you asked one of the more difficult questions lol I am a little confused on this subject myself. As far as I understand.. there is a fair amount of overlap between E and ER chick down. Some believe the white dot by beak is a sign of E and a lot of E do look like Michonne. Notice, the dot is almost not present on one side.. shows how variable it can be.
Other questions.. what does an E/ER chick look like? Adult plumagewise, E is dominant over ER but best not to rush thinking the same would apply to chick down. There have been several surprises where a line assumed to be pure E or ER only to sequence out to be either the other or a mixture of both.
one sign I consider to be reliable is the brown or white brushed face on black chick is ER. could not find a better pic with quick googling so am cheating by showing a sebright(100% guaranteed pure ER) chick.. ignore the feathering, look at the mask if you see it, classic ER mask. Of course most ER don;t have it, don't ask me why:
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sebr/GSebrightChix.JPEG
As for your cross chicks, I suspect most Marans are E or E/ER mixes. Because I had black coppers, they consistently kept throwing chicks and adults that looked like examples of what E are supposed to look like without modifiers. "not enough copper"- hens with either no copper or just a minimum on the lower back hackle, roosters having it only on neck and back, no 'lacing' or the color spreading anywhere else. That;s how E usually looks with no modifiers. I suspect that might be why some breeders are struggling with trying to get more color- they need ER but their birds might be simply all or mostly E. I can't prove it though, because there is also a plausible possibility of modifiers making them(if ER) dark.
No idea if solid colored Amers are more likely E or ER, sorry.
Yep, confusing.. with this one issue it really is best to assume as a general statement it is true- but do not be surprised if proven otherwise..
- Ant Farm
