Guys? Confusion? 🤔

[BlueTheBrahma]

@pipdzipdnreadytogo @BlueTheBrahma
Guys...
What is happening..?
It's getting wild over here.
So, that "splash" chick from before is feathering really dark and it may very well just be shades of blue resembling it but-
Is this barred or cuckoo that I'm seeing now? I don't know how that'd be, there's no dot on the head or what now, and the chicks down is way too light for that from my understanding- But it seriously looks that way to me.
Here they are:
View attachment 3767603View attachment 3767602View attachment 3767601View attachment 3767600
Tell me y'all see what I see-
-
Another thing related to this, a friend hatched a dozen eggs from my white cochins, all hatched-
9 were the color of the chick I'm questioning (which we thought was splash, and maybe it still is, but I'm unsure at this point. ) and the other 3 were white.
I'm curious why there hasn't been any more blue and I'm starting to wonder if maybe the frizzle hen I had was the only one hiding blue, maybe the others are only hiding splash. (Or more at this point.)
And you'd think majority would be white but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Here's a small portion of what she got- (Not including the red looking one )
View attachment 3767604

The feathers look blue to me, they can appear striped as they grow in, I’ll try to find a picture of a blue Brahma if mine for reference. It’s strange that they look so pale though. Lavender might also be an option, but it will be a waiting game. If it’s not too much bother, would you be able at some point to write down every individual chicks colour you can, from yours and the others hatched, so I can see the percentages better?

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

This is Boots, she is a solid blue Brahma but the first covert feathers grow in looking barred. She was a lot darker as a chick than yours though, the colour of her down here is pretty much as it was when she hatched.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

10 weeks old is a little too old haha- Little thing is just over 6 weeks.
-
I do hope it's a little pullet though, those chocolates i plan on putting it with in the future are about the same age and I'm positive at least 2 are boys out of the 4.

Whoops, you're right, I scrolled back too far in my calendar and counted from December instead of January I thought the chick looked a bit sparsely feathered for 10 weeks!

I'd still lean pullet at that age, but maybe a bit more tentatively. Definitely give it a few more weeks to be sure!

View attachment 3768006This is Boots, she is a solid blue Brahma but the first covert feathers grow in looking barred. She was a lot darker as a chick than yours though, the colour of her down here is pretty much as it was when she hatched.

Interesting note on the false-barring. Now that you mention it, I think I've seen that before in my birds, too.

I do have a Splash cockerel who is visibly darker than typical and hatched very pale as Splash does. He's almost a washed denim color overall instead of that grayish white with gray flecks. I don't think he feathered in as dark as OP's chick initially, though. Unfortunately, I was juggling so many chicks and grow outs by the time he hatched that I didn't get any pictures of him between hatch and sub-adult. He is second to the left in the picture of the chicks.

I also wanted to say that Boots is such an adorable name, and she was an adorable chick, too!

 

[lilwanderer]

The feathers look blue to me, they can appear striped as they grow in, I’ll try to find a picture of a blue Brahma if mine for reference. It’s strange that they look so pale though. Lavender might also be an option, but it will be a waiting game. If it’s not too much bother, would you be able at some point to write down every individual chicks colour you can, from yours and the others hatched, so I can see the percentages better?

What do you mean by others? Anyone who hatches their eggs? I don't keep in contact with everybody but definitely could with some.
And how exactly should that be organized? Number of how many hatch each time?

 

[BlueTheBrahma]

What do you mean by others? Anyone who hatches their eggs? I don't keep in contact with everybody but definitely could with some.
And how exactly should that be organized? Number of how many hatch each time?

Yes, anyone you have contact with that hatched your eggs. Just as big a sample size you can get. Record total number of chicks, and then the number of each colour.

This is a recommendation, you don’t have to if it’s a lot of work

 

[lilwanderer]

it'll be a bit until i have a good amount but I can do it- i haven't hatched or sold enough of them quite yet.
Right now I've only gathered up 18 chicks, waiting on some others to reply back but it still probably won't be enough- How many chicks should I round up? (At least.)

 

[NatJ]

it'll be a bit until i have a good amount but I can do it- i haven't hatched or sold enough of them quite yet.
Right now I've only gathered up 18 chicks, waiting on some others to reply back but it still probably won't be enough- How many chicks should I round up? (At least.)

In general more is better, but the 18 you have will be much more useful than a smaller number. (Much better than just 2 or 3 would be!)

 

[lilwanderer]

In general more is better, but the 18 you have will be much more useful than a smaller number. (Much better than just 2 or 3 would be!)

Well so far 9 splash looking ones, 8 white, and 1 blue. (Still surprised i haven't gotten more blue.)

 

[NatJ]

Well so far 9 splash looking ones, 8 white, and 1 blue. (Still surprised i haven't gotten more blue.)

Yes, those numbers are definitely big enough to tell something. That's close to a 50/50 split of two colors, plus one other.

If these are all coming from White Cochins, one possible genetic explanation:

--one parent is pure for recessive white, the other is split for Dominant White and not-Dominant White. Most likely the hens are recessive white and the rooster is the one split for Dominant White, but it could be the other way.
That makes 50% of chicks be white, the other 50% show color: a split of 8 white/10 colored is almost perfect for that ratio.

--the rooster and most hens are genetically splash (but that is hidden by the fact that they are white.)
That makes all their "colored" chicks be splash, while the ones with Dominant White just look white.

--one hen is genetically blue
With a splash rooster, she will produce 50% blue chicks and 50% splash chicks, with half of each color actually looking white (because of the Dominant White). Depending on how many of the chicks come from her, that could account for there being only one visibly blue chick so far.

Note, there are plenty of other possibilities. A larger sample set will help decide which ones are actually more likely.

 

[lilwanderer]

Yes, those numbers are definitely big enough to tell something. That's close to a 50/50 split of two colors, plus one other.

If these are all coming from White Cochins, one possible genetic explanation:

--one parent is pure for recessive white, the other is split for Dominant White and not-Dominant White. Most likely the hens are recessive white and the rooster is the one split for Dominant White, but it could be the other way.
That makes 50% of chicks be white, the other 50% show color: a split of 8 white/10 colored is almost perfect for that ratio.

--the rooster and most hens are genetically splash (but that is hidden by the fact that they are white.)
That makes all their "colored" chicks be splash, while the ones with Dominant White just look white.

--one hen is genetically blue
With a splash rooster, she will produce 50% blue chicks and 50% splash chicks, with half of each color actually looking white (because of the Dominant White). Depending on how many of the chicks come from her, that could account for there being only one visibly blue chick so far.

Note, there are plenty of other possibilities. A larger sample set will help decide which ones are actually more likely.

Interesting.
If it helps I currently only have 2 white cochin hens laying, 1 hasn't started. Then I have the one roo.
Before I had 3 hens, 1 being the frizzle who also is the only one I got the blue from.
Since she has passed on I may not get another blue from them unless another hen carries it. (However her last egg is in the incubator on lockdown, so if it manages to hatch it may end up being a blue.)
I did get a white frizzle off of her from her second to last egg also.
(P. S. the one that hasn't started is from an entirely different farm, and she's most likely recessive white.)