Photo-collection - Chick down vs mature plumage in Japanese Bantams

[AbL]

As I haven't found many sources for my questions, I present you a little side project; showing the color development of some Japanese bantam chicks from this year in a color chart.
The first three are red millefleur on eWh based birds, 4 and 5 red millefleur on eB birds, then black mottled, slate blue, black face and the last two are yellow mottled with champagne I think

 

[Amer]

Wow, this is really useful!

 

[Amer]

Interesting how the mille Fluer color is much better on the e^b compared to the e^Wh but I think this really drives home how hard it is to identify genotypes based on down color. There's a million different yellow down phenotypes that turn out totally different from each other as adults.
That said, sometimes it is vital to identify genotypes.
I'm not great with chick down but it looks like we have two different chick down expressions here.

 

[AbL]

Interesting how the mille Fluer color is much better on the e^b compared to the e^Wh but I think this really drives home how hard it is to identify genotypes based on down color. There's a million different yellow down phenotypes that turn out totally different from each other as adults.
That said, sometimes it is vital to identify genotypes.
I'm not great with chick down but it looks like we have two different chick down expressions here.View attachment 3956926

Yes, the first is definitif a black mottled, has and had white featherpoints all through, but they are nearly invisible now.
Should be E/E mo/mo or E/E^R

The second had white feathertips too, but after first molt, all turned out slate blue.

The last one is E/E now shining greenish/violet black. The mother was jet black, but now in molding is rather very dark brown. Rooser unknown in this.

 

[AbL]

Three new colors to follow. Here Day 1

 

[AbL]

Same chicks day 10


First one yellow mottled x red millefleur (eB)
Two & Three millefleur (eWh or eB) x millefleur (eB)

 

[AbL]

Here the two hens and the young roo, parents of the three above.

Additional note, the yellow mottled hen has extremly short legs, and everyone of her offspring too.
The millefleurs are not long legged, but not that short either. Sort of medium hight. And the three eB chicks have also medium hight legs, not really short.

 

[Amer]

Yes, the first is definitif a black mottled, has and had white featherpoints all through, but they are nearly invisible now.
Should be E/E mo/mo or E/E^R

Maybe the first and second are het mottled?

 

[Amer]

I've read heterozygous mottling sometimes expresses in early molts but eventually goes away for the adult plumage.

 

[AbL]

I've read heterozygous mottling sometimes expresses in early molts but eventually goes away for the adult plumage.

I read somewhere that black chicks can have sometimes the occasional white feather in the beginning, but lose them after a while.

The first one comes from another source than the two following. 2 and 3 are from the same batch - but I don't know the parents of either.
It's possible that the two blue ones have mottled ancestors too. That explains the grey: yellow chick-color.

The black chicks come from a black hen, although I had a second chick, black with a tiny yellow spot on the chin, turning out gold necked black. Every hatch there is a new surprise