, the only one I'd really want to breed the cockerel with at this point would be the white hen, since she has such light coloring and such pale skin. I'll be getting a predominantly white cockerel nd a few pullets from my breeder in the next few weeks for that reason.

 

[The Moonshiner]

ALSO, if you do plan on breeding Mosaics, don't breed whites to whites! When you do that, you start to lose the fibro coloration, resulting in white skin and bright red combs in most of the next generation. If you have a predominantly white rooster, you'll want to use primarily darker hens with exceptional fibromelanosis (blue/black skin) expression. If you have a rooster with a lot of dark coloring and a nice, black comb you'll want to breed him to primarily lighter hens. This will help preserve the blue skin and turquoise earlobes unique to this beautiful breed.

Curious if this is from experience or from info you obtained somewhere and if so from where?

 

[MissLavender]

Curious if this is from experience or from info you obtained somewhere and if so from where?

I am new to Mosaics, so I don't have any personal experience with this. I just know from watching the few local breeders there are, and observing how people like to breed whites to whites, but then they lose the fibromelanistic traits and some of the offspring even feather out 100% white. Also, the breeder that I got my Mosaics from warned against breeding whites to whites for that very reason, and she's been breeding these chickens for several generations.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I was trying to figure out the link or if there was an actual link or just a theory.
I know with silkies breeding whites has no effect on the fibro but have heard some are working on cuckoo silkies and it was effecting it with that pattern.
There's a mosaic breeder in my area that was having all sorts of issues they were trying to figure and talked with me about them for a bit.
After a few short conversations and seeing their birds it was clear that IMO they should still be a project instead of a "breed".
Her birds came straight from the source and they don't have the genes locked into place to breed true for good fibro. Her birds had a lot of variations and more then not showed mostly red and lacked the good color in the lobes.
Interesting birds with some have quite unique patterns but seems they're not where they need to be as what was stated from the originator.

 

[MissLavender]

I was trying to figure out the link or if there was an actual link or just a theory.
I know with silkies breeding whites has no effect on the fibro but have heard some are working on cuckoo silkies and it was effecting it with that pattern.
There's a mosaic breeder in my area that was having all sorts of issues they were trying to figure and talked with me about them for a bit.
After a few short conversations and seeing their birds it was clear that IMO they should still be a project instead of a "breed".
Her birds came straight from the source and they don't have the genes locked into place to breed true for good fibro. Her birds had a lot of variations and more then not showed mostly red and lacked the good color in the lobes.
Interesting birds with some have quite unique patterns but seems they're not where they need to be as what was stated from the originator.

I completely agree! They're a breed in progress (AKA: PROJECT!) which is why it's so important to keep breeding for type if we want the Mosaic to become a legit breed that breeds true.

 

[MissLavender]

That is also kind of what I love about Mosaics. I get to learn how to breed for type from first hand experience!

 

[MissLavender]

I was trying to figure out the link or if there was an actual link or just a theory.
I know with silkies breeding whites has no effect on the fibro but have heard some are working on cuckoo silkies and it was effecting it with that pattern.
There's a mosaic breeder in my area that was having all sorts of issues they were trying to figure and talked with me about them for a bit.
After a few short conversations and seeing their birds it was clear that IMO they should still be a project instead of a "breed".
Her birds came straight from the source and they don't have the genes locked into place to breed true for good fibro. Her birds had a lot of variations and more then not showed mostly red and lacked the good color in the lobes.
Interesting birds with some have quite unique patterns but seems they're not where they need to be as what was stated from the originator.

Why do you think it is that, when other people buy chicks from him, the founder of the Mosaic project WON'T give them any info on these birds? For example, my questions to the founder were:
1. Which breeds were used to form this breed?
2. Which traits are we breeding for?
3. What age do they start laying?
4. What is their purpose? Eggs? Meat? Dual purpose? Ornamental?
5. How big do they get?
6. How well do they tolerate heat and cold?

Are those not legitimate, straightforward questions? Correct me if I'm wrong here, but it doesn't seem right to me to ask such a high price for day old chicks ($40 per chick), and be 100% UNWILLING to give information about the birds to the people you're selling to. That is not how breeds gain traction...

 

[Mitchkin5]

Do the blue ear lobes show up from birth or does it show up later and if so at what age?

 

[BluebirdHomestead]

Hey @MissLavender! Do you (or anyone else coming across this thread) have pics you can post of the mosaic cockerels vs pullets at about 7-8 weeks? I have an opportunity to purchase some grow outs here in CO and I’d like to do my best in picking out one cockerel and rest pullets!

Hey there, I know you posted this a couple months ago, but I’m also in CO and curious if you ended up getting those grow outs? Do you know of someone here in CO breeding them? Thanks!!