The "Ask Anything" to Nicalandia Thread

[NatJ]

what causes the down to have some white, some yellow, and some tan colored markings at hatch? I’ve not seen it before, so I’m curious! Is it normal and I’m just too new? Will any of the color remain? I’m in love with it! It’s so pretty

Unfortunately, I don't know why it has white, yellow, and tan for the light markings.

I have seen some chicks with a variety of white, cream, yellow, and tan shades (but not the large amounts of black). And I have seen chicks that have the black with some amount of white/yellow (but not so many shades of it.)

So I can't tell if your chick is just a part of normal that I haven't noticed before, or if there is something unusual about it.

I think the adult color & pattern are likely to be much different than the current chick down color & pattern, but I'm not going to try to predict how.

I hatched this baby and I “think” it is a black marans momma crossed with my Olandsk Dwarf rooster (he seems to have the lead role in that run). I know since ODs are land race they can probably hide a bunch of weird genetics, and my Marans is a project marans that was supposed to be chocolate and came out black…

Regarding who the parents could be:

The chick looks like it has a rose comb (definitely not single, but I'm not positive whether it's rose or another comb type), and barring (the light marking on the top/back of the head.)

Marans have single combs. Does your Olandsk Dwarf also have a single comb?
Two parents with single combs can only produce chicks with single combs. A rose comb chick must have at least one parent with a rose or walnut comb.

If it does have barring, it must also have at least one parent with barring. By "barring" I mean white lines across the feathers, no matter what other color the feathers might have. Of course white barring is most obvious on black chickens, and much harder to see on light colors.

 

[kurby22]

Unfortunately, I don't know why it has white, yellow, and tan for the light markings.

I have seen some chicks with a variety of white, cream, yellow, and tan shades (but not the large amounts of black). And I have seen chicks that have the black with some amount of white/yellow (but not so many shades of it.)

So I can't tell if your chick is just a part of normal that I haven't noticed before, or if there is something unusual about it.

I think the adult color & pattern are likely to be much different than the current chick down color & pattern, but I'm not going to try to predict how.



Regarding who the parents could be:

The chick looks like it has a rose comb (definitely not single, but I'm not positive whether it's rose or another comb type), and barring (the light marking on the top/back of the head.)

Marans have single combs. Does your Olandsk Dwarf also have a single comb?
Two parents with single combs can only produce chicks with single combs. A rose comb chick must have at least one parent with a rose or walnut comb.

If it does have barring, it must also have at least one parent with barring. By "barring" I mean white lines across the feathers, no matter what other color the feathers might have. Of course white barring is most obvious on black chickens, and much harder to see on light colors.

Ohhhh you're right! I thought the comb looked sort of different but didn't connect it to the two combs because I was so sure it was the OD boy. No, ODs are singles too, so he can't be the dad! There is only one rooster in the run with a rose comb so it must be him. Also...if you think that the white spot means barring--does that mean you are telling me it's probably a boy?? That is a big spot I don't NEED more boys SIghhh. Especially since the bantam brahma that hatched is likely a boy given it's coloring in my previous post!

Well the rooster with the rose comb is a bantam white Wyandotte, and I was assuming he was dominant white...so he must be carrying barring under the white? He's gorgeous and perfect white, so that is sort of surprising to me for some reason. Interesting!

I had a feeling you were going to say the coloring wouldn't stay, which is a bummer haha. I just love it, it's like tricolor dogs, I just love black/tan/white mixed in patterns/patches. It must be something weird from the momma being a project bird. The breeder was working on purple bloom eggs in chocolate marans, and was a P4 chick, so who knows what she might also hide under the black. She's also very gypsy faced--even has a black comb. She's very very black haha. Super cute babies they make, although I will probably never get another like him hahaha.

 

[NatJ]

Ohhhh you're right! I thought the comb looked sort of different but didn't connect it to the two combs because I was so sure it was the OD boy. No, ODs are singles too, so he can't be the dad! There is only one rooster in the run with a rose comb so it must be him.

If you are sure the egg was laid by the Marans hen, then yes the rose comb rooster must be the father. (Unless you also have a rooster with a Walnut comb. Strawberry and Cushion comb are versions of Walnut Comb, at least for people talking about genetics rather than Standard of Perfection.)

