Mosaic Chickens?

[Pigeony]

Anybody kept Mosaic Chickens and got any pictures/stories? I absolutely love their look and am curious about people's experience with them.

Some questions I have for those who've kept them:
- Do they go broody?
- How are they as egg-layers?
- How do the roosters tend to turn out temperment-wise?

 

[Debbie292d]

I did a search and found one member, @JacinLarkwell raises them and maybe would come fill you in a little.

 

[Pigeony]

I did a search and found one member, @JacinLarkwell raises them and maybe would come fill you in a little.

Thank you!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I did a search and found one member, @JacinLarkwell raises them and maybe would come fill you in a little.

I just had to put my last hen down on Sunday unfortunately.

Mine laid decently, but they were always with other birds so I don't know exactly what their rate of lay was. My male's were very good towards humans and other hens. Mine never went broody, but my friend has one that came from my flock and is at least half mosaic and she can't get her to stop trying to brood.

I really liked them, they were nice looking birds and they did a good job trying to steal my heart

 

[Ilovechickens2525]

I just hatched two mosaics and the third egg has pipped!

Now the wait is on to see if they are hens or roosters. When were you able to tell? What early differences did you notice between the hens and roosters?

One of mine is very chatty!

 

[Pigeony]

I just hatched two mosaics and the third egg has pipped!

Now the wait is on to see if they are hens or roosters. When were you able to tell? What early differences did you notice between the hens and roosters?

One of mine is very chatty!

Early differences:
Males were lighter in color on the face and chest than the females right from the start, so be suspicious of your lighter-colored chicks. The females had combs that stayed small and dark while the combs on the male got lighter in color and larger over time. My current chicks are about 2.5 months and the male I decided to keep is quite different than his sisters, he has significant wattles and a comb that's about twice as large. The males feathered out much slower than their sisters as well, they looked rumpled and disheveled in comparison until about 2 months.

 

[Pigeony]

Early differences:
Males were lighter in color on the face and chest than the females right from the start, so be suspicious of your lighter-colored chicks. The females had combs that stayed small and dark while the combs on the male got lighter in color and larger over time. My current chicks are about 2.5 months and the male I decided to keep is quite different than his sisters, he has significant wattles and a comb that's about twice as large. The males feathered out much slower than their sisters as well, they looked rumpled and disheveled in comparison until about 2 months.

Also behavior-wise, my males were more cautious and standoffish compared to their sisters who are all human-friendly and outgoing.

 

[Pigeony]

@Ilovechickens2525 This is a male at about a month and a half.

Here are two of my females at the same age (ignore the middle pullet, not a mosaic). Notice how much more white the male's face is. His chest was already growing in darker colors at this point, but when he hatched out he had a lot more white on his chest as well as on his face.

 

[Ilovechickens2525]

These are the two that have hatched so far, the two up in the front. The lighter one was the first chick of the bunch to hatch and likes to chirp a lot, pecking at everything and everyone. I wondered if it was acting too rooster like and tricking me and actually a top hen! Lol.

Your comment about the lighter colouring has me wondering though. The chipmunk one just hatched this morning and is very docile. Still one more to hatch and then I have 5 more mosaic eggs on order to arrive sometime in the spring.

 

[Pigeony]

These are the two that have hatched so far, the two up in the front. The lighter one was the first chick of the bunch to hatch and likes to chirp a lot, pecking at everything and everyone. I wondered if it was acting too rooster like and tricking me and actually a top hen! Lol.

Your comment about the lighter colouring has me wondering though. The chipmunk one just hatched this morning and is very docile. Still one more to hatch and then I have 5 more mosaic eggs on order to arrive sometime in the spring.

Wow those are your mosaics? They are so different than what mine looked like at hatch. All mine looked like some variation of this monochrome chipmunk coloring, with the males having more light spots and the females having more dark. Their leg skin and beaks were dark on all the babies.