What Breed are these Bantys?

[CraziChknLady]

So many months ago I bought a mama and chicks. Mama looks like some type of Cochin mix ( black with gold around next, smidge of feathers on feet, smooth feathers overall). 2 out of 5 chicks were Silkes so I sold those. Out of the 5 left, 4 were roos and 1 hen. I kept the one hen who turned out to be some Mille Fleur something and the best roo. Actually he was the only one to have the Mille Fleur pattern. The other roos were brown and black.
At first I thought a Mille Fleur D'Uccle mix? But they both don't have beards, muffs or feathering on feet.
Then I came across a Mille Fleur Old English Bantam, but my roo has a single comb.
Could he be a MF OEGB mix?
I also read about the Belgian Danvers.
Can anyone give me their best guess?

 

[Whittni]

Yes, you have a pair of Mille Fleur OEGB mixes and a Silkie Bantam mix. Cute chickens!!

 

[CraziChknLady]

Yes, you have a pair of Mille Fleur OEGB mixes and a Silkie Bantam mix. Cute chickens!!

I thought the OEGB have a different comb than what I've got, although they could be mixes.
The other one I don't think is a Silke or a Silke mix. I've had both before and she has smooth feathers like a sex link or regular chicken. , not like a Silkes at all.

 

[NatJ]

Then I came across a Mille Fleur Old English Bantam, but my roo has a single comb.

Old English Game Bantams do have single combs.

Given what you said about buying the hen and chicks, I think mixes are more likely than purebreds.

On the other hand, I agree he does seem to have the Mille Fleur coloring, and he looks about like an Old English Game bantam to me. So he might have a bit of mixing in his background or might not. Wherever you got the hen and chicks, if someone had breed-specific pens and just gave several kinds of eggs to the hen, then she could have chicks that belong to various pure breeds.

Could he be a MF OEGB mix?
I also read about the Belgian Danvers.

D'Anvers would have muff/beard (he doesn't) and a rose comb (he has single), so I wouldn't really suspect d'Anvers in the mix.

The other one I don't think is a Silke or a Silke mix. I've had both before and she has smooth feathers like a sex link or regular chicken. , not like a Silkes at all.

I would say your hen is not a Silkie, because of the feather type. But she does look like a Silkie-mix to me.

When you cross a Silkie with a normal-feathered chicken, you get chicks with normal feathers. The gene for Silkie feathering is recessive, so it doesn't show up in the first generation of crossed chicks. It is common for Silkie-mixes to have a little crest, some feathers on the feet, muff/beard, an extra toe on each foot, and various kinds of combs (pea, rose, walnut, or single). There are quite a few "Silkie" chickens that are missing the genes for some of those other traits, so there are lots of Silkie-mix chickens that have just some of the extra traits and not all of them (example, might have feathered feet but not extra toes.)

I think I do see a small crest, small muff/beard, and feathered feet on your hen. I can't tell how many toes she has. Those traits together, along with normal feathering, makes me think she easily could be a mix that is part Silkie.

 

[CraziChknLady]

Old English Game Bantams do have single combs.

Given what you said about buying the hen and chicks, I think mixes are more likely than purebreds.

On the other hand, I agree he does seem to have the Mille Fleur coloring, and he looks about like an Old English Game bantam to me. So he might have a bit of mixing in his background or might not. Wherever you got the hen and chicks, if someone had breed-specific pens and just gave several kinds of eggs to the hen, then she could have chicks that belong to various pure breeds.


D'Anvers would have muff/beard (he doesn't) and a rose comb (he has single), so I wouldn't really suspect d'Anvers in the mix.


I would say your hen is not a Silkie, because of the feather type. But she does look like a Silkie-mix to me.

When you cross a Silkie with a normal-feathered chicken, you get chicks with normal feathers. The gene for Silkie feathering is recessive, so it doesn't show up in the first generation of crossed chicks. It is common for Silkie-mixes to have a little crest, some feathers on the feet, muff/beard, an extra toe on each foot, and various kinds of combs (pea, rose, walnut, or single). There are quite a few "Silkie" chickens that are missing the genes for some of those other traits, so there are lots of Silkie-mix chickens that have just some of the extra traits and not all of them (example, might have feathered feet but not extra toes.)

I think I do see a small crest, small muff/beard, and feathered feet on your hen. I can't tell how many toes she has. Those traits together, along with normal feathering, makes me think she easily could be a mix that is part Silkie.

What a great explanation on everything! Thank you! I didn't know about the Silke mix recessive genes. Very interesting.

I was thinking the roo was some type of OEGB mix. Glad to know that my research was on the right track.

It will be very interesting to see the roo crossed with the Silke mix hen. Although I do love the Mille Fleur pattern. I really think that whomever had them before just used the broody hen and "stuck eggs under her".
The two Silke chicks definitely had those " Silke feathers" and were a grayish black color. But the other roos were brown/ tan with black tail feathers, no feathers on legs. A very mixed bag.

 

[NatJ]

I didn't know about the Silke mix recessive genes. Very interesting.

Yes, it's rather funny: the Silkie feathers are a recessive gene, so you don't see them in the first generation cross, but most of the other unusual traits are dominant genes that do show in the first generation of crossed chicks (crest, muff/beard, foot feathers, 5th toe)

I was thinking the roo was some type of OEGB mix. Glad to know that my research was on the right track.

Yes, definitely on the right track

It will be very interesting to see the roo crossed with the Silke mix hen. Although I do love the Mille Fleur pattern.

The Mille Fleur pattern requires the mottling gene, which is recessive. So you will not see it in the chicks from that hen, unless she happens to carry a copy of the gene. If she does, then you will see the black and white dots in some of the chicks (probably about half of them.)

Actually, even though mottling is considered recessive, sometimes you see a few little dots even in a chicken with one copy of the gene. So you might find a little bit of it in chicks from that cross even if the hen does not carry the mottling gene, but not the full Mille Fleur pattern.

I really think that whomever had them before just used the broody hen and "stuck eggs under her".

That is a definite possibility

I was just a bit surprised that some of the chicks looked so much like recognizable breeds if that was the case.

The two Silke chicks definitely had those " Silke feathers" and were a grayish black color. But the other roos were brown/ tan with black tail feathers, no feathers on legs. A very mixed bag.

Very interesting!