Or the chick could have a rose comb mother, depending on what options you have.

Also...if you think that the white spot means barring--does that mean you are telling me it's probably a boy?? That is a big spot I don't NEED more boys SIghhh.

Barred mother, not-barred father is the pairing that produces barred sons and not-barred daughters.

If the father has barring, chicks of both genders can have barring.

And since the coloring is a bit unusual anyway, I am not 100% sure about the chick having barring, either-- I just think it is fairly likely.

Well the rooster with the rose comb is a bantam white Wyandotte, and I was assuming he was dominant white...so he must be carrying barring under the white? He's gorgeous and perfect white, so that is sort of surprising to me for some reason. Interesting!

That is a definite possibility. A white bird can have white barring without being obvious.

But your chick does not appear to have Dominant White, so the father cannot be homozygous (pure) for Dominant White. That could mean the White Wyandotte is not pure for Dominant White (might have recessive white, or heterozygous/split Dominant White). Or it could mean the White Wyandotte is not the father of the chick, which would mean re-thinking who the mother is.

I had a feeling you were going to say the coloring wouldn't stay, which is a bummer haha.

I think every chick I have ever seen, that has some kind of color pattern at hatch, has grown up to look different at maturity. This goes for penguin-patterned chicks that grow up solid black, chipmunk-striped chicks that grow up to have a variety of appearances, and various other patterned chicks that grow up to be laced or spangled or columbian pattern or various other things.

Chicks that are solid white, or buff, or red, do have a good chance of growing up to be solid white, or buff, or red.

It must be something weird from the momma being a project bird. The breeder was working on purple bloom eggs in chocolate marans, and was a P4 chick, so who knows what she might also hide under the black. She's also very gypsy faced--even has a black comb. She's very very black haha. Super cute babies they make, although I will probably never get another like him hahaha.

Definitely interesting! Depending on how many other eggs you hatch from that pairing, there is at least some chance of getting more chicks with the same or similar appearance.

 

[NatJ]

Am I correct, based on the chick down on this baby…that I have a boy? I believe this is a Brahma baby from my Buff Brahma rooster and my Light Brahma hen. If that is correct and I understand the genetics of this crossing—the “light Brahma” like down would imply I have a boy? Yes? No? Am I terribly confused?

You are correct that a pairing of Buff Brahma father and Light Brahma mother will produce sexlink chicks, with daughters being gold and sons being silver.

Yes, your chick looks silver, which would mean male.

I did once have a sex-linked pullet whose down was so pale I was sure it was silver = male, until her brother hatched out even lighter. I watched my pullet very carefully until she had a nice set of gold feathers that were clearly different than her brother's silver ones! With no others from the same cross to compare, I can't be 100% positive about yours, but I think it is much more likely to be silver (male) than very light gold (female).

 

[SourRoses]

I’ve not seen it before, so I’m curious! Is it normal and I’m just too new? Will any of the color remain? I’m in love with it! It’s so pretty

She / he is adorable! Hoping for an update as she / he grows

I had a really cute Hackle chick I posted here because I hadn't seen his down pattern before, but he grew into the same red/gold we've had a lot of. Brat.

 

[kurby22]

She / he is adorable! Hoping for an update as she / he grows

I had a really cute Hackle chick I posted here because I hadn't seen his down pattern before, but he grew into the same red/gold we've had a lot of. Brat.

Thanks! I will do that! She/he is quite pretty But they’ll probably be a brat too and end up all black

 

[kurby22]

You are correct that a pairing of Buff Brahma father and Light Brahma mother will produce sexlink chicks, with daughters being gold and sons being silver.

Yes, your chick looks silver, which would mean male.

I did once have a sex-linked pullet whose down was so pale I was sure it was silver = male, until her brother hatched out even lighter. I watched my pullet very carefully until she had a nice set of gold feathers that were clearly different than her brother's silver ones! With no others from the same cross to compare, I can't be 100% positive about yours, but I think it is much more likely to be silver (male) than very light gold (female).

