Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Duck Drover]

I have some Quechua / Easter Egger cockerels that need to go to the auction in the morning if I am feeling well enough to take them. I am sick but I still have to work all weekend anyway. I feel guilty about not trying to sell them first but they have willow colored legs so there is too much yellow in the legs and they are predominantly red while the pullets have nice slate legs and blue feathering with their red feather base. I am glad it is the pullets that are the nicest since this was a test hatch.

I did not keep track of down color to know if there is any sex link down color but one of the hens is predominantly red and the other is predominantly silver so I just assumed the lighter chicks were from the lighter hen. One of the cockerels is a beautiful mix of colors so I am going to find a home for him but these other boys are not worth breeding to unless someone just wants them for their blue egg genetics. I have to wait for the pullets to start laying before I know if I will have the bright blue eggs I want from them so I will hold onto the colorful cockerel until I can test for egg color.

The two Easter Egger hens are from different stock so this was kind of a test to see what I would get before I hatch more chicks. My favorite hen went broody and now she dropped her feathers in a hard molt so I won't be able to hatch until she is done growing in her new feathers.

I think I will band according to down color in the next test hatch to see if there is a sex link. It is amazing how identical the cockerels are and how identical the pullets are now that they are old enough to sex. The boys have beetle green tail feathers while the girls have such pretty blue markings but I don't know if the down color would have given them away at hatching. I definately have one cockerel that does not fit the pattern so it may be due to the hen color but if I know which ones will turn out to look like these boys I won't have to raise them just to get rid of them after the expense of raising them. It is worth raising them for the pullets at least since they came out so beautiful.

I need to get pictures but they are still in the Silkie pen so we need to separate them for pictures. If the group of boys goes to auction tomorrow I won't need to take pictures of them because they will just get eaten. One of them has a crossbeak which I trimmed but he is eating right along with the others so it has not stunted his growth. I have 2 hatches so they are 2 different sizes but if I take the older ones I might as well take them all.

 

[junebuggena]

I have some Quechua / Easter Egger cockerels that need to go to the auction in the morning if I am feeling well enough to take them. I am sick but I still have to work all weekend anyway. I feel guilty about not trying to sell them first but they have willow colored legs so there is too much yellow in the legs and they are predominantly red while the pullets have nice slate legs and blue feathering with their red feather base. I am glad it is the pullets that are the nicest since this was a test hatch.

I did not keep track of down color to know if there is any sex link down color but one of the hens is predominantly red and the other is predominantly silver so I just assumed the lighter chicks were from the lighter hen. One of the cockerels is a beautiful mix of colors so I am going to find a home for him but these other boys are not worth breeding to unless someone just wants them for their blue egg genetics. I have to wait for the pullets to start laying before I know if I will have the bright blue eggs I want from them so I will hold onto the colorful cockerel until I can test for egg color.

The two Easter Egger hens are from different stock so this was kind of a test to see what I would get before I hatch more chicks. My favorite hen went broody and now she dropped her feathers in a hard molt so I won't be able to hatch until she is done growing in her new feathers.

I think I will band according to down color in the next test hatch to see if there is a sex link. It is amazing how identical the cockerels are and how identical the pullets are now that they are old enough to sex. The boys have beetle green tail feathers while the girls have such pretty blue markings but I don't know if the down color would have given them away at hatching. I definately have one cockerel that does not fit the pattern so it may be due to the hen color but if I know which ones will turn out to look like these boys I won't have to raise them just to get rid of them after the expense of raising them. It is worth raising them for the pullets at least since they came out so beautiful.

I need to get pictures but they are still in the Silkie pen so we need to separate them for pictures. If the group of boys goes to auction tomorrow I won't need to take pictures of them because they will just get eaten. One of them has a crossbeak which I trimmed but he is eating right along with the others so it has not stunted his growth. I have 2 hatches so they are 2 different sizes but if I take the older ones I might as well take them all.

Pics please. I may need a new Easter Egger hen.

 

[Chickielady]

 

[Chickielady]

Gold and silver can effect white. Gold can make it yellow more easily. (As can eating lots of corn) The white itself doesn't do anything other than totally cover whatever color is underneath.

