Mottled (carrier?) expression in chick down

[Slothinc]

Hello! It has been my understanding that chicks who carry the mottle gene, will have some light random spots on their head. I have seen this in my flock - I don’t have any mottled, but I do have at least two mottle carrier hens, and some of their chicks exhibit a light mottled look at hatch, which then feathers in solid when they get older. I will attach some pics of the chicks I have had.

Well, my friend just hatched an egg from my flock, and this egg was from one of the mamas that carries mottle. But this chick has an almost all white head. I was shocked to see it. But the beak is still dark (which I wouldn’t expect to see in an actual mottled bird) So I am just wondering if having a nearly all white head is in the realm of normal for mottled carrier chicks??

The chick in question is in the incubator and it is black with a mostly white head. The other chicks pictured were some from my last hatch, having the expected look of mottle carriers. I will get more photos posted once she sends me some when the chick is out of the incubator. The chick in question is a purebred showgirl silkie. If it is indeed mottled, then I guess that must mean that the father was also a mottled carrier, which I didn’t realize.

@Amer @Debbie292d @2ndTink

 

[Pigeony]

Hello! It has been my understanding that chicks who carry the mottle gene, will have some light random spots on their head. I have seen this in my flock - I don’t have any mottled, but I do have at least two mottle carrier hens, and some of their chicks exhibit a light mottled look at hatch, which then feathers in solid when they get older. I will attach some pics of the chicks I have had.

Well, my friend just hatched an egg from my flock, and this egg was from one of the mamas that carries mottle. But this chick has an almost all white head. I was shocked to see it. But the beak is still dark (which I wouldn’t expect to see in an actual mottled bird) So I am just wondering if having a nearly all white head is in the realm of normal for mottled carrier chicks??

The chick in question is in the incubator and it is black with a mostly white head. The other chicks pictured were some from my last hatch, having the expected look of mottle carriers. I will get more photos posted once she sends me some when the chick is out of the incubator. The chick in question is a purebred showgirl silkie. If it is indeed mottled, then I guess that must mean that the father was also a mottled carrier, which I didn’t realize.

@Amer @Debbie292d @2ndTink

I raise Alohas, which have mottling. In my experience, mottling is rarely visible in the initial chick down. I don't usually have light random spots on their heads, oftentimes my chicks are fully brown/tan or brown and black at first. I usually don't see it until they start growing in wing feathers, sometimes not until they're 2-4 weeks.

All these chicks are mottled, and the only ones you can see it on is the one that has wing feathers growing in towards the front. The two others with visible wing feathers had no visible mottling at this time.

 

[Slothinc]

I raise Alohas, which have mottling. In my experience, mottling is rarely visible in the initial chick down. I don't usually have light random spots on their heads, oftentimes my chicks are fully brown/tan or brown and black at first. I usually don't see it until they start growing in wing feathers, sometimes not until they're 2-4 weeks. View attachment 4181993
All these chicks are mottled, and the only ones you can see it on is the one that has wing feathers growing in towards the front. The two others with visible wing feathers had no visible mottling at this time.

Wow that is so interesting! What beautiful chicks! So I wonder if I am seeing a completely different gene entirely that is causing the head spots? With the babies that have some light spotting, they tend to grow in completely solid. So I always assumed that they were mottled carriers. (It came into my line from a breeder who send me mottled silkie project eggs and all of the babies had the light spotting on the head.)

I am now a few generations out, and have tracked that mottled looking spotting on a couple of babies, and remembered which ones carried it. They look solid as adults. But I had been assuming that they were mottled carriers, and was hoping in the future to try breeding two of these carriers together to try and get some actual mottled chicks. But now I am not sure what is going on

 

[Pigeony]

Wow that is so interesting! What beautiful chicks! So I wonder if I am seeing a completely different gene entirely that is causing the head spots? With the babies that have some light spotting, they tend to grow in completely solid. So I always assumed that they were mottled carriers. (It came into my line from a breeder who send me mottled silkie project eggs and all of the babies had the light spotting on the head.)

I am now a few generations out, and have tracked that mottled looking spotting on a couple of babies, and remembered which ones carried it. They look solid as adults. But I had been assuming that they were mottled carriers, and was hoping in the future to try breeding two of these carriers together to try and get some actual mottled chicks. But now I am not sure what is going on

Just sharing my experience. As far as what's going on with your chicks, I'm not sure myself, it's interesting though and might be worth breeding the carriers together still just to see the results.

 

[Slothinc]

Just sharing my experience. As far as what's going on with your chicks, I'm not sure myself, it's interesting though and might be worth breeding the carriers together still just to see the results.

Thank you for sharing! I really know very little about mottling and would like to learn more about it!

@MysteryChicken do you know much about the mottling gene? @NagemTX maybe?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hello! It has been my understanding that chicks who carry the mottle gene, will have some light random spots on their head. I have seen this in my flock - I don’t have any mottled, but I do have at least two mottle carrier hens, and some of their chicks exhibit a light mottled look at hatch, which then feathers in solid when they get older. I will attach some pics of the chicks I have had.

Well, my friend just hatched an egg from my flock, and this egg was from one of the mamas that carries mottle. But this chick has an almost all white head. I was shocked to see it. But the beak is still dark (which I wouldn’t expect to see in an actual mottled bird) So I am just wondering if having a nearly all white head is in the realm of normal for mottled carrier chicks??

The chick in question is in the incubator and it is black with a mostly white head. The other chicks pictured were some from my last hatch, having the expected look of mottle carriers. I will get more photos posted once she sends me some when the chick is out of the incubator. The chick in question is a purebred showgirl silkie. If it is indeed mottled, then I guess that must mean that the father was also a mottled carrier, which I didn’t realize.

@Amer @Debbie292d @2ndTink

It could be carrying mottling. I had a blue chick that has a mottled mother, & Mottling split father. If I can find a picture of the chick, I'll share it here for you.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Not the greatest picture, but its the one with the white/yellow face infront of the chipmunk.

 

[NagemTX]

Thank you for sharing! I really know very little about mottling and would like to learn more about it!

@MysteryChicken do you know much about the mottling gene? @NagemTX maybe?

I don't know much about mottling except you need two to make it work.

 

[Amer]

Mottling carriers can look mottled as chicks, in fact, they can express mottling as adults but will only have a few mottles as opposed to the full mottled expression.

 

[Amer]

I raise Alohas, which have mottling. In my experience, mottling is rarely visible in the initial chick down. I don't usually have light random spots on their heads, oftentimes my chicks are fully brown/tan or brown and black at first. I usually don't see it until they start growing in wing feathers, sometimes not until they're 2-4 weeks. View attachment 4181993
All these chicks are mottled, and the only ones you can see it on is the one that has wing feathers growing in towards the front. The two others with visible wing feathers had no visible mottling at this time.

Those aren't black based like the other mottled chicks, that's why they don't have white patches.