Unexpected color on chick

[Worm94]

Actually I did end up going back and getting a picture of one of the darker chipmunks + the other cuckoo hen daughter (For her, it's size that makes me suspect her, since all of their chicks seem to get bigger faster) and somewhat color as well as not having any feathered feet and a single comb!
Wanted to make sure I was thorough with my update, that is.

 

[Worm94]

I have another update, sooner than I'd thought. Attached are pictures of two of the chicks, a known Brahma cross chick and one I know for a fact came out of a cuckoo barred hen.
The thing is, the two 3 week old chicks that came from the cuckoo barred hens (which I'm no longer sure are marans tbh, they may be some meat bird cross due to the size of them) are huge and their combs are larger and starting to pinken.
This to me, says that they may be roosters. Now that does sound kinda wrong, right? To my knowledge there's no way they could be boys if they weren't barred!
But there is no barring appearing on either one of them, and I know exactly which cuckoo barred hens are laying what eggs because while the Brahma eggs vary so little it's hard to tell, the three cuckoo hens have much larger eggs with distinct colors.
Also I helped one of the barred hen's eggs hatch! So I'm doubly sure. But if they are boys, doesn't that mean they've somehow come out without barring anyway?
Potential cockerel markers so far: Pink comb, big feet
Hen markers: No barring on chicks from a barred hen and a non-barred rooster.

 

[NatJ]

I have another update, sooner than I'd thought. Attached are pictures of two of the chicks, a known Brahma cross chick and one I know for a fact came out of a cuckoo barred hen.

So the Brahama cross one is smaller, has the pea comb, and has more feathers on the feet, right?

The thing is, the two 3 week old chicks that came from the cuckoo barred hens (which I'm no longer sure are marans tbh, they may be some meat bird cross due to the size of them) are huge and their combs are larger and starting to pinken.
This to me, says that they may be roosters. Now that does sound kinda wrong, right? To my knowledge there's no way they could be boys if they weren't barred!

That is... odd. I agree, a barred hen should not be able to produce sons that have no barring. But I agree that combs looka rather large.

But there is no barring appearing on either one of them, and I know exactly which cuckoo barred hens are laying what eggs because while the Brahma eggs vary so little it's hard to tell, the three cuckoo hens have much larger eggs with distinct colors.
Also I helped one of the barred hen's eggs hatch! So I'm doubly sure.

So you've pretty well ruled out the "other mother" or "mixed up which egg" explanations

Potential cockerel markers so far: Pink comb, big feet
Hen markers: No barring on chicks from a barred hen and a non-barred rooster.

That is a good summary of the problem.

At present, I would say to keep watching and see how they develop. You might have pullets that are growing their combs bigger and faster than usual. Pea combs (Brahma mix) do tend to stay smaller than single combs, so the Brahma mix is making the other chick's comb look bigger by comparison.

Can you spread out a wing and take a photo of it? Sometimes it is easier to see barring that way, if it is present (and then you'll have the photo for reference in the future, too.)

I don't really know which way to call it: pullet with big comb & feet, or cockerel who somehow lacks barring (despite his mother having it), or cockerel who has barring but does not show it (should not be possible.)

 

[Worm94]

So the Brahama cross one is smaller, has the pea comb, and has more feathers on the feet, right?

Yep!

So I did go ahead and get the wing pictures (I got one for every unusual chick I specifically believe to be from the barred hens (three, including the oldest one). The thing is there are some black, white, and blue chicks but most of them seem to be Brahma mixes of some kind. The few that aren't are probably from the barred hens and thus pullets, so I haven't included pics because those were what we expected)!

This one above is the one I assisted the hatch for, that had the dark striping on a yellow background initially.

This one is the oldest pullet, and her wings are super beautiful. I do wonder which rooster's her father because so far I haven't seen another chick like her yet.

This one's colors seem patchier and because they're lighter the camera struggles to pick them up, but I definitely don't see barring.

 

[NatJ]

View attachment 3812616
This one above is the one I assisted the hatch for, that had the dark striping on a yellow background initially.

I do not see barring in that picture.

View attachment 3812612
This one is the oldest pullet, and her wings are super beautiful. I do wonder which rooster's her father because so far I haven't seen another chick like her yet.

Of course she would not be barred, since she is a pullet, but those definitely are some interesting feathers.

View attachment 3812615

This one's colors seem patchier and because they're lighter the camera struggles to pick them up, but I definitely don't see barring.

I'm a little bit unsure on this one. Barring on gold can seem like it fades in and out, rather than being crisp lines, and I feel like I can "almost" see some lighter areas running across the feathers there. I won't say it is barred, but I also won't swear it is not barred.

 

[Worm94]

I'm a little bit unsure on this one. Barring on gold can seem like it fades in and out, rather than being crisp lines, and I feel like I can "almost" see some lighter areas running across the feathers there. I won't say it is barred, but I also won't swear it is not barred.

It remains very difficult to take a good picture of this chick. I'm reasonably certain he's a boy now, though. The comb is darkening a lot, and he's acting bossier.
I am still uncertain if that messy pattern on him will turn into barring or not. Some of his feathers have red tips, some have little reddish lines across them but not the way I'd expect from barring, and so on. He looks vaguely barred from a distance, though, so mayb that's something?

Here's a couple partial group pics since I moved em all out to the big barn stall the other day. The weather's warmed up and they're just too big for our brooders now.

