Mottled or Muddled? - Bantam Wyandottes

[ChickenPotPie]

Long story short.....my 6 yr old wants to show chickens. He only had one little old hen so I suggested he buy two more to make a trio in hopes they would give him babies that he can show. I took him to a small, local show where he bought a Gold Laced pullet and a White cockerel.

I know basic rabbit color pattern genetics but I am not familiar with chicken color pattern genetics at all. So, I asked a group at the show about my son's birds' color compatibility but no one seemed to know what we'd get. Well, my son was already smiling ear to ear so I figured he should just enjoy them and we'd find out about color as soon as the first clutch hatched.

Well, I may have messed up.

I don't think he got anything showable. I don't even know what they are!

Can he ever get anything showable out of these color combos?

Both his hens layed eggs in the same box, both sat on them and hatched out chicks. They fought over the chicks until the Black hen won. LOL

I have no idea who the mama is but here is everyone:

Possible mamas (Black & Gold Laced) - :

Chicks:

Dad:

These are how the chicks have feathered out so far:

Sorry about the lighting contrasts. I've got a point and click and I'm no photographer. I just hoped to give you a good look at the pattern. I didn't know what to expect but it's not what I expected. LOL Is it cuckoo? It's not a really bad barred, is it? Mottled? Or are they just a muddled mess? Are they even all the same pattern?! I don't have my eyes for chickens yet so I thought you all would be able to help us best.

Can anyone give me some ideas or suggestions on what I can do to help my son with his little flock? Try this, get rid of that, bring in this? Just start over? Thank you very much.

 

[silkieluver_07]

I would guess cuckoo? Barre would be more crisper/cleaner i would think. That is a really awesome color combination though!

 

[WyandotteTX]

I would agree they do look more cuckoo than barred. If you have hatched out any of them with red or gold in their hackle they could be crossed with Blacks to produce a Mottled tho....In theory at least. They do have nice wyandotte type tho

Im just going off what I was always told and read about when it comes to creating a Mottled pattern. That there needed to be genetic gold/red in the mix between black and white to produce the mottled pattern. I hope it works for your son though, would love to see a nicely Mottled Wyandotte bantam!

 

[becky3086]

It has a really nice look to it.

 

[NYREDS]

Cuckoo it is.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Thanks, all.

Do you think they are all cuckoo? Are they a poor cuckoo pattern? They just don't look like the cuckoos of other breeds that I've Googled. I don't believe I saw cuckoo as one of the recognized colors of bantam Wyandottes. I am right in thinking they are unshowable?

My son is okay with selling the whole lot. We just can't eat them. lol Though my boys are happy to eat home grown poultry and rabbit, this son is my youngest and not quite ready for us to eat his chickens just yet. Hehe, sweet boy. Is there anything we can do with them? I mean, are they of any value in a breeding program? I ask because, in rabbits, some unshowable colors can get you showables when bred to other recognized colors.

 

[silkieluver_07]

You can always show unrecognized colors in the AOV class (any other variety). Eventually if enough breeders start exhibiting/breeding that variety, with alot of hard work, time, andeffort, that variety can evenutally be accepted into the standards.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Quote:
Huh. Thanks for that info, Silverluver_7.

I had no idea that could be done. I'm going to look at our county fair's catalog to see if they offer an AOV catagory.

 

[Maximus]

Keep the hens for eggs they will lay good and they are also perty.

 

[Goose and Fig]

How adoreable they are!!!! Your roo must be carrying a barring gene to get all cuckoo chicks. They appear to have one gene as well- hence the fuzzy pattern. Type is really nice on them though! I think you are onto something