Who's my mommy?

[labelo]

My parents had a broody hen who hatched 6 chicks.

They have black sexlinks/stars (RIR x Barred Rock crosses), black-laced gold wyandottes, and a single easter egger (a blue ameraucana x black laced silver wyandotte cross pictured below)

Only rooster is a splash laced red wyandotte.

They know three of the chicks are the EE's, because she's the only one who lays green eggs. It might be difficult to tell in the attached photo, but she's a dark blue, not black.

The other three are from either the black sex links/stars or the black-laced gold wyandottes.

Based on genetics, any chicks from a black-laced gold wyandotte egg should be blue-laced gold wyandottes.

The black sexlinks/stars should produce either solid blue self-lacing or blue-laced reds with incomplete lacing.

More complicated on the EE: she's silver, so her chicks by the red rooster should be sex-linked: females will be red, males will be split silver. They could be either blue or splash and will have lacing or incomplete lacing.

Blue females from the EE would be difficult to distinguish from females from the black sexlinks, since they'll all be blue laced reds with varying amounts of lacing. Anything splash has to be from the EE.

Based on all that, any guesses on which 3 are the EE's chicks, and which come from the GLW or black sexlinks?

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I think #1 is from a black-laced gold wyandotte egg because it looks a lot like a blue laced red/gold chick, and there are lots of internet examples to compare to. #3 looks like it's solid blue, and is probably from a black sexlink/star. That leaves 2,4,5,6, three of which came from the EE. Any guesses as to which?

(I'll try to get better photos, mama hen is being very protective)
Edit: here's a video at five days, I think it's #5 on the ground, but possibly #6

 

[Auntiejessi3]

What a neat looking hen! @NatJ is very good with genetics

 

[NatJ]

I think #1 is from a black-laced gold wyandotte egg because it looks a lot like a blue laced red/gold chick, and there are lots of internet examples to compare to. #3 looks like it's solid blue, and is probably from a black sexlink/star.

I think you are likely correct about those.

That leaves 2,4,5,6, three of which came from the EE. Any guesses as to which?

(I'll try to get better photos, mama hen is being very protective)

Yes, better photos would help.

black sexlinks/stars (RIR x Barred Rock crosses), black-laced gold wyandottes, and a single easter egger (a blue ameraucana x black laced silver wyandotte cross pictured below)

Only rooster is a splash laced red wyandotte.

Can you check the comb type on the Wyandottes, especially the rooster?

Wyandottes are supposed to have rose combs, but they sometimes carry the gene for not-rose comb, and then they can produce single comb chicks. Occasionally a "Wyandotte" will have a single comb.

I think I see at least one or two chicks that have either single or pea combs, not rose. Rose comb is somewhat easy to spot in chicks, because it tends to be much wider than pea or single combs. Single combs are skinnier than pea combs and usually have tiny little points along the top. Pea combs have a width in between single and rose, and usually do not have the little points on top (I find them less easy to recognize than single or rose when the chicks hatch, because they are in between instead of one extreme or the other.)

Black Stars should have single combs, and I think I see a pea comb on the Easter Egger (probably a pea/not-pea split, which would cause her to give the pea comb gene to some chicks and not to other.)

If you get any chicks with pea comb (not rose but not single either), then the EE must be their mother. She is also the only hen who can produce walnut comb chicks (genetically rose + pea, assuming the rooster has rose. Walnut combs would be wide like a rose comb at hatch, but look a bit different as the chicks grow older).

Single comb chicks could come from any mother (depending on which of the Wyandottes are carrying the not-rose comb gene.)

If the rooster has a rose comb, then he could produce rose comb chicks with any hen. If he has a single comb, then sorting the chicks by comb type will be much easier.

 

[labelo]

I think you are likely correct about those.


Yes, better photos would help.


Can you check the comb type on the Wyandottes, especially the rooster?

Wyandottes are supposed to have rose combs, but they sometimes carry the gene for not-rose comb, and then they can produce single comb chicks. Occasionally a "Wyandotte" will have a single comb.

