What color will my chicken be?

[Chicken Lady Halle]

This is my first time incubating eggs (and my first flock) and I have a backyard flock of many different breeds with 3 roosters. One of the roosters doesn't mate with the girls but the other two (black white crested polish bantam and buff silkie bantam) do. I was wondering what color the chicks may be once I incubate the eggs. The buff silkie only mates with a white silkie, so what color would the chicks be? The other polish rooster mates with a buff orpington, RIR, BR, EE, australorp, and a leghorn so in these cases what kind of chicks would I get?

I've been trying to learn more about chicken genetics but I haven't found much good info online. Any help is appreciated!

 

[Farmgirl47]

How can you tell that one of the roosters doesn't mate at all? And that the Silkie rooster only mates with one hen?

I have no idea what color your chicks will be, they will most likely be a range of colors. During the past few days we had 5 chicks hatch in our incubator, and one is hatching right now. They all have the same daddy, our Easter Egger cockerel. We got 2 chipmunk colored chicks, 2 black with white bellies and head spots, and for some strange reason, we have a blue-ish grey chick. I have NO idea how that happened, LOL. We do not have any blue/grey chickens.

 

[duluthralphie]

Welcome to BYC..

How do you know which rooster mates with which birds? Roosters are sly and mate any chance they can with any hen they can, if they can get away with it..

 

[Chicken Lady Halle]

Welcome to BYC..

How do you know which rooster mates with which birds? Roosters are sly and mate any chance they can with any hen they can, if they can get away with it..

My 13 birds are semi-free range and I can see them out the window. I also sit with them for about an hour a day and watch them. My black silkie is still quite young and has done the dance about twice but has never gone farther than that. My polish rooster mates with all the girls but the white silkie and my polish pullet and I am sure of that. The buff silkie only mates with the white silkie. I was just outside watching them and all he did was chase her around and paid no attention to any other girls.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have never seen or heard of a monogamous rooster before.... Or one that never mates.

 

[Chicken Lady Halle]

I have never seen or heard of a monogamous rooster before.... Or one that never mates.

I should have specified that they're 5-6 month old cockerels, not roosters.The buff silkie has only crowed a few times. The polish has been crowing for a while now, and the black silkie the one who never mates, has never crowed (that I have seen).

 

[duluthralphie]

5-6 month old cockerels are like 16-18 year old boys.....Never saw one of them not interested in girls either.. I just have a hard time believing they never mate or are exclusive...

 

[chickens really]

Hello....Sorry your being laughed at...Anyways....Its impossible to know what your going to get before they hatch....Just wait and see....
Best of luck.....

 

[Farmgirl47]

We have about 25 hens and 1 cockerel (I know, not a good hen to rooster ratio), they were born in February of this year. Only once have I ever seen the cockerel mate with a hen, but every single egg has been fertilized. I guess he just likes privacy.