New Brahma Group: Blue Partridge x Partridge, Plus Dark

[Sjisty]

I was trying to find pics of my young dark Brahmas. This is the best I can find, and of course they're older than yours. Not much help, I'm afraid!

 

[speckledhen]

I was trying to find pics of my young dark Brahmas. This is the best I can find, and of course they're older than yours. Not much help, I'm afraid!

Aw, aren't they cute and scruffy! Yeah, they're a bit older, but you can see how the patterning will give way to black on the Dark males. I'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for posting your picture, Janice.

 

[speckledhen]

My camera is giving me headaches. I wish I had the $$ to buy a really good one, but the light in the barn this morning is not the best anyway. sorry about the picture quality. I'll try later to get clearer ones.

I am thinking that the big Blue Partridge may just be a pullet instead of what we were all thinking. The hackles are all patterned, the chest feathers seem patterned, and at almost 5 weeks old, no pink in the comb. Maybe I'm nuts and I was hoping to have a Blue Partridge male to keep-if this one is a pullet, I have only three Partridge males (and a Dark, if that 2nd one turns out to be male).

 

[speckledhen]

Forget the ones above. Here are somewhat better pictures.

To me, Blue Partridge chicks #1 (the tall one we pegged as male) and #2 look like they are patterned the same, at least to my untrained eye. And I did new pics of Dark #2 since the hackles are now in a lot better. As soon as I know if BL. PT #1 is male or female, then my next thing will be to pick which PT male I'll be keeping, I guess. That's a whole 'nother thing I'll need help with. Of course, vulture hocks or no vulture hocks, as Tom mentioned, may help with that selection, too. I love the big dark male a lot, but not sure if those hock feathers are all soft of not. He'll have to grow a little more for me to tell.

 

[Sjisty]

Ok, dark #2 looks like a cockerel now. You're right, BP 1 and 2 look alike, so give them another week. It's so hard to tell from pictures!

 

[speckledhen]

Ok, dark #2 looks like a cockerel now. You're right, BP 1 and 2 look alike, so give them another week. It's so hard to tell from pictures!

Oh, I know it's hard and I thank you again for your impressions! My stupid camera was being a pain today in that low light. I only got the last ones because I opened the back roll-up door near their pen.

I was thinking the #2 Dark was looking more boyish with the addition of those solid hackle feathers. I was looking at the three Partridge cockerels together today and one may be a darker Blue Partridge. He's definitely got that lighter, grayish tinge to feathers that are very black on the chicks I know for sure are Partridge. If the big one turns out to be a pullet, then he'll be my keeper male, if he indeed is a Blue PT.




ETA: I went back out and spent more time with them and now, I think I have 5 males and 4 females. This is a lot harder than the BRs, that's for sure! I'm thinking at this point this is what we have:

Pullets: 2 Blue Partridge, 1 Partridge, 1 Dark
Cockerels: 3 Partridge, 1 Blue Partridge, 1 Dark

If there are four pullets, they'll all stay. Only one cockerel will stay, which means four would be going, barring some weird stuff happening. At least, this is a rare color variety, except for the Dark male, so maybe it would be easier to rehome them.

 

[speckledhen]

Took them outside for awhile and they went right to dustbathing, but I snapped a few better pictures in the full daylight then ran out of battery power. They are 5 weeks old today. I hope by next week, I'll have them all pegged by sex, FINALLY! At this point, I'm about to just look for red combs and forget looking at color patterns!

I'm sort of confused about the Partridge males. Is there one BL PT male? Are there two BL PT males? I know the one Partridge that Tom said watch for vulture hocks, but I'm not sure if the other two are PT or BL PT, ack! They are definitely lighter but have the red chest and hackles so I do think they're male, but which color?

This first picture, largest PT male on the left, but what color is the one considered on the right? Is it BL PT? Or am I completely wrong on sex? I swear, just when I think I know what I have, I go back to the drawing board. Partridge coloring, black breast male, red breast pullet, I've read, so is that a pullet or cockerel on the right? Seems too shiny red to be female, but what do I know? Apparently, not much, LOL!










If I have a blue Partridge rooster and 2 blue Partridge hens (in addition to the PT and the DK girls), I will possibly get a splash Partridge chick. @Sjisty do you have a splash Partridge you could show me? I see so many mislabeled birds on the internet, I want to make sure what I'm looking at.

 

[Sjisty]

Blue partridge

Partridge

Red splash

Blue splash with vulture hocks

 

[speckledhen]

@Sjisty thank you for the photos. Janice, I don't understand what a red splash is. Out of two blue Partridge parents, would I get a red splash? That confuses me. I can see getting the male in the last photo, sure. I know blue x blue from all my other breeds, the normal blue, black and splash, but the partridge muddies the water for me somewhat.

 

[Sjisty]

When I bred blue partridge to blue partridge, I got some reds. They almost look like buff Brahmas. I'm not sure what may have been in the background of my original boys, though. Here's another blue splash.

Somehow, I've gotten quite a few solid blue hens and now am getting some unusual colors, although I'm not really seriously trying to breed anything right now.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/7397702/width/350/height/700[/MG]
[IMG]https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/7162923/width/350/height/700

You've got me wanting to start breeding partridges again, although my girls are all pretty old!