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  1. NatJ

    4-H mama with questions

    Unfortunately I don't know what to call it. Chickens can come in many colors, but only some of them have been developed into varieties that breed true and have names for that color. My best guess is that there is no official name for the color of the hen in the photo, but I do not know for sure.
  2. NatJ

    Grower/Layer Feed Mix to Laying Hens

    Or you could skip the layer feed and just keep them on the grower feed, with oyster shell available separately. Mixing the feeds will probably not cause trouble. I just think it's more bother than it is worth in most cases. Grower feed, chick starter, all flock, flock raiser: you can pretty...
  3. NatJ

    Pendulum sexing experiment.

    I'll be really curious to see the results when they are old enough to be sure of sexes! I haven't tested it, but I have definitely thought about it. If I ever do get around to testing it, I'll probably put "female" eggs in one incubator and "male" eggs in another, then keep the chicks separate...
  4. NatJ

    Understanding Orpington Genetics - Buffs, Lavender, Chocolate, Black, White

    Sounds like a good plan :)
  5. NatJ

    Understanding Orpington Genetics - Buffs, Lavender, Chocolate, Black, White

    It has to do with the color genes. If you keep them separate, everything works nicely. If you mix them with other colors, you get a bunch of non-standard colors. If you are just breeding for your own pleasure and like unusual colors of chickens, there is nothing wrong with crossing buffs with...
  6. NatJ

    Recessive and dominant white in silkies

    In that case, I don't think I have any useful ideas for why you are getting unexpected colors of chicks. A question about the photos: it looks like one has a yellowish tone, unlike the others with their nice clean white. Is that one of the parents of the chicks that were unexpected colors? I...
  7. NatJ

    Buff mottled cochin and buff columbian question

    The white chicks are probably recessive white. If you breed them together, they should give you just white chicks. If you have a breeding pen of recessive white birds, you could add them to it. If you keep them in the Calico pen, they will probably produce some Calico chicks and maybe some...
  8. NatJ

    Cochin cross with?????

    When someone crosses a Silkie with a Cochin, the first generation chicks will generally have crest, maybe muff/beard, 5 toes, and walnut combs (genetically rose + pea). They will not show silkie-type feathers. If a Silkie is the father, the daughters should show dark skin but the sons should...
  9. NatJ

    Recessive and dominant white in silkies

    That is definitely a bit odd. Yes. Paints typically have the genes to be a black chicken, plus one dominant white gene. When you breed them together, you get some white chicks (inherit dominant white from both parents), some paint chicks (inherit dominant white from just one parent) and some...
  10. NatJ

    Cochin cross with?????

    I think that would be possible, especially if it is a multi-generation mix. Maybe Polish x Cochin, crossed back to Cochin. Silkie-mixes do seem to be more common than Polish-mixes, but I don't see any traits that force the crested chick to be one or the other. I can't see the comb type (Polish...
  11. NatJ

    Cochin cross with?????

    Definitely not a pure Cochin. Cochins do not have a crest (the mohawk) or muffs (the cheek feathers) Cochins should have single combs. I think one of your other chicks has a pea comb (the one sitting on someone's shoulder, with no crest or muffs). I suspect that there have been several crosses...
  12. NatJ

    Looking for a source in the USA for standard size Silkies

    Here they are: https://meyerhatchery.com/products/silked-easter-egger
  13. NatJ

    Mystic Onxy Breeding For Fibro

    My understanding is that Mystic Onyx were originally developed from the cross you mentioned, but were then bred for some number of generations with selection for the correct traits. This makes it harder to predict what offspring you will get, but it probably increased the chance that you will...
  14. NatJ

    Cream Leg-bar Roo crosses

    For all the hens: Chicks sired by the Cream Legbar rooster will probably have a small crest, and will have a blue egg gene (so daughters will lay blue or green eggs). Regarding color of the chicks: Bielefelders are pretty much the same color as Cream Legbars, so chicks will be that color too...
  15. NatJ

    General Genetics Help Needed, Please.

    For many colors of chickens, you can just breed a male and a female of the same color and all the chicks will be that color. You don't really need to learn about genetics to do that. If you start getting off-color chicks, then you go check your breeding stock and maybe learn about the genetics...
  16. NatJ

    General Genetics Help Needed, Please.

    I can't really predict what color chicks will come from the white hen with any of those roosters. This is because there are several different genes and combinations of genes that can cause a chicken to be white, and I don't know which ones she might have. She might produce white chicks, or she...
  17. NatJ

    Baby chicks dying

    I wonder, is there any chance the deaths were due to starvation? That could have happened if the feed was too big for the chicks to eat, especially if the smallest chicks fared the worst. I'll definitely be curious to hear what the vet thinks.
  18. NatJ

    Baby chicks dying

    I wonder if there is something about this feed that is easier for them to eat? Are the pieces any smaller? Or maybe it just tastes better.
  19. NatJ

    Baby chicks dying

    Typo in the age there (weeks vs. days), although I don't think it changes the point you were trying to make.
  20. NatJ

    Baby chicks dying

    Given all that, I think the temperature is probably fine. The behavior of the chicks is usually the best "thermometer," and it sounds like yours finding comfortable temperatures, with access to some areas warmer and some cooler than what they are choosing. That's good. As they get older, they...
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