That’s what I thought dang it! I will remain hopeful that the feathers are gold when they grow in That’s generally not how my luck goes with broody hatched babies, but I can hope for at least a week

As for the momma of the other baby, I have 2 marans and a Langshan that lay chocolate eggs. The one marans is a frizzle, so I will know better when feathers come in but I’m certain the egg was a chocolate brown egg, so has to be one of them. I’m assuming it wasn’t the Langshan because she’s huge and all the boys are quite small. Ms Frizzle is pretty big too and hasn’t lost any feathers this year and they’re so fragile they break easily. So that leaves Bebe and she’s on the smaller side which seems more feasible to me I guess?! but you are correct that I can’t be too certain at this point. Chickens continue to surprise me!

Thanks for the help as always!

 

[Gigachad poultry]

So I have some questions, if you mix a Easter egger or Ameraucana with a Calico Bantam Cochin would it result in a Calico Bantam Cochin that lays olive eggs? If so I would call it a Calico olive egger Cochin. Dies this already exist? What about copper maran Cochin Bantams, would the mix create a Cochin Bantam that lays dark chocolate eggs?

 

[NatJ]

As for the momma of the other baby, I have 2 marans and a Langshan that lay chocolate eggs. The one marans is a frizzle, so I will know better when feathers come in but I’m certain the egg was a chocolate brown egg, so has to be one of them. I’m assuming it wasn’t the Langshan because she’s huge and all the boys are quite small. Ms Frizzle is pretty big too and hasn’t lost any feathers this year and they’re so fragile they break easily. So that leaves Bebe and she’s on the smaller side which seems more feasible to me I guess?! but you are correct that I can’t be too certain at this point. Chickens continue to surprise me!

Since all the possible mothers have single combs, the chick must have a rose comb. That means his father is the rooster with a rose comb (White Wyandotte).

If the chick grows frizzle feathers, then it must have the frizzle mother. A chick with smooth feathers could have any mother (including a frizzle).

I see fuzz on the chick's feet. Assuming the Wyandotte has clean legs like he should, the chick must have gotten the foot feathers from his mother. If your Marans have clean legs, that would mean the Langshan must be the mother. If your Marans have feathered feet, you can make some guess from the amount of feathering on the chick's legs (it probably has less feathers than the mother, not more, although that is not a guaranteed thing).

 

[NatJ]

So I have some questions, if you mix a Easter egger or Ameraucana with a Calico Bantam Cochin would it result in a Calico Bantam Cochin that lays olive eggs? If so I would call it a Calico olive egger Cochin.

Sort of yes, sort of no.

--The first generation cross will not be a Cochin. It will be a mix. It would take quite a few generations of breeding, and careful selection, to have the right traits to really call the bird a Cochin. Starting with those particular parents, you might never get one that has the correct Cochin single comb and also lays colored eggs. There is a link between the blue egg gene and the pea comb gene. It could help if you use Cream Legbars, who would have the blue egg gene linked to not-pea comb (single.) Using Ameraucanas will have the blue egg gene linked to pea comb, which is not right for a Cochin. Easter Eggers can go either way, depending on what breeds are in their ancestry, but you can tell without actually knowing who their ancestors were: if it has a single comb and lays blue or green eggs, it has the right linkage for your project.

--The chicks may be Calico colored or they may not be, depending on which color genes the non-Cochin parent has. If the chicks are not calico, breeding some of them back to the Cochin will give you a good chance of getting calico babies in the next generation.

--You can probably get green eggs that way, but "olive" is used to refer to the darker shades of green. You will probably not get dark green ("olive") eggs.

Dies this already exist?

Not that I know of.

What about copper maran Cochin Bantams, would the mix create a Cochin Bantam that lays dark chocolate eggs?

Just like with the other idea, it would need multiple generations of breeding & selection to have birds that can reasonably be called "Cochins."

In the first generation cross, the daughters will probably lay eggs that have an in between shade of brown (darker than the Cochins, lighter than the Marans.) Later generations could have darker eggs or lighter eggs, depending on who they are bred to (backcross to Cochin would give lighter eggs, backcross to Marans would give darker eggs, breeding the mixes to each other will give some birds who lay light, some who lay medium, and some who lay dark.)

I think the calico color requires the mottling gene. That is recessive, so the crossed chicks will not be calico colored. Breeding them back to the calico cochin, or to each other, should be able to produce some calico colored chicks.