Who's My Mother?

[3KillerBs]

Father of all these chicks is almost certainly the Blue Australorp gentleman in my avatar, with a slight possibility of it being his black son.

But my breed dividers failed in the incubator, being too short so that the babies jumped over them even before they were all the way dry, so among these chicks are 1 Australorp x French Cuckoo Marans (female, since there's no chick with a headspot) -- but it didn't inherit the foot feathers so I can't ID it that way -- and 2 Australorp X OE -- but they didn't inherit either the foot feathers or the beard so I can't ID them that way either.

All the others are pure Australorp from blue mothers.

This is the OE in question, mostly buff with blue accents. She doesn't really have a pattern, but her beard and her tail are blue instead of buff.

I'm not sure whether or not I can rule out any of the splash chicks being hers or not.

I'll post the chick photos in groups in separate posts next.

 

[3KillerBs]

There are three of these chicks with a ton of white on them, MUCH more than I'm used to seeing on my Blue Australorp chicks. Two black and one blue.

 

[3KillerBs]

A black and a blue that look like normal Australorp chicks with dark topsides and light undersides (many of my Australorps have dark combs as chicks).

 

[3KillerBs]

And 3 splashes that I figure I can't rule out based on the OE girl having blue.

 

[3KillerBs]

This, BTW, is the one that I'm sure is an OE cross, because I assisted the hatch and banded him/her before I put him/her into the brooder:

 

[NatJ]

among these chicks are 1 Australorp x French Cuckoo Marans (female, since there's no chick with a headspot) -- but it didn't inherit the foot feathers so I can't ID it that way -- and 2 Australorp X OE -- but they didn't inherit either the foot feathers or the beard so I can't ID them that way either.

I notice you already checked the obvious points And since Australorps and Marans have white soles on their feet, you won't be able to pick out the chicks by off-colored feet either.

I would have another close look at each foot on every chick, just in case there is one with a small amount of down that you might have missed the first time.

It looks like the Olive Egger might be heterozygous (split) for pea comb. Any chick that shows a pea comb (also heterozygous) would be hers. You could take a good close look at the combs now, but it can be hard to tell at this size. And of course the OE's chicks might have inherited single comb instead.

The chicks from the Olive Egger may show leakage (silver or gold) as they grow up. This might be the best way to identify her chicks, but of course it requires waiting a while.

The Marans-mix pullet might lay darker eggs when she grows up, but I don't know if there would be enough difference to be sure of which one she is. And of course it would be nicer not to wait that long.

 

[3KillerBs]

It looks like the Olive Egger might be heterozygous (split) for pea comb. Any chick that shows a pea comb (also heterozygous) would be hers. You could take a good close look at the combs now, but it can be hard to tell at this size. And of course the OE's chicks might have inherited single comb instead.

She's definitely heterozygous for all the distinctive traits. She's a homebrewed OE from a friend's flock -- unknown Marans x EE.

My eyes aren't good enough to see combs very well at this age (though it's already clear that there are some boys). Squinting at one of the photos there *might* be a non-single, but it might just be a case of the chick moving it's head and blurring the details.

The Marans-mix pullet might lay darker eggs when she grows up, but I don't know if there would be enough difference to be sure of which one she is. And of course it would be nicer not to wait that long.

The one doesn't bug me too much about getting through, though it would have been nice to get the foot feathers. Slightly darker eggs aren't an issue and I don't think that Marans type and Australorp type are *that* different to really screw up my flock, especially since I'm working with hatchery birds anyway.

I don't know what's going on genetically with those chicks that have so much white. I've never seen that before in my flock.

 

[african chickens]

im no chicken expert but i am going to say what i think

australorp or cuckoo maran mix

olive egger or cuckoo maran mix

olive egger mix

 

[NatJ]

Squinting at one of the photos there *might* be a non-single, but it might just be a case of the chick moving it's head and blurring the details.

I was wondering about that too.

My eyes aren't good enough to see combs very well at this age

I've never tried to hold a wiggling chick and a magnifying glass at the same time, but I'm not sure it would work very well Waiting until they grow some more is probably easier!

I don't know what's going on genetically with those chicks that have so much white. I've never seen that before in my flock.

I don't know either, but it's definitely interesting. If you are planning to band the chicks or otherwise identify them individually, you might see whether it corresponds to anything different when they grow up.

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't know either, but it's definitely interesting. If you are planning to band the chicks or otherwise identify them individually, you might see whether it corresponds to anything different when they grow up.

Yes, I should do that.