Interesting surprise Japanese Bantam chick

[TheChickenFanatic]

I placed some Barred Japanese Bantam eggs in the incubator last month. All of the chicks hatched, and look normal, but this little one is throwing me off. It has a yellow head, with Lavender fluff, and a dark blue streak on its back. What color is this called? And how is this even possible with Barred JB parents? The parents were in a separate pen, no other breeds or JB colors were in the pen.

 

[TheChickenFanatic]

@NatJ @MysteryChicken @Amer @AbL

 

[MysteryChicken]

I placed some Barred Japanese Bantam eggs in the incubator last month. All of the chicks hatched, and look normal, but this little one is throwing me off. It has a yellow head, with Lavender fluff, and a dark blue streak on its back. What color is this called? And how is this even possible with Barred JB parents? The parents were in a separate pen, no other breeds or JB colors were in the pen. View attachment 4088308View attachment 4088310

Interesting. Could be a ginormous head spot that takes up the head, & neck.
But would be better to wait until it starts feathering out.

 

[TheChickenFanatic]

Interesting. Could be a ginormous head spot that takes up the head, & neck.
But would be better to wait until it starts feathering out.

I will post some updated pictures when it is older.

 

[NatJ]

Interesting. Could be a ginormous head spot that takes up the head, & neck.
But would be better to wait until it starts feathering out.

That is a good point. It's not the first thing I thought of, but it might make more sense than my ideas.

My first explanation was going to be that both parents are carrying a recessive gene at the E-locus, instead of being pure for Extended Black as would be expected.

I agree about wanting to see pictures of the chick as it feathers out, to help figure out what is going on here.

 

[TheChickenFanatic]

That is a good point. It's not the first thing I thought of, but it might make more sense than my ideas.

My first explanation was going to be that both parents are carrying a recessive gene at the E-locus, instead of being pure for Extended Black as would be expected.

I agree about wanting to see pictures of the chick as it feathers out, to help figure out what is going on here.

I will definitely post updated pictures of it.

For reference, this is what my chicks always come out looking like.

 

[NatJ]

I will definitely post updated pictures of it.

For reference, this is what my chicks always come out looking like. View attachment 4089201

How many of those chicks have you hatched from this pen? (I'm just wondering how "rare" the one odd chick is.)

 

[Amer]

How many of those chicks have you hatched from this pen? (I'm just wondering how "rare" the one odd chick is.)

I am too.
It almost looks like it could be a spontaneous mutation.
But again, much too early to tell...
Some of my cuckoo d'Anvers cross chicks I hatched out were much, much lighter and I think perhaps they had an allele or modifier that gave them much lighter barring. Not lavender barred but very light. And sex linked dilution exists so it could maybe it could mutate again? Unfortunately I wasn't able to find pictures of the chicks.

 

[TheChickenFanatic]

How many of those chicks have you hatched from this pen? (I'm just wondering how "rare" the one odd chick is.)

Quite a few! At least 50 I would say.

 

[NatJ]

Quite a few! At least 50 I would say.

How many hens and roosters in the pen of parents?

This is definitely an interesting puzzle, trying to think of what might be going on here.

I am too.
It almost looks like it could be a spontaneous mutation.
But again, much too early to tell...

Interesting thought. It would be exciting if it was, but easier to figure out if it is not!

Some of my cuckoo d'Anvers cross chicks I hatched out were much, much lighter and I think perhaps they had an allele or modifier that gave them much lighter barring. Not lavender barred but very light. And sex linked dilution exists so it could maybe it could mutate again? Unfortunately I wasn't able to find pictures of the chicks.
View attachment 4089692

Interesting observation with your chicks. And I think I need to go read that entire article on barring sometime soon