My new Easter flock

[Thatothercrazychickenlady]

Well chicks are 9-10 weeks old now. I’ve sold off quite a few of the Roos already.
1. Cockerel
2. Cockerel
3. Cockerel
4. Cockerel
5. Pullet
6. Pullet
7. Pullet
9. Cockerel
11. Cockerel
12. Cockerel
13. Pullet
14. Cockerel
15. Cockerel
From the ones I couldn’t tell apart the second one was a pullet the rest were cockerels. Here’s what they look like now. For the ones I have left.
I decided to keep the silver laced blue rooster so I can try and get splash next year. I hatched out 22 more Wyandotte’s, wyandotte crosses and some orps I’ll probably start posting about

 

[SPlummer]

Wonderful looking birds!! I’m curious though, the blue laced roo in the photo - if he was a wyandotte cross, shouldn’t he have a rose comb? Isn’t that dominant? Thanks!!

 

[Thatothercrazychickenlady]

Wonderful looking birds!! I’m curious though, the blue laced roo in the photo - if he was a wyandotte cross, shouldn’t he have a rose comb? Isn’t that dominant? Thanks!!

Good question! The rose comb is dominant but you aren’t always guaranteed rose comb. That specific little guy didn’t come from my birds but from an egg I purchased he’s also part Ameraucana which has the pea comb. I know for a fact that the rose comb gene in Wyandotte’s causes a drop in fertility rates so the breed is diluted (specifically the hatchery birds) with breeds that have straight combs to increase fertility. So both its parents must have had a copy of the rose or pea comb gene and each had one copy of the recessive straight comb gene and it was just pure luck that this guy ended up getting the straight comb gene from both his parents (his sister the little yellow hen got a pea comb). Out of my 3 purebred Wyandotte’s I still got 1 straight comb. During my second hatch I got 17 Rose combs and 1 straight. Really luck of the draw lots of people will cull there straight combed Wyandotte’s so they follow breed standards which is why you don’t see them as often.

 

[SPlummer]

Thank you so much for that explanation! I would have never known!