trying to hatch comets... don't seem right!

[jcal9945]

I double checked my purchase order from efowl. I purchased New Hampshire red roosters and Plymouth white rock hens. The white rocks started lying and then about 5 months later I started keeping the eggs for an incubator. within those 5 months they were other breeds of hens but no other roosters. I am for sure puting white rock eggs in the incubator.

I'm getting black chicks and white chicks. Some feathers are starting to come in too, the white chicks are getting black and white feathers. The black chicks are getting black feathers.

Any ideas on why?

 

[jcal9945]

 

[donrae]

The following is a quote from Tim's classic sex-link information thread....


* White Wyandottes and *White Plymouth Rocks are not a good choice. They sometimes have the correct genotype to produce sex linked chicks and at other times, they do not have the correct genotype to produce sex linked chicks. If a White Wyandotte carries the correct genotype, then the male down will vary in color: whitish, yellowish or even smoky white. The females produced from a Rhode Island Red and White Wyandotte cross can also vary in color from a striped gold down into a light buff color.

You can read the entire thread by searching "sex link information", it's a post by tadkerson. Lots of good info on his first post and some charts there.

Thing with white Rocks is, they have dominant white. Dominant white, being dominant, hides a multitude of colors underneath it. Lots of white Rocks are actually barred, you just can't see the black due to the dominant white hiding it. The only way to see what's under dominant white is to breed the bird, and now you're seeing what's under your white. Sorry your sex links aren't turning out like you'd hoped.

Looking at your pic a little better, you may have some black (barred) sex links there. If your white Rock hens carried barring, they'll act like a barred hen for making sex links. The chicks with a white/cream spot on the head are males and will feather in barred. Chicks with a solid black/dark head will be pullets. But, you're not sure if all your Rocks carry barring, so you'll just have to see how the chicks look around 6 weeks for gender checks.

 

[jcal9945]

the two chickens I have breeding are supposed to make the golden comet, right?

 

[donrae]

I don't know what the exact recipe for a golden comet is. I'd suggest going to the sex link information thread and reading Tim's first post if you're at all interested in breeding sex links. There's more to it than a red rooster over a white hen.