The "Ask Anything" to Nicalandia Thread

[JacinLarkwell]

Forgive me, but doesn't the hen look like she has columbian in her?
Especially around the neck with the way it goes from white at the top to laced...


View attachment 3366828



Same shift from white neck to laced in this columbian hen...


View attachment 3366834

That's what I was thinking too, but wasn't sure

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Have you considered Swedish Flower Hen (55 Flowery Hen) or Jubilee Orpington? Similar coloration as the D'Uccle but in a larger size. I love the D'Uccles too, but my 10 lb RIR-mix/production red rooster is almost too big for my 4 lb prairie bluebells (seems like it to me), so D'Uccles are out for now for me unless I split the flock. Swedish Flower hens are also really good about evading predators and foraging.

Swedish flower hens are a different breed than 55 flowery hens (55 flowerys are a variety of leghorn)

 

[nicalandia]

That's what I was thinking too, but wasn't sure

Neck Hackle pattern is really not a Columbian effect. Columbian is a restrictor of feather eumelanin, it leaves the rest of the body to be covered in Pheomelanin(gold or silver).

The hackle and saddle pattern on columbian restricted birds will depend on other mutations(like base e allele) and the presense of pattern gene.

 

[SourRoses]

Neck Hackle pattern is really not a Columbian effect. Columbian is a restrictor of feather eumelanin, it leaves the rest of the body to be covered in Pheomelanin(gold or silver).

The hackle and saddle pattern on columbian restricted birds will depend on other mutations(like base e allele) and the presense of pattern gene.

So, wait, you're saying the white / laced / sudden body color with a pale breast, is caused by the pattern gene? I am so confused...

 

[MysteryChicken]

I just started with Dorking chickens. My first breeding of some Sandhill birds I received got me blue, may be laced and a reddish many call Clay in the Dorking group. the father was a colored, mothers were either a darkish gray, with reddish breast and black head, or a kind of messed up birchen they said... I was told if I bred them to black, I might be able to get a blue line going. I have put a black Sandhill Dorking rooster with them, (but Sandhill said they had to cross their blacks with reds to prevent inbreeding issues, so some of the blacks I got this year do show some red in some of them...the rooster I put with the blue and clays is not showing red. (I also am rebreeding the orginal rooster to those hens and 2 others to see if it shows up again). I have a book that explains waterflowl colors, but not one for chickens as I was raising waterfowl for over a decade.

Can we get pictures of the birds in question?
Might be able to determine what's going on more, visually. I struggle with descriptions.

 

[nicalandia]

So, wait, you're saying the white / laced / sudden body color with a pale breast, is caused by the pattern gene? I am so confused...

I don't believe I even mentioned the hen's body pattern(which is clearly not columbian restricted) I was pointing out that the pattern on the hackle has nothing to do with columbian as columbian has no meaningful effect on the hackle of the hens.

Buff Columbian hen(eb/eb, Co/Co, Pg/Pg, s+/) Buff Columbian Brahma

eWh/eWh, Co/Co, s+/- barely any hackle pattern. New Hampshire

Pale breast could be due to lack of Autosomal Pheomelanin or other factors.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Anyone wanna guess what mixed pattern this feather is? I'll get pictures of the cockerel who of it came from tomorrow. It's wet, & nasty out today.

 

[SourRoses]

Especially around the neck with the way it goes from white at the top to laced...

This is what I asked. About the transition.

Neck Hackle pattern is really not a Columbian effect. Columbian is a restrictor of feather eumelanin, it leaves the rest of the body to be covered in Pheomelanin(gold or silver).

The hackle and saddle pattern on columbian restricted birds will depend on other mutations(like base e allele) and the presense of pattern gene.

I don't believe I even mentioned the hen's body pattern(which is clearly not columbian restricted) I was pointing out that the pattern on the hackle has nothing to do with columbian as columbian has no meaningful effect on the hackle of the hens.

I see, you weren't answering my question about the transition. Thus the confusion.
You were just talking about the basic pattern in the hackle feathers.

I was asking about the transition between a white top of the neck, then colored hackle feathers, then a sharp transition to the body color.
I thought that was the most noticeable thing about columbian colored chickens, at least to my eye. Don't you think that hen shows a lot of neck transition?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Not all Columbians have the black in the hackles, or at least lacks it.

Darker neck boy I culled due to him being overly pugnacious to keep with the flock, & his skin color was wrong, plus he didn't fill out with meat well either.

 

[MysteryChicken]

They remind me on the Lemon Splash Cochin on the darkness and the gold tones.

Also Calico Cochin here.

View attachment 3366744

On the Splash Birchen first picture. Splash Wheaten looks very similar to that.