kittyl Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 This scruffy little mite is 4 weeks old & still no comb, she/he should be a buff Pekin but there seems rather alot of black feathers to me, is that normal for a buff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 No, you'd expect a more yellowy even colour It looks like yours will be white with bits of black on On the plus side its probably a girl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatsCube Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Yeah def not buff, I have lemon and buff lemon cross chicks at the mo and right from the start the feathers have been coming through a consistent yellow colour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittyl Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 OH golly! I have 2 like this, the darker patches made me think they were the buff ones, & 3 plain yellow which I thought would be the white ones. I also have a black "sablepoot" without feathery feet! we dont know what she really is yet. Hmmm..methinks my hatching egg provider is pulling my leg, or just extremely disorganised! Lucky we were only doing this for fun. My pekin chicks seem a little behind in development to others photos on here,(combs & feathers) I hope they're not interbred too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatsCube Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Yes I would say its more splash, maybe splash lavender. An I would say the age may be off as well, is it appears to be no more feathered than my pekin chicks which are just about to hit the 2 week old mark. is he/she still under and electric hen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittyl Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 They were all hatched au natural under my broody pekin mum, closely watched & fussed over at every stage, so the age is correct, the 2 that are growing black feathers (Spot & Smidge) are bigger than the others & feathering up quicker. I wondered if they were Columbian? The other 3 pekins are even more behind with feathers. The black mystery chick has huge wing feathers & a proper yellow comb, so it cant be the way they're fed or kept. Perhaps they're a bit interbred then. I dont have much luck with chicken breeders. I started with 2 orpingtons - one turned out to be a cockerel, the other had a hernia, I brought a "maran" that turned out to be a Warren (she assured me maran's could be brown) I rehomed our loved pet orp cockerel to a 'lovely' man who was collecting poultry to freerangenin his smallholding as a hobby - turned out to be a breeder who doesnt even own the land, he apparently "rehomed" our cockerel. Now I've got 6 cross breed chicks that I may have problems rehoming! They must see me coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatsCube Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Oh dear, you haven't had much luck! When you collected the eggs were the chickens all seperated into breeding pens? If at any point they are free ranging than they could be mating with all sorts! If you decided to hatch again I can recommend some good pekin egg sellers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 It could well turn out to be columbian I suppose but any breeders that has those would probably not mix them up with buffs as the colombian eggs and chicks would be worth more When buying eggs or chicks do try to see the breeding birds if you can and question the breeder, if they arent sure about their breeding stock and if colour/type is important to you then walk away Interbreeding isnt generally a concern in chickens, some breeders havent bought in outside stock for years, you'd expect some hatchability problems in a very very inbred flock but not really problems with colour or maturity It may be a genuine error, last year I had a trio of lavender pekins that were producing all different colours of chicks, I replaced the cockerel this year and have only had lavenders so goodness knows what the make up of the previous cockerel was! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittyl Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 You mean some of the parents could have been the right colour but of mixed parentage? I didnt see the parents, I asked him for a mixure of pekin colours in the box so it would be a surprise when they hatched, but when I picked them up he said only Buff & white were available that day. Live & learn I suppose. Oh well, so long as they're Pekins & healthy I love 'em anyway. I'll stop grumbling now & try to enjoy them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
