Spotted CornishX chicks?

[ShannonR]

I guess it doesn't matter very much, but a couple of my new chicks appear to have some black spangling on them. Pretty cool, I thought. Anybody else have this happen? If so, what do they grow out like? Will I have chickens with patches of dark pinfeathers or mottled colored skin when I butcher?

This is definitely the actual coloring on the chicks, not debris or poo stuck to them. Chicks came from my feed store, feed store got them from Privet hatchery. Anyone?

 

[popsicle]

I guess it doesn't matter very much, but a couple of my new chicks appear to have some black spangling on them. Pretty cool, I thought. Anybody else have this happen? If so, what do they grow out like? Will I have chickens with patches of dark pinfeathers or mottled colored skin when I butcher?

This is definitely the actual coloring on the chicks, not debris or poo stuck to them. Chicks came from my feed store, feed store got them from Privet hatchery. Anyone?

I'd be inclined to think the chicks were mislabeled Austra Whites or California Whites. Are they growing like broilers should? What color are their shanks?

 

[ShannonR]

The shanks are yellow and yes, they have about doubled in size the last couple of days. Definitely not the runts of the litter lol.

I know, I know...pics or it didn't happen! Here is one of the two spotties in the batch, and another one of the Spotties compared with all of their buddies.

 

[slingshotandLAR]

The spots are a trait that appears from one of the Cobb strain of meat birds.

I know this because I called moyers when I had spotted meat birds delivered.

 

[ShannonR]

Thank you for telling me this! My other question, what did yours turn out like at slaughter? Were the carcasses OK looking or were there dark skin patches or something?

 

[moeell12]

I have a few spotted cornishx chicks as well....never had that before! Strange!!

 

[ShannonR]

Yeah, it is weird all right! I personally don't mind a bit of color on all these white birds......but my customers might. Guess if the carcasses don't turn out to be clean looking these two will be for my own freezer.

 

[Kev]

It is a result of not being pure for dominant white.

For example, cross white leghorn to black australorp(this is exactly what Austra Whites are), you get cream chicks with random little black spots on the chick down. They either grow up all white, white with random partial black feathers or something like off white color with black flecking.

In the cornish x chicks it is either a result of cross involving non-whites in the breeder stock or is simply not pure white "floating down" the generations.

as it happens, got two CX chicks from feed store last fall for breeding. Both had little black spots. Just hatched a bunch of chicks from the cockerel over other hens(not cx) and they prove he was not pure dominant white, as half of the chicks came out white with the black spots and half black chicks with white head spot-barred, as in barred rocks.. barring is often added to white chickens to help with clearing the skin and legs of pigment(makes their legs yellow instead of black).

sorry can't answer the carcass skin part yet. I'd guess for most of them, the skin should be a clear yellow.

 

[ShannonR]

Thank you! I had suspected a barring gene in these birds acrually, it just seemed logical to me. Cornishx was developed from white cornish and white plymouth rocks, yea? Not too far of a stretch of the imagination to think maybe barred plymouth rock genes got inserted in there at some point.

Thanks again!

 

[slingshotandLAR]

They are just like every other CX grow and eat fine...

By the time they are full grown you can't hardly see the spots