Whose my Daddy?!?

[Bean1028]

Yellow babies with black dashes/spots are from a Cuckoo Marans hen.
The chocolate brown chick is from a Buff Orpington hen.

There was a Buff Orpington rooster in their run for the past 15 months...no other roosters should've been in here.... Is it possible we hatched out a dark brown chick from a BO x BO? (Yes, I realize anything is possible, but these are supposedly pure bred BOs.

Other options...we have a little Crele bantam who HAS flown into the big run a time or two...but he just started getting on his own girls (he's 16 weeks old now, so he would've been 10-11 weeks old at the time of incident).

We did have 2 Black Ameraucana roosters...both were in separate runs with their own hens, NOT in our layer flock where these chicks hatched from. They were never with these girls...(unless they snuck in & back out while we were grocery shopping & we never knew!)

I thought yellow chicks with black marks should be expected from BO x CM...
My hubby & daughter think they are showing muff/beards.
The dark brown one has dark legs as well, which wouldn't have come from the BO or Crele...but if it were one of the black roos where did the brown come from?

 

[The Moonshiner]

I don't understand any of this.
I've never had BO X BO produce a chick like that dark one and a BO X CM shouldn't be producing those yellow chicks.

 

[JedJackson]

Hmmm, something is off. A buff Orp rooster crossed with cuckoo Marans hens would give you sex links. Male chick, black with white head spots, and female chicks mostly black with some brownish coloring at the faces.

I think one of the parents must have the dominant white gene, as that's usually how chicks of this coloring are created. Dominant white cover most black coloring with white, but it does not cover red/gold/buff.

 

[Bean1028]

I don't understand any of this.
I've never had BO X BO produce a chick like that dark one and a BO X CM shouldn't be producing those yellow chicks.

I had to edit the original post, for some reason it didn't post all of what I wrote. There never should've been any other roos as the blacks were kept in a separate run. Thru the fence??

 

[Bean1028]

Hmmm, something is off. A buff Orp rooster crossed with cuckoo Marans hens would give you sex links. Male chick, black with white head spots, and female chicks mostly black with some brownish coloring at the faces.

I think one of the parents must have the dominant white gene, as that's usually how chicks of this coloring are created. Dominant white cover most black coloring with white, but it does not cover red/gold/buff.

Thank you, it's good to know I'm not loosing my damn mind Do Delawares carry the dominant white gene? It is possible that our BO roo or hen (or both) is 1/2 Delaware...even though we were told they were just BO. I'll post a pic of our Orpingtons. Could that be where the dominant white is coming from?

 

[JedJackson]

Thank you, it's good to know I'm not loosing my damn mind Do Delawares carry the dominant white gene? It is possible that our BO roo or hen (or both) is 1/2 Delaware...even though we were told they were just BO. I'll post a pic of our Orpingtons. Could that be where the dominant white is coming from?

No, I don't believe Delawares have the dominant white gene. But white Leghorns and white Plymouth rocks do. Your rooster looks like he could carry that gene, judging by his somewhat uneven coloring, but there's no way to be sure he does unless you're absolutely certain he is the father of the chicks. That will be easier to tell when they get older.

Is it just me, or do some of the white chicks look like they could be bearded?

 

[Bean1028]

No, I don't believe Delawares have the dominant white gene. But white Leghorns and white Plymouth rocks do. Your rooster looks like he could carry that gene, judging by his somewhat uneven coloring, but there's no way to be sure he does unless you're absolutely certain he is the father of the chicks. That will be easier to tell when they get older.

Is it just me, or do some of the white chicks look like they could be bearded?

The flock our Buff Orpington came from only had Buff Orpington, Delaware & Barred Rock, that's why I asked about the Delaware. We only have 1 White chicken & she's a WTB, only 15 weeks old, and in a separate run, so it wouldn't be her either. Yes, they all appear to have muffs/beards...That's why we're suspecting our "Black" Ameraucanas! They are kept completely separate from this flock as well, but they're 29 weeks old...and can clear our 7 & 8 ft. fences so...

 

[Bean1028]

 

[JedJackson]

The flock our Buff Orpington came from only had Buff Orpington, Delaware & Barred Rock, that's why I asked about the Delaware. We only have 1 White chicken & she's a WTB, only 15 weeks old, and in a separate run, so it wouldn't be her either. Yes, they all appear to have muffs/beards...That's why we're suspecting our "Black" Ameraucanas! They are kept completely separate from this flock as well, but they're 29 weeks old...and can clear our 7 & 8 ft. fences so...

I think it will remain a mystery until the chicks are much older. But it seems pretty clear that there are some hidden color genetics involved, somewhere.

 

[Bean1028]

I think it will remain a mystery until the chicks are much older. But it seems pretty clear that there are some hidden color genetics involved, somewhere.

We're suspecting our "black" amers are split for lav...the guy told us they were Blues when we purchased them, but he also said he had lavs...so I'm waiting on a few more eggs from my black amer girls & we're going to incubate the black amer eggs & hopefully hatch out a few more buggers & see what we end up with!