What color(s) do you think these chicks are liable to be?

[hmbelk]

My roo is a splash BLR Wyandotte. I have the following breeds of hens: Black Australorp, Buff Orpington, and Speckled Sussex, as well as two mixed breeds - Black Australorp/Buff Orpington cross.

I'm not sure which hen(s) laid the eggs these chicks hatched from. My Australorp hatched them out though. I'm curious as to potentially what colors they may turn out to be. I don't know if that's something you can predicate from their down or not. I'd love to hear your guesses though. And if you'd like I'll post photos as they grown and feather out.


My roo


Chick 1

Both chicks (chick 1 is the darker one of the two)


Another photo of the two this time w/o flash.

 

[donrae]

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I don't think the Aussie is a momma. Your splash based rooster over your Aussie hen would give all blue based babies, with red leakage/partial lacing. Not what you've got.

The speckling on the Sussex is recessive, and underneath that you usually have a mahogany bird. That could be a momma, with those chick colors.

Buff can be a tricky color, I'm not sure how crossing it would express in the chicks.

It will be interesting to see how they turn out, I love mixes like this!

 

[junebuggena]

All chicks will inherit a gene for Blue, so any black patterning would be diluted to a shade of grey. The Buff Orpington hen would produce mostly gold/red chicks. The Australorp would produce solid Blue chicks. The Speckled Sussex would produce birds that are partridge type coloring. The mottling gene that causes the speckling is recessive, so all chicks will have a copy, but not express it.

 

[hmbelk]

Thank you for the info on what each hen would give to the chicks. Sounds like the making of a pretty flock. I plan to raise more babies from them whenever one decides to go broody. I like a colorful flock (and I like surprises).

 

[donrae]

Me, too! For years, when a hen went broody, I would ranndomly grab whatever eggs were laid that day and put them under her. I had beautiful chicks!

 

[hmbelk]

Well here's the first peep of what the feathering is looking like on the wings of the first chick to hatch. Very interesting...
Does this pattern/color have a name? I'd like to look it up on google pics but have no idea where to start. If someone knows of a breed that typically has the kind of feathering please let me know so I can look it up.

 

[junebuggena]

Well here's the first peep of what the feathering is looking like on the wings of the first chick to hatch. Very interesting...
Does this pattern/color have a name? I'd like to look it up on google pics but have no idea where to start. If someone knows of a breed that typically has the kind of feathering please let me know so I can look it up.

That's juvenile partridge-type feathering. No telling exactly how much penciling the chick will have as an adult, though.

 

[hmbelk]

Thank you Junebuggena. It'll be fun watching this little one grow. If I ever place an order online for chicks I plan to add a couple partridge feathered ones - one of my favorite patterns. I'm so hoping at least one of these ends up being a hen so I can keep it.

 

[hmbelk]

All chicks will inherit a gene for Blue, so any black patterning would be diluted to a shade of grey. The Buff Orpington hen would produce mostly gold/red chicks. The Australorp would produce solid Blue chicks. The Speckled Sussex would produce birds that are partridge type coloring. The mottling gene that causes the speckling is recessive, so all chicks will have a copy, but not express it.

With this look at the chicks' feathers can we narrow down who the mom is? There are two mixed breed hens in my flock. They came from a pen of Buff Orps and Australorps so they're a mix of the two. Here's what one looks like, the other is similar only less black and more gold.

 

[junebuggena]

It's possible, but the Speckled Sussex is also a possibility.