Bantam Colour Help

[Exodus]

Hello,
I purchased a few chickens from an auction recently and am a little stumped on this one's colour. Other birds from this seller that were a similar age were splash, but this one doesn't seem quite right to me. I know paint is a colour in silkies, but I've had trouble trying to find the colour in pekin bantams.

(I also have a few others I will add to confirm colours of, I'm very new to chicken colour genetics and am learning but it's a steep curve compared to horses and rabbits that I'm familiar with.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I'd love to have my growing flock separated into colour appropriate pens by the time spring comes around.

 

[JedJackson]

They all have mixed color genetics.

The rooster's coloring is all over the place. He's not regular splash, that's for sure. Too much black, and he seems to have chocolate or fawn as part of the color genetics.

The black hen has red leakage at the neck. That could probably be bred out eventually if she's crossed with pure black birds.

The last one is sort of a messy silver partridge or silver penciled, except the color pattern doesn't carry over to her back.

It might be a good idea to post this forum, where color genetics are often discussed: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/exhibition-genetics-breeding-to-the-sop.16188/

 

[Exodus]

They all have mixed color genetics.

The rooster's coloring is all over the place. He's not regular splash, that's for sure. Too much black, and he seems to have chocolate or fawn as part of the color genetics.

The black hen has red leakage at the neck. That could probably be bred out eventually if she's crossed with pure black birds.

The last one is sort of a messy silver partridge or silver penciled, except the color pattern doesn't carry over to her back.

It might be a good idea to post this forum, where color genetics are often discussed: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/exhibition-genetics-breeding-to-the-sop.16188/

Thank you for the quick response! I knew buying from an auction that the birds would be hit and miss. I'm new to bantams and my area they are quite expensive for a young backyard bred bird so I didn't worry too much about paying what I did for these cuties.
Hopefully I can move on enough eggs and chicks from these guys to put in my chicken fund for some nice showbirds down the line.

 

[JedJackson]

Thank you for the quick response! I knew buying from an auction that the birds would be hit and miss. I'm new to bantams and my area they are quite expensive for a young backyard bred bird so I didn't worry too much about paying what I did for these cuties.
Hopefully I can move on enough eggs and chicks from these guys to put in my chicken fund for some nice showbirds down the line.

They're beautiful. If you're into showing, great, but mixed colors and even mixed breeds are just as good otherwise.

 

[Exodus]

They're beautiful. If you're into showing, great, but mixed colors and even mixed breeds are just as good otherwise.

I love chickens regardless of their breed, colour, shape or size.
But I do recognise ethical breeding and understand the need for breeders to follow a SOP.
These guys will make a great pet project I can work on while I continue learning.

 

[JedJackson]

I love chickens regardless of their breed, colour, shape or size.
But I do recognise ethical breeding and understand the need for breeders to follow a SOP.
These guys will make a great pet project I can work on while I continue learning.

The ethical part comes in with how you advertise them if you sell them. There is nothing wrong with selling mixed color Cochin bantams so long as it is stated to potential buyers. The trouble comes from people who sell mixed birds as purebreds. That is false advertising and it's unethical. Basically, honesty is the big concern.

 

[Exodus]

The ethical part comes in with how you advertise them if you sell them. There is nothing wrong with selling mixed color Cochin bantams so long as it is stated to potential buyers. The trouble comes from people who sell mixed birds as purebreds. That is false advertising and it's unethical. Basically, honesty is the big concern.

You're absolutely right. I've already been left with a bad taste from this auction (being my first time in the poultry scene), one of the pekin bantam cockerals I purchased ended up having extra toes... I'm suspecting pekin x silkie which is incredibly disappointing.
There was limited access to birds in order to check them over properly before the auction and I feel the vetting wasn't done very well, being it was hosted by a poultry club.
I also had problems with birds from this seller having URI symptoms and being quite severely emaciated (hard to tell in the cages, but was shockingly evident once I put hands on them to put them in my own cages).

While I'm sure there are well bred birds being sold in these auctions, I realised that I have much to learn in terms of familiarising myself with the names of those who breed nice birds and maybe see if I can be more attentive to clues in poor health of birds upon only a glace.

Tough lessons learned by an over excited and over trusting new buyer.

I hope to never make someone feel the disappointment I felt after picking up my birds.

 

[JedJackson]

At least here in the US, auctions are well known for these problems, and you risk bringing in disease to your flock by buying from them. I mean, that is always a risk, but more so from auction birds. If I were you I would seek out a breeder with a good reputation. That's the surest way to get good stock.