Why is this chick yellow?? Just when I thought I had a basic grasp on color genetics…

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

I’m hatching 3 eggs from my Marans max hen, Cassie. It’s the first time I’ve hatched her eggs. Shes a black hen w/ silver patterning on her chest. The rooster is a black copper Marans. I 100% expected black chicks from this mix. Here’s what’s hatched:

The black chick hatched first. It has some silver feathers mixed in. Then the light chick hatched next. Any ideas as to how it turned out to be light?

Here’s BYM mom, Cassie:

Dad is BCM, Flip Cup:

The other laying hens in this flock include BCMs and RIR. There’s also a SLW & a Wyandotte mix but they were both molting and not laying at the time. I’m certain I didn’t mix up eggs, but even if I did, wouldn’t all these hens produce black babies with this rooster?

Why aren’t both chicks black?

 

[JedJackson]

Is it actually yellow? It looks more greyish in this photo. The only thing that combs to mind is maybe both parents had a copy of the lavender gene, but I'm not a color genetics expert.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Is it actually yellow? It looks more greyish in this photo. The only thing that combs to mind is maybe both parents had a copy of the lavender gene, but I'm not a color genetics expert.

I think it’s yellow, but it’s not completely dried off so hard to be certain. I’ll post more pics when it gets moved to the brooder.

The hen has a blue grandparent, but no lavender genes that I’m aware of. I wouldn’t expect lavender in the BCM, but I’ve come to learn that anything seems to be possible when it comes to genetics, haha.

 

[JedJackson]

I think it’s yellow, but it’s not completely dried off so hard to be certain. I’ll post more pics when it gets moved to the brooder.

The hen has a blue grandparent, but no lavender genes that I’m aware of. I wouldn’t expect lavender in the BCM, but I’ve come to learn that anything seems to be possible when it comes to genetics, haha.

Neither parents look blue to me, so I don't think that could be it. Sometimes color mutations just happen for unexplainable reasons.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

So the chick looks to be more white/pale yellow. I’ll add better pics in a bit but want to give them some time to get settled.

Interestingly, the third egg hatched and it’s also not black! The 3rd one is yellow with chipmunk stripes. It’s still drying in the brooder so not a great pic.

A thought just dawned on me… Mama Cassie’s mom was a Noir Marans, which I think is a mix of Cuckoo and Copper Marans. Could this coloration have anything to do with the barring gene?

The little black chick that hatched has a good amount of silver feathers on the head, reminds me slightly of a barred rock chick. Here’s another pic of his “touch of grey” hair. The other chicks in this pic are from a different pairing from a different flock.

 

[NatJ]

A thought just dawned on me… Mama Cassie’s mom was a Noir Marans, which I think is a mix of Cuckoo and Copper Marans. Could this coloration have anything to do with the barring gene?

Not the barring gene.

The barring gene is dominant. If Mama Cassie had the barring gene, she would show it. If she does have barring, she cannot give it to her chicks. The same goes for the father: if he does not have the barring gene, he cannot give it to his chicks.

The other laying hens in this flock include BCMs and RIR. There’s also a SLW & a Wyandotte mix but they were both molting and not laying at the time. I’m certain I didn’t mix up eggs, but even if I did, wouldn’t all these hens produce black babies with this rooster?

I agree that the other hens "should" produce black babies with this rooster, if you are confident that there are no other roosters (think back a full month from when you collected the eggs, then think back another month just in case, because hens can store sperm for quite a while.)

I think your rooster must be carrying some recessive gene that allows the other colors. As the chicks grow older, it may become more obvious which gene is involved, or perhaps multiple genes.

If Cassie is a Marans mix, do you know what else is in the mix? She might also be carrying genes that allow not-black chicks. Or maybe the eggs came from the Rhode Island Reds in your flock, in which case Cassie's genetics do not actually matter for the chicks in question.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

I agree that the other hens "should" produce black babies with this rooster, if you are confident that there are no other roosters (think back a full month from when you collected the eggs, then think back another month just in case, because hens can store sperm for quite a while.)

I think you may be right here. I think it's The Mailman Effect. There was a cockerel in the flock a couple months ago. He is a Bielefelder mix and is silver w/ barring. I thought we'd moved him out before he mated any hens, but I guess not. It seems to be the simplist explanation. This is MJ, aka "The Mailman."

If Cassie is a Marans mix, do you know what else is in the mix? She might also be carrying genes that allow not-black chicks. Or maybe the eggs came from the Rhode Island Reds in your flock, in which case Cassie's genetics do not actually matter for the chicks in question.

Cassie's mom was a Noir Marans (aka Cuckoo x Black Copper). Dad was a mix of red orpington x rhode island blue (aka RIR x Blue Australorp). He was black w/ silver & gold. Hypothetically speaking, if MJ wasn't the father, is there any way you think this mix could produce not-black chicks?

I was really excited to see what these "mostly Marans" chicks would be like. Oh well, I guess it's an excuse to hatch more chicks...

 

[NatJ]

I think you may be right here. I think it's The Mailman Effect. There was a cockerel in the flock a couple months ago. He is a Bielefelder mix and is silver w/ barring. I thought we'd moved him out before he mated any hens, but I guess not. It seems to be the simplist explanation. This is MJ, aka "The Mailman."

Yes, that would definitely be one explanation.

Three weeks away from the "wrong" rooster is usually enough that he is not the sire of chicks. But I've read occasional stories of much longer intervals, where the chicks had a particular trait that must have come from the long-gone rooster.

Cassie's mom was a Noir Marans (aka Cuckoo x Black Copper). Dad was a mix of red orpington x rhode island blue (aka RIR x Blue Australorp). He was black w/ silver & gold. Hypothetically speaking, if MJ wasn't the father, is there any way you think this mix could produce not-black chicks?

Red Orpington would give the genes to produce not-black chicks. Cassie could have inherited that from her father.

For Cassie to produce chicks that are not black, the father would also need to give a gene for not-black. MJ definitely could do that. A purebred Black Copper Marans should not be carrying those genes, so Flip Cup "should not" be able to produce chicks that aren't black. But if he was actually a mix of Black Copper and Wheaten Marans that would explain the situation. There are plenty of other possible mixes that he could be. Or there could even be a flock of Black Copper Marans that has a few recessive genes floating around undetected. That happens sometimes in any breed.

I was really excited to see what these "mostly Marans" chicks would be like. Oh well, I guess it's an excuse to hatch more chicks...

Yes, hatching more chicks will make everything better
It definitely will give more chicks to see, which can make it easier to tell what kinds of patterns are happening (more black chicks, more not-black chicks, etc.)

And as the chicks grow older, we may learn more about the situation from their feather colors. Right now we're just guessing from the chick down.