OK Catscan, your turn. I have found that Smedgekles has mentioned having at least Australorps, Barred Rocks, Cochins - Blue, Birchen and Splash, Buff Orpingtons, and Silkies. (She also has at least one Polish mix and some Bantams.) Can you pick the right three?
Try to guess what breed the parents to these were......
So, the last smedgekles' post seems to suggest that Buff Orpington may be involved...that is a very buff bird. So I would guess that two of three may be BO and BR...now the third is more problematic. Every cross I have had with BA has been dark, and Cochins have feathered legs big time. If we can remove the feathered legs somehow, I would go with a Blue Cochin....
Your turn!
Well apparently the feathered leg thing is considered incompletely dominant and I really don't know anything about Cochins but the blue color had to come from somewhere (?) Is the buff color a dilute form of red possibly? Oh well, my last guess is: Australorp - for the dark legs X Buff Orpington - for the feathers and dilute color X Barred Rock for the pattern. (Unless the Australorp black would dominate, in which case substitute Blue Cochin - I suppose that is cheating, huh?)
What do you think - hedging permitted?
I think we should be rewarded with the knowledge if we have the BO and BR correct.
Third question, are BO and BR correct?
Buff Orpington is correct, the mother is a Buff, The father is two breeds mixed and Barred Rock is not one of them.
Next guess :)
Does anyone think we should risk question four as the possibility of Delaware or Light Sussex? I know, that is really two questions....
But we have confirmed Buff Orpington and excluded Barred Rock. One down, two to go and smedgekles has admitted that we have named the other two above. I just find that my chicks with any Silkie parentage have some leg feathering...but it would help explain the slate legs....however the buff sibling appears to have white legs....hummmmm
A forth guess, anyone?
If Barred Rock is out where can those markings come from besides Delaware? Do any of the other mentioned breeds carry a gene for barring? - But I've used up my guesses...
No! No! Porkpal...as long as you don't say it is a question, it doesn't count. I've only admitted to 3 questions....you haven't numbered any questions...so you can do a bunch...:0)
- But I am out of guesses, having called the one above my last... BUT:
We still don't know where the dark legs came from, but they must be from a blue or black bird: Blue Cochin (too feathery) or Australorp (too black?) Could a Silkie be a grandparent and have many characteristics lost in the generation gap? And I still wonder why the chicks are colored only in the rear. I don't know of any breed that looks like that.
What a neat puzzle!
I don't know enough about chicken breeds to venture another guess but I am very curious to see what they are.
Okay I suppose we should give up and see the parents. Smedgekles?
Is there some Blue Andalusian in there somewhere? The Mediterranean birds always have white ear lobs but I can't tell by the pictures.
Smedgekles said that all the parents have already been mentioned so I would say no.
Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, Cochin...
Hitting the buzzer
Duh.. she said no Barred Rock.. Duhhhhh
I swear there is cochin in there.. those rounded rumps..
Buff Orpington - a given
Cochin - can't mistake those rumps!
Someone help me on the last one!
Yea another guess! I think the possible breeds left are Silky, Australorp, Delaware, Light Sussex, and Silver Laced Wyandotte. Leghorn and EE (Ameraucana) were thought to be out due to egg color, but maybe not. There was also a Black Tailed sometning(?), Serama, and Lakenvelder. Smedgekles said we had mentioned all the breeds involved and I think that's all of them. Does that help ZZ?
Are you ready to know?
Wait! Wait! We haven't used more than four of the twenty quesions....
Fourth question: Is it a Delaware?
One more thought: they have remarkably dark eyes. I don't think I've ever had a chicken with such dark eyes. Does that mean anything to anyone? The only picture I've seen of a chicken with really dark eyes was a Silkie...(?)
Not Delaware, no Silkie in them.
Okay, so the barred pattern has to come from somewhere else. I did mention Dominique above and Feather Site pictures barred Cochins and Wyandottes. One of those perhaps? We know Smedgekles has Cochins...Then where do we get the dark legs and eyes? And is it possible for the buff color to dilute black? We need more participants!
Dominiques have rose-combs...which is dominant over single. So I wouldn't go there...of course with a three-way cross, it might be possible....but not for all, I think. Wyandottes also have rose combs...Oh Dear!
I will jump the shark... Question five: Is one of the parents of the roo a Cochin?
Yes Catscan. one of the breeds of the roo parent is a Cochin. Remember, the hen was pure Buff Orpington.
It has to be done....sixth question:
Cochin X Buff Orpington papa, Buff Orpington mamma?
nope
Okay....we have: Buff Orpington hen.
Cochin X ? rooster.
For ? we have ruled out: Buff Orpington, Barred Rock, Silkie, Dominique, Delaware, Ameraucana, Araucana....I think that is all?
Smedgekles said I was "partially right" when all I had said was:
"Do they look like they are tending toward bantam sized or standard? It almost looks like they are part Black Tailed something or other...or a dilute of it. Sort of the reverse of a Columbian pattern or a penciled something."
And that I liked Cream Legbar...but she didn't say porkpal was right with the Legbar...Leghorn/Barred Rock Cross.
Do you think Lakenvelder? They are black-tailed and she said all had been named and Lakenvelder was named