(I wasn't sure how many pictures I could put by post, so I figured I'd split my post in two just in case.)
The following pictures are from my 2017 flock:
My mystery boy, who was an Easter Egger of unknown origins, possibly an F2 or F3.
Then, my mystery lady, whose dad I know is a White Chantecler, but whose mom I struggle to confirm if it's a barred Plymouth or a Silver-Laced Wyandotte. Seeing as the man who made me this surprise hatch had put a barred plymouth and a wyandotte in the same pen with his chanty boy and 20+ commercial hens, that's a puzzle I'm likely not close to solving anytime soon. My hen, which I'd called 'Mouche' (which means 'fly/gnat' in english, because of her splotchy plumage), was thinner than her parents (halfway close to a gaming bird), skittish as a Leghorn and was an egg-laying machine that to this day only Missy can rival. Her eggs were a pale beige and medium-sized. Her comb was dented in the middle, which I'd always found odd, but that's what you get with crosses.
After her, I have Carmen Trumpet (named such for her beauty and her singular quiet 'trumpeting'), which was my favorite darling and had me utterly besotted as soon as I laid eyes on her. Daugther of a White Chantecler rooster and a commercial red sex-linked hen (and sister to Mouche), this beauty had the head, comb/wattles and body of her father, and the color & egg-laying proficiency of her mother. The perfect colorful hybrid for my regional climate and my dreams from back then, made all the sweeter by her docile temper. Despite her breeder handling her very little, she was unafraid of us and readily squatted so we could pick her up. She never fought in my arms, never made a peep, and showed patience beyond her age as I carried her along like a five years old. She laid the biggest eggs of the flock, and was one of the first birds to welcome me whenever I stepped inside the coop.
Her only flaw was a persistent and extremely foul-smelling diarrhea, that would not go away no matter how many times I treated her for it. Having a very small wallet, I quickly ran out of money to help her, so I had to part from her. Despite this I still love her deeply though. It's my hope someday to re-try the same cross my friend made, and get a hen similar to her. That's definitely a hybrid I want in my flock of mutts!
(Now that I look at them, Missy's brother seems to have a very similar plumage to Mouche. Could that mean a barred Plymouth is needed to give such a result?)
The following pictures are from my 2017 flock:
My mystery boy, who was an Easter Egger of unknown origins, possibly an F2 or F3.
Then, my mystery lady, whose dad I know is a White Chantecler, but whose mom I struggle to confirm if it's a barred Plymouth or a Silver-Laced Wyandotte. Seeing as the man who made me this surprise hatch had put a barred plymouth and a wyandotte in the same pen with his chanty boy and 20+ commercial hens, that's a puzzle I'm likely not close to solving anytime soon. My hen, which I'd called 'Mouche' (which means 'fly/gnat' in english, because of her splotchy plumage), was thinner than her parents (halfway close to a gaming bird), skittish as a Leghorn and was an egg-laying machine that to this day only Missy can rival. Her eggs were a pale beige and medium-sized. Her comb was dented in the middle, which I'd always found odd, but that's what you get with crosses.
After her, I have Carmen Trumpet (named such for her beauty and her singular quiet 'trumpeting'), which was my favorite darling and had me utterly besotted as soon as I laid eyes on her. Daugther of a White Chantecler rooster and a commercial red sex-linked hen (and sister to Mouche), this beauty had the head, comb/wattles and body of her father, and the color & egg-laying proficiency of her mother. The perfect colorful hybrid for my regional climate and my dreams from back then, made all the sweeter by her docile temper. Despite her breeder handling her very little, she was unafraid of us and readily squatted so we could pick her up. She never fought in my arms, never made a peep, and showed patience beyond her age as I carried her along like a five years old. She laid the biggest eggs of the flock, and was one of the first birds to welcome me whenever I stepped inside the coop.
Her only flaw was a persistent and extremely foul-smelling diarrhea, that would not go away no matter how many times I treated her for it. Having a very small wallet, I quickly ran out of money to help her, so I had to part from her. Despite this I still love her deeply though. It's my hope someday to re-try the same cross my friend made, and get a hen similar to her. That's definitely a hybrid I want in my flock of mutts!
(Now that I look at them, Missy's brother seems to have a very similar plumage to Mouche. Could that mean a barred Plymouth is needed to give such a result?)
