Mottled???? New pic added See post #12 :D

[Guitartists]

Some clarification.... I have a chick that hatched that I thought was black..... but the beak is mottled and the legs look like my other blue chicks. However.... wing feathers are coming in black mostly, with some white... and ALL of the breast feathers etc are coming in dark with a white tip. Mottled almost... but I don't see how this could be possible given the breeding. So I'm VERY curious as to what color this little chick is... plus it has a lot of light patches on the head/face as well. Does NOT look like my other definite black chicks.

Breed... Ameraucana

 

[Guitartists]

Here is a not-so-good pic

Here's another

I thought she was blue... and then I assumed she was black because of how dark the feathers in her wings were coming in... but now with the white spots????

These were taken 2 and 3 days old...... I don't have any new shots yet, though I will try and get some.

 

[steffpeck]

I have no idea on the coloring, but you sure have a cute chick!!

 

[speckledhen]

She's blue, I believe, and should molt out the white areas as she gets in her big girl feathers. Splashes look white or cream colored all over with some lightly smoky areas shaded in.

 

[MissPrissy]

It looks like it will feather out to be blue. Splashes are usually a dirty white. It is later they get their markings. The first couple days a very light blue can look like it may be a splash but it soon showes itself. I have 2 I was sure were splashes and after 4 days you could tell they were just going to be very light blue.

 

[Guitartists]

Well, ya, I had thought that was the case as my other Splashes are typical ...... it is just those white blobbed feathers that have me wondering. All of my blues and blacks have solid colored feathers coming in. So she will grow out of it eh?

 

[Guitartists]

Hmm... re-reading the posts..... are you referring to the white chest etc? I know that those will moult out to black in a black chick.... my other blacks have white bellies and chests, but all of their feathers are coming in solid.

Houdinis feathers remind me of my Mille when her spots started coming in. She really does look mottled on her feathers that are coming in on her breast, under her wings, etc. Checked the other chicks and no one has this. Is this the white she will moult out of???

 

[speckledhen]

She should molt out any white wing feathers later on. Many of mine start with a solid white feather or two on the wings. In any case, she isnt a splash. They never look dark. There are mottled Orpingtons that could start out looking like yours, but not splash.(I know yours is an Ameraucana, but the mottled is the only one I know that is dark with lighter feathers like that) A splash is basically a white bird with accent feathers. Here is a splash Ameraucana pullet of mine:

 

[pips&peeps]

I think it will be a dark blue with nice lacing. The darker ones always have good lacing.

It is typical to have white tipped wing feathers on adolescent black and blue birds..

Just wait and see, it will turn out to be a nice looking birdie.

It looks like it had a hard time getting out of the shell..........

 

[Guitartists]

Hey Jean..... Yeah, she has those white tips on the wings..... but her feathers on her neck and breast are mostly dark with a white tip or spot.

Seriously.... they look like the feathers on this bird. Of course.... she is not fully feathered yet! LOL

It looks like it had a hard time getting out of the shell..........

Yeah, that is Houdini.... first she was robbed from the bator by my toddler... then he dropped another egg on hers and busted the top all up. The membrane then dried up and she couldn't get out even though she had already pipped...so eventually I peeled the shell back and helped tear the membrane so she could get out. A lot of it was still stuck to her, but I didn't want to mess with it, figured it would come out when she lost her baby fuzz