Front n foremost is the older pullet. I really hope she keeps that pattern. The light buff and blueish chick I think is a pullet too, that's one of the Brahma crosses.
The white one with a near-black comb I'm not sure yet, but if it's from the Ayam cross boy his only options for hens were the Brahmas and the barred hens (there is one other hen but I already know which ones are hers and they're solid black), and none of those black feathers have any barring visible (Though I'm not sure if it'd work the same on paint. Would it show on the black feathers?).
Then the orange and black one is one who displayed a chipmunk-like pattern early on. None of them look the same now, though she's the darkest.
There's one other that looks almost like her though, except more orange than black and she's got green feet. The 3 dads, one has gray feet with pink undertones(Khaki/blue? boy), one has green feet (ayam cross), and one has blue feet (EE boy).
Given her coloration I wonder if the EE is her dad, but the green feet are definitely throwing me. Is it possible for a yellow footed hen and a blue footed rooster to make green feet?
If not, is it possible for a buff Brahma's coloring to override that white and black feathering (or just plain black) all of the Ayam's known chicks have had so far?

There's also this black chick with that Brahma comb and feathery feet, that seems to be getting some weird little white flecks on some of his (I think) feathers as he grows up. That ought to be interesting if it stays! I think he's not the only one but they're all entering that skittish phase so catching em has gotten harder.
Anyway this is just a minor update really, hoping more will be revealed as they continue to grow n feather out!

 

[NatJ]

View attachment 3819912

It remains very difficult to take a good picture of this chick. I'm reasonably certain he's a boy now, though. The comb is darkening a lot, and he's acting bossier.
I am still uncertain if that messy pattern on him will turn into barring or not. Some of his feathers have red tips, some have little reddish lines across them but not the way I'd expect from barring, and so on. He looks vaguely barred from a distance, though, so mayb that's something?

I think he probably does have barring, but I'm not positive. I'll tag someone who has more experience than I do at recognizing barring on colors other than black.

@MysteryChicken do you think this chick has barring? (If the picture doesn't work right: it's the first photo in the post I quoted from.)

 

[NatJ]

Front n foremost is the older pullet. I really hope she keeps that pattern.

I think there is a good chance she will keep that pattern, or one that is pretty similar. I've seen some adult hens that looked very much like that.

The white one with a near-black comb I'm not sure yet, but if it's from the Ayam cross boy his only options for hens were the Brahmas and the barred hens (there is one other hen but I already know which ones are hers and they're solid black), and none of those black feathers have any barring visible (Though I'm not sure if it'd work the same on paint. Would it show on the black feathers?).

I think barring would show across the black feathers if the chick had barring, but I'm not entirely sure.

The chick does appear to have Dominant White, and the Ayam cross male is your only rooster with that gene, if I remember properly. So if the chick has pea comb and feathered legs, it would have a Brahma mother. But if it has single comb and clean legs, it should be from the barred hens.

So if the chick has the barred mother, but is not showing barring, I think it is probably a pullet ("probably" because I'm not positive that barring would show clearly enough on the black feathers, and because I'm not 100% certain about the mother.)

Is it possible for a yellow footed hen and a blue footed rooster to make green feet?

Yes, if the rooster also carries the gene for yellow (not-white) feet.

One gene controls dark vs. light feet. Blue and green are "dark," white and yellow are "light."

A different gene controls white vs. yellow feet (with white/blue being the light/dark versions of white, and yellow/green being the light/dark versions of yellow.)

If not, is it possible for a buff Brahma's coloring to override that white and black feathering (or just plain black) all of the Ayam's known chicks have had so far?

Probably not.

View attachment 3819920View attachment 3819921 There's also this black chick with that Brahma comb and feathery feet, that seems to be getting some weird little white flecks on some of his (I think) feathers as he grows up. That ought to be interesting if it stays! I think he's not the only one but they're all entering that skittish phase so catching em has gotten harder.

Leakage tends to appear more as they get older, so I think there is a good chance of those white bits staying, and maybe even getting bigger or more numerous the next time or two that he molts.

Anyway this is just a minor update really, hoping more will be revealed as they continue to grow n feather out!

I'm really enjoying watching them grow and change

 

[MysteryChicken]

I think he probably does have barring, but I'm not positive. I'll tag someone who has more experience than I do at recognizing barring on colors other than black.

@MysteryChicken do you think this chick has barring? (If the picture doesn't work right: it's the first photo in the post I quoted from.)

It's Barred, just faintly.

 

[Worm94]

Yes, if the rooster also carries the gene for yellow (not-white) feet.

One gene controls dark vs. light feet. Blue and green are "dark," white and yellow are "light."

A different gene controls white vs. yellow feet (with white/blue being the light/dark versions of white, and yellow/green being the light/dark versions of yellow.)

Thank you so much for your continued input, genuinely! I am having a lot of fun and learning quite a bit along the way.

Only a couple of quick updates this time, because it's harder to catch and photograph individuals these days (and also we think a snake got a couple but we reinforced security so fingers crossed).
The ayam cross boy may have yellow feet under a dark cover due to his melanism, and the possibly khaki boy has pink feet under the gray overlay on his, so I do not think we'll be able to reliably sex chicks that way given a few of the pullets have yellow legs, one has green legs, and some have blue legs (and same for the boys).

I don't think we'll have much luck with early to tell sex characteristics in general; one of the older chicks we assumed was a boy due to slow feathering and feathered feet (pointing to brahma) has not gotten a red comb or wattles at this point and chicks three weeks younger than him(?) have, so that one's gender is up in the air.
Anyway here are some group pictures I got! Per the last image, I have some questions. She is the other sibling to the one barred boy we have. I'd assumed she was a girl and I still am on the fence because her comb is small and quite pale whereas her brother's is reddening up and huge at this point.
But is that whiteish barring I'm seeing coming in on her wings there? It doesn't look like the other one's barring if it is, and it isn't on all the feathers, only a few recent ones.