Maybe in the spring I can take him to show and get an experts opinion on his conformation.

Ashes handles really well and poses for me. He's the Fabio of my silkie pens

Ashes is my favorite, too.....he takes some great photos !
He would be great table top for 4-Hers..................
Silver (white) yellows very easily as it is exposed to sunlight, also.
Any silver bird exposed to alot of sun can become yellowed.


Milton, just before he molts he looks like this. Bev Davis has told me it is a natural occurance in pure silver birds.


A few days later and all that falls out & new grows in, nice & white....

This little guy above is "little man"...and here he was about 4 mo old...cute little guy !
He shows how nice & white the silver cuckoo is at first...
The deal with the silver (white) yellowing so badly from the sun has gotten me wondering exactly what the silver (white) marans will look like after a while ?
Will ALL their feathers yellow, or just the head & saddle like we see on Milton (above top photo) ?
The white (silver) marans I have are sports from the Silver cuckoo line shown here...so I expect they will sunburn alot.
I also have wondered what (if any) difference there is with white chickens, and there is some difference because we do not see sun damage on regular white birds...just silver white.
Anyone know what the genetic difference actually is besides the silver white has a black gene lurking ?
I never have researched it...

 

[Chickielady]

And 24 hours later the first had hatched and is dry. I'm screaming in frustration. The chick is white. Argh. That beautiful partridge rooster is a carrier.

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:

First thoughts. Does it matter if it's dominant white or recessive white? I can't remember a lot of the stuff. Heck, my brain finally supplied to me that yes it is normal for bantam eggs to hatch a day early compared to large fowl. See, I KNEW this and just didn't think about it.

Second thought. Oh Ashes probably would be good. He's wonderful at just standing in position where I put him. He won't move anything other than his head unless I move him normally. He's a sweetheart and I can't get rid of him. He's living in the pen with the oddball girls that have either bad wings or are odd colors.

His pictures have been pretty popular on my Deviantart account since he's white and you can actually see where his face is. I need a white hen to pose with him.

 

[pennyJo1960]

hhmmm I get a headache from reading
the three pages to catch up but love listening

 

[Chickielady]

I am still wrestling with my own brain about Bantam leghorns....................
Is there such a thing or are they called Serema ?
The serema look very leghorny to me !

In the case of large fowl, if there is a smaller version, it is called a bantam.......in the case where there is no larger counter parts, it is called a true bantam (such as nankins where the fowl is actually small to begin with, and not manipulated by humans)
So...if I have a run of small leghorns......................???

What I am referring to is how leghorns are a certain size per sex, but that should not be different in various colors....if it is a large fowl, it needs to be X in pounds and so on.................

and anything lighter would be a bantam version ??

yet that is never mentioned, as 1 coloration of the breed of leghorns only comes in size small...(Bantam) ???????????????

 

[junebuggena]

Found this online. It's from the Leghorn Breeder's Club of Australia. It does specify the weight for bantams.
http://leghornbreeders.webs.com/leghornstandards.htm

Bantam cocks should top out at about at 2.4 pounds. Standard sized rooster is about 7.5 pounds.
They aren't just smaller than average Leghorns. They are much, much smaller.

Serema are a true bantam. Good ones have a very distinct posture and shape. And they are tiny, even compared to most bantam breeds. Day old chicks are sometimes the size of a thumb nail. Adults usually don't even weigh a full pound.

 

[Chickielady]

Found this online. It's from the Leghorn Breeder's Club of Australia. It does specify the weight for bantams.
http://leghornbreeders.webs.com/leghornstandards.htm

Bantam cocks should top out at about at 2.4 pounds. Standard sized rooster is about 7.5 pounds.
They aren't just smaller than average Leghorns. They are much, much smaller.

Serema are a true bantam. Good ones have a very distinct posture and shape. And they are tiny, even compared to most bantam breeds. Day old chicks are sometimes the size of a thumb nail. Adults usually don't even weigh a full pound.

I have a coloration of leghorn, and it is much much smaller than all other leghorns, and that is my issue: why is 1 coloration so much smaller, as if that one color is a true bantam...

and thanks june bug!