Should my chicks be this color?

[Troitrek35]

Hello everyone! I keep up with this forum because of all the valuable information I get from all you knowledgeable folks, thank you. This is my first post and I hope someone can answer my question. I hatched out 9 Australorp x Rhode Island Red chicks, Roo is Australorp. 5 chicks look Australorp and 4 are white with some black mixed in their feathers, none of them look RIR. Is this to be expected from this cross?

 

[WIchickMama]

Do you have any pics to share?

 

[Troitrek35]

Do you have any pics to share?

 

[NatJ]

Do you have a picture of the parents too?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Pictures of the parents will be helpful too.

 

[Troitrek35]

Do you have a picture of the parents too?

 

[MysteryChicken]

The hens are Red Sex-links, not RIRs.

 

[NatJ]

Ah, there's the problem.
Those hens are Red Sexlinks, not Rhode Island Reds. Your chicks are what I would expect from crossing those hens to a Black Australorp.

The Australorp contributes genes that would make the chicks be black all over.

The hens probably have a Rhode Island Red father, and a white mother, so they have both the Dominant White gene (from their mother, turns black into white) and the gene that allows black (from their Rhode Island Red father.) That's why some chicks are able to be all black, while others are mostly turned white. It just comes down to which gene they got from their mother.

Dominant White is a leaky gene, so it lets bits of black show in some places, which is why the "white" ones are not completely white all over.

Edit: I looked more closely at the photo, and there might be some Rhode Island Red hens in addition to the Red Sexlinks. Rhode Island Reds are red with black tails, while Red Sexlinks are usually red with white tails and a sprinkling of other white feathers. The Sexlinks are still the reason for the white chicks.

 

[Troitrek35]

Oh I see! I was told they are RIR. Thank you so much, I appreciate your quick reply.

 

[Troitrek35]

So does this mean that all my white chicks are roo’s?