I think I see at least one or two chicks that have either single or pea combs, not rose. Rose comb is somewhat easy to spot in chicks, because it tends to be much wider than pea or single combs. Single combs are skinnier than pea combs and usually have tiny little points along the top. Pea combs have a width in between single and rose, and usually do not have the little points on top (I find them less easy to recognize than single or rose when the chicks hatch, because they are in between instead of one extreme or the other.)

Black Stars should have single combs, and I think I see a pea comb on the Easter Egger (probably a pea/not-pea split, which would cause her to give the pea comb gene to some chicks and not to other.)

If you get any chicks with pea comb (not rose but not single either), then the EE must be their mother. She is also the only hen who can produce walnut comb chicks (genetically rose + pea, assuming the rooster has rose. Walnut combs would be wide like a rose comb at hatch, but look a bit different as the chicks grow older).

Single comb chicks could come from any mother (depending on which of the Wyandottes are carrying the not-rose comb gene.)

If the rooster has a rose comb, then he could produce rose comb chicks with any hen. If he has a single comb, then sorting the chicks by comb type will be much easier.

This is so helpful! I'm attaching the only group photo I have of the wyandottes, plus a closer image of the rooster. They were young in this photo, pre-laying, but it looks like there's a mix of rose and single/straight--I think the roo's is rose? I'm also attaching another photo of the EE (when she was younger, so her comb/waddle are small, but it's closer up).

Here's a link to a video with all the chicks at 5 days old (either #5 or 6 is on the ground with the mama, #2/4 are really difficult to tell apart now). I'm trying to get my parents to take photos of each individually (I won't be at their house for another month), but they're not exactly in a rush

 

[NatJ]

This is so helpful! I'm attaching the only group photo I have of the wyandottes, plus a closer image of the rooster. They were young in this photo, pre-laying, but it looks like there's a mix of rose and single/straight--I think the roo's is rose? I'm also attaching another photo of the EE (when she was younger, so her comb/waddle are small, but it's closer up).

Here's a link to a video with all the chicks at 5 days old (either #5 or 6 is on the ground with the mama, #2/4 are really difficult to tell apart now). I'm trying to get my parents to take photos of each individually (I won't be at their house for another month), but they're not exactly in a rush

Yes, the rooster has a rose comb.

I'll look at the video later (out of time for now.)

 

[NatJ]

Here's a link to a video with all the chicks at 5 days old (either #5 or 6 is on the ground with the mama, #2/4 are really difficult to tell apart now). I'm trying to get my parents to take photos of each individually (I won't be at their house for another month), but they're not exactly in a rush

At the very start of the video, I see 4 chicks. Of those 4:
Two of have brown chipmunk stripe patterns, probably #2 and #4 in your numbering. I think one of those two has a rose comb and the other does not. No, as I watch it again, I don't think I see a rose comb on either one of them. I'm not sure if I'm seeing single or pea combs there, or even one of each.

The other two both look to me like Laced Wyandottes, based on the patterning in their down, especially around the eyes. Of those, one is much darker than the other. Maybe they have different shades of blue? Or maybe one of them is a Splash from the Easter Egger? Or maybe a Silver from the Easter Egger? If the EE herself is half Wyandotte, then some of her chicks could come out looking almost the same as pure Wyandottes in many respects.
One of these chicks is #1, and I'm not sure what number the other is (must be #5 or #6 I think.)
I think the lighter of those two has a rose comb. For the darker one, from some angles I think I see a rose comb, and from other angles I think I might see a single comb (so maybe it's pea? or maybe I'm just being confused by the color of the chick down and the movement of the chick.)


A little further into the video, I see chick #3 (solid blue) standing by the waterer. That one probably comes from a Black Star mother, as you already said. I think it has a single comb. If so, then it would be a good example of a single comb to compare with the other chicks when sorting them out.

The chick on the floor with the hen (#5 or #6, you said) looks to me like a lighter/muted version of the same pattern as #2 and #4 (chipmunk stripes). I suspect it is either splash or silver (either of which would point to the Easter Egger as mother), but I could easily be wrong on that.

Looking back at the pictures in the first post, I'm having troubly finding #6 in the video at all. I think I must be getting fooled by seeing it from different angles, because I've got 5 other chicks accounted for, and there are only 6 total!

At this point, I don't have anything conclusive except what you already knew: #3 has the Black Sexlink mother. I've listed my thoughts as I went through the video, in hopes that they will help a bit with making sense of this.

I'm trying to get my parents to take photos of each individually (I won't be at their house for another month), but they're not exactly in a rush

Things may be much more clear in a month or two, so at least waiting has some benefits Even a week will probably help, because the chicks are likely to grow enough wing feathers to give a better idea of blue vs. splash, and maybe to start showing gold/red vs. silver.

 

[labelo]

At the very start of the video, I see 4 chicks. Of those 4:
Two of have brown chipmunk stripe patterns, probably #2 and #4 in your numbering. I think one of those two has a rose comb and the other does not. No, as I watch it again, I don't think I see a rose comb on either one of them. I'm not sure if I'm seeing single or pea combs there, or even one of each.

The other two both look to me like Laced Wyandottes, based on the patterning in their down, especially around the eyes. Of those, one is much darker than the other. Maybe they have different shades of blue? Or maybe one of them is a Splash from the Easter Egger? Or maybe a Silver from the Easter Egger? If the EE herself is half Wyandotte, then some of her chicks could come out looking almost the same as pure Wyandottes in many respects.
One of these chicks is #1, and I'm not sure what number the other is (must be #5 or #6 I think.)
I think the lighter of those two has a rose comb. For the darker one, from some angles I think I see a rose comb, and from other angles I think I might see a single comb (so maybe it's pea? or maybe I'm just being confused by the color of the chick down and the movement of the chick.)


A little further into the video, I see chick #3 (solid blue) standing by the waterer. That one probably comes from a Black Star mother, as you already said. I think it has a single comb. If so, then it would be a good example of a single comb to compare with the other chicks when sorting them out.

The chick on the floor with the hen (#5 or #6, you said) looks to me like a lighter/muted version of the same pattern as #2 and #4 (chipmunk stripes). I suspect it is either splash or silver (either of which would point to the Easter Egger as mother), but I could easily be wrong on that.

Looking back at the pictures in the first post, I'm having troubly finding #6 in the video at all. I think I must be getting fooled by seeing it from different angles, because I've got 5 other chicks accounted for, and there are only 6 total!

At this point, I don't have anything conclusive except what you already knew: #3 has the Black Sexlink mother. I've listed my thoughts as I went through the video, in hopes that they will help a bit with making sense of this.


Things may be much more clear in a month or two, so at least waiting has some benefits Even a week will probably help, because the chicks are likely to grow enough wing feathers to give a better idea of blue vs. splash, and maybe to start showing gold/red vs. silver.

Thank you for spending so much time on this!
I've taken some screenshots from the video/labeled for future posterity. Apparently 2/4 look very similar and 5/6 look very similar (the one on the ground is in the sun, so it looks much lighter), so they are hard to tell apart at this stage and I'm not sure which is in the raised coop and which is on the ground with mom.
I'll update as I get more pics, especially of any combs!

 

[labelo]

Mama started taking the babies out of the coop, so some better stills of their color in indirect sunlight. And how nice of (most) of them to line up so nicely for a group shot! 1-week old video for future referece.

I've now numbered the lighter chipmunk (not visible in the group shot, lighter brown stripe, thinner stripe on head, smaller dark spot on shank) 2 and the darker one 4. The whiter/more silvery of the ones that look like splash wyandottes is now 5, and the slightly darker one is 6.

3 still looks solid blue (black star mom) and 1 still looks just like a blue-laced red wyandotte (GLW mom). Time will tell on the others (though I'm getting more convinced 5/6 are splashes, maybe even splash laced silvers and belong to the EE). Curious how the chipmunks will grow up--there's so much variety from that pattern!

 

[wilkinsfarm2020]

I'm so invested and have to see what the babies turn out to look like!

 

[NatJ]

Mama started taking the babies out of the coop, so some better stills of their color in indirect sunlight. And how nice of (most) of them to line up so nicely for a group shot!

Yes, that is a very nice lineup!

I'm getting more convinced 5/6 are splashes, maybe even splash laced silvers and belong to the EE

That seems likely to me too. If so, that would account for two of her 3 chicks.

Curious how the chipmunks will grow up--there's so much variety from that pattern!

Yes, there definitely is!