White Rock Hen cross

[Johnny&Blue]

Genetics of Chickencolors:
Groundcolor:
Chickens have 2 kinds of pigment that define their plumage color. These are the black (sometimes darkbrown/chocolate) pigment eumelanine, melanin for short, and the yellow/red pigment pheomelanine.

The groundcolor of a chicken is pheomelanine. When this is absent it is called "silver" which looks white.

The common silver-gene allows the expression of some red features like salmon breast or red shoulders.

In wildtype chickens the groundcolor is yellow to brown, it is called "gold". By so called red enhancers this gold can be boosted to a (dark) red color.
For example the mahogany colored Rhode Island Red.

The gold can be diluted to a yellow, cream or lemon color. The groundcolor can thus be silver, gold, red or yellow.

I like the pictures

 

[SE_Gardener]

I was unaware that any hatchery used white rocks to make golden comets. Curious now which one does?
I have cackle hatchery sourced golden comets and they are "cherry eggers" (which are one of their Rhode island red lines. That line focused on the deep red color) over Rhode island whites.
Cackle also has their "pedigree pure" Rhode island red line that are crossed with Delaware hens to produce their red sex links.
Also cinnamon queens which are from the same Rhode island red line as the golden comets but the lighter red color that didn't split to their cherry egger line.
Their production reds are their "pedigree pure" Rhode island reds over new Hampshire's.
Just goes to show that all "red sex links" aren't the same crosses and red sex links, golden comets, cinnamon queens, red stars, etc aren't all the same with different names.

Had to step in here. Golden Comet is a trademark propriety breeding still registered to the Hubbard Trust held by the defunct Hubbard Farms heirs. Hubbard Farms bought George Ellis Indian River breed genetics and name "Indian River" producing the popular broiler chicken found in groceries until early 1960s when the Cornish Rock cross emerged as a plumper meatier broiler. So with a dwindling market for their broilers Hubbard Farms developed the 1st brown production egg. Hubbard Farms observed when they produced the Indian River Broiler the males out performed females in both size and development. Hubbard then culled the females because of their size crossing them back on the New Hampshire roosters resulting in smaller hens with enhanced egg production capability that eat less feed requirement. (Note - even today's broilers have a bantam hen somewhere in the crossings for the same feed rational. The Golden Comet as the first brown egg production chicken. "Golden Comet" is still a registered trademarked name which means it is trademark violation to sell under that name. Many red sex links have emerged on the market like Crimson Queen, Cinnamon Queen, Gold Star, etc. but none compare to the original Indian River hen crossed back on NH Breed Stock roosters - the only cross producing the enhanced egg production Hubbard Farm originally developed. What many modern hatcheries today call Golden Comets are nothing more than a Red Sex Link. People need to do their research. We cannot lose history to the misinformation people post on forums. Copy this text and hang on to it.