What mix and gender is my chick?

[AinaWGSD]

If a barred rooster always passes on the barring, how did I get my black hen?
There were 3 hens and 1 rooster in my flock and yet I got a black hen out of the mating.

Most barred roosters (of a given breed) are "double barred" meaning they have two copies of the barring gene. But you only need one copy of the barring gene for barring to show. A single barred rooster will only have a 50% chance of passing barring on to his offspring. Your rooster must have only one copy of the barring gene if he produced a non-barred (black) chick.

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

That is making the point about what sexes can receive barring from which parent, but is not clear about which times the chicks must receive barring (sons of a barred hen, all chicks of a double-barred rooster) and which chicks have a chance to be barred or not (chicks of a single-barred rooster.)

The original said they were sold the bird and were told it was a barred rock

I think it was really late and mistook another reply as the original writer clarifying more info about the bird, and so rewrote my original comment.

 

[LuciferRoo]

For the purpose of my earlier response to the original person, I felt like it would be too much to give all the info at once if it wasn't needed. It can make things more confusing than it needs to be.

But here's more info.

Female chickens (pullet/hen) can carry up to 1 copy of barring.
She can only receive barring from her dad, and can only pass on her barring gene to sons.

Male chickens (cockerel/rooster) can carry up to 2 copies of the barring gene.
In order to be double barred, he needs to inherit one copy from each parent.
If he's double barred, all of his offspring will inherit 1 copy from him (daughters and sons).

If he is single barred, he could have inherited that from either parent.
A single barred rooster can randomly pass on his barring to any of his offspring. Some might inherit, some might not. It doesn't matter if it's daughters and sons.

If there's a barred hen, and a single barred rooster, you could end up with any possibility. Single barred sons, double barred sons, barred daughters, and no-bar daughters.

If there's been another rooster/cockerel in with the flock within a few weeks of that egg being collected to incubate, that could be a potential father.

So for your specific question- either your rooster is single barred, or he is not the father.

That is a really great explanation and also very clear.
Thank you.

 

[Homo sapien]

If I pretend that her mother was a Barred Rock and that is how she got yellow skin on her body and bottoms of feet, and mistaken for one, what breed or mixed rooster could have made her have a cushion comb and black on the top of her feet and top of comb and kept the color of her feathers black?

 

[NatJ]

If I pretend that her mother was a Barred Rock and that is how she got yellow skin on her body and bottoms of feet, and mistaken for one, what breed or mixed rooster could have made her have a cushion comb and black on the top of her feet and top of comb and kept the color of her feathers black?

For the cushion comb, maybe a Chantecler? Partridge Chantecler could have produced a black chick from a Barred Rock hen.

Are we sure that is a cushion comb, not rose or pea?

Rose comb could easily have come from a Wyandotte. Several of the Wyandotte colors could produce a black daughter from a Barred Rock hen.

Pea comb could have come from Easter Egger, and those are pretty common. There are many colors of Easter Egger rooster that could produce a black daughter with a Barred Rock hen. If she lays blue or green eggs, she probably does have some Easter Egger involved. Buckeye is another pea comb breed that could be a possibility, more likely if she lays brown eggs.

If she does have a cushion comb (not rose or pea), another option is that her mother could be a Dominique. They are barred (same color as Barred Rock) but have a rose comb. A rose comb gene from a Dominique mother, plus a pea comb gene from her father, could produce a cushion comb chick.

Or it could be as simple as someone hatching chicks from a mixed flock, and they were wrong about what kind of chick you got. She might not have a Barred Rock as either parent.

(My suggestions for breeds with cushion, rose, or pea combs are just some of the possibilities. I didn't bother listing all such breeds, just the ones I thought of first.)

 

[Homo sapien]

For the cushion comb, maybe a Chantecler? Partridge Chantecler could have produced a black chick from a Barred Rock hen.

Are we sure that is a cushion comb, not rose or pea?

Rose comb could easily have come from a Wyandotte. Several of the Wyandotte colors could produce a black daughter from a Barred Rock hen.

Pea comb could have come from Easter Egger, and those are pretty common. There are many colors of Easter Egger rooster that could produce a black daughter with a Barred Rock hen. If she lays blue or green eggs, she probably does have some Easter Egger involved. Buckeye is another pea comb breed that could be a possibility, more likely if she lays brown eggs.

If she does have a cushion comb (not rose or pea), another option is that her mother could be a Dominique. They are barred (same color as Barred Rock) but have a rose comb. A rose comb gene from a Dominique mother, plus a pea comb gene from her father, could produce a cushion comb chick.

Or it could be as simple as someone hatching chicks from a mixed flock, and they were wrong about what kind of chick you got. She might not have a Barred Rock as either parent.

(My suggestions for breeds with cushion, rose, or pea combs are just some of the possibilities. I didn't bother listing all such breeds, just the ones I thought of first.)

It looks most like a cushion comb to me. What breed of chickens could have given her black skin on her feet and top of comb and a cushion comb?

 

[NatJ]

It looks most like a cushion comb to me. What breed of chickens could have given her black skin on her feet and top of comb and a cushion comb?

The genes that cause black feathers can also make black appear on the top of the feet. I think they can also affect the color of the comb sometimes. Example: Black Sexlink pullets, typically produced by crossing a Barred Rock hen with a Rhode Island Red rooster (or New Hampshire or something similar.) They often have some black on the top of their feet, and sometimes have black combs when they are young. The combs typically turn red when they are ready to start laying eggs.

Since you said she has yellow skin on the bottom of the feet, I think that is what is happening with her: effects from the genes that caused the black feathers. The red skin on the sides of her face (like around the eyes) also suggest that she does not have the genes for actual black skin.

For chickens that have actual black skin (top AND bottom of feet, also comb and facial skin), there aren't many choices. Off the top of my head, I can only think of Ayam Cemani, Svarthöna, and Silkie. The first two have single combs. Silkie-mix chickens often do get the cushion comb and black skin, but they generally have a crest of feathers on the head, and an extra toe on each foot, and sometimes muff/beard on the face as well. So I pretty much ruled out Silkie, unless it was a grandparent rather than a parent. Even then, I don't think the black skin color of the Silkie would produce the skin color effects you are seeing in your chicken.

I can't remember what color the soles of the feet are on a Black Sumatra. They have pea combs (half the genes needed to make a cushion comb), and pullets often have black combs. I also can't remember how much the combs go red when they start laying eggs. I suppose a Black Sumatra rooster with a Dominique hen (rose comb, otherwise looks like Barred Rock) could produce a daughter much like yours in coloring, but I would expect a different body size and body shape if a Sumatra was involved.

 

[Homo sapien]

She laid her first egg today!

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

She laid her first egg today!View attachment 4262299

Perfectly purdy pullet egg you got there!

 

[Homo sapien]

The genes that cause black feathers can also make black appear on the top of the feet. I think they can also affect the color of the comb sometimes.

If a Black Wyandotte rooster was bred with a Barred Plymouth Rock hen could it create a hen like her? By the way her name is Matilda.

For chickens that have actual black skin (top AND bottom of feet, also comb and facial skin), there aren't many choices.
…
I can't remember what color the soles of the feet are on a Black Sumatra. They have pea combs (half the genes needed to make a cushion comb), and pullets often have black combs. I also can't remember how much the combs go red when they start laying eggs.

A Svart Hona (Swedish Black) chicken would be another one.