Toe count - genetic?

[Zenmonkey]

It is inherited, just as @The Moonshiner says, and as he indicates, you've already got a mix, so mixing a bit more seems harmless. If you line breed to that bird, you could potentially end up with a line of birds with 5 toes reliably on both feet.

I don't know what else it would have, depends on what you started crossing it to, and what else you selected for. Good luck!

 

[newchickychick]

It is inherited, just as @The Moonshiner says, and as he indicates, you've already got a mix, so mixing a bit more seems harmless. If you line breed to that bird, you could potentially end up with a line of birds with 5 toes reliably on both feet.

I don't know what else it would have, depends on what you started crossing it to, and what else you selected for. Good luck!

Thanks so much! That’s so neat. She has turned out to be very sweet so far. We have… quite a lot of different breeds. We do have quite a few Polish - we’re hoping to make some progress in breeding out the vaults in our years. I’m really glad it has not impacted her balance or seeming comfort when walking/running at all, otherwise I certainly wouldn’t hatch eggs from her.
We are mostly just planning to let backyard mixes happen, so long as all the babies are healthy. We do not plan to sell any chicks, just have our own sustainable flock of docile chickens! It would be interesting to see what ends up from her chicks. Personalities pending (we will not keep any roos that are aggressive at all), we’ve so far definitively got a Tolbunt Polish cockerel, a Gold Laced Polish cockerel, a Silver Duckwing Phoenix cockerel, and a Gold Laced Cochin cockerel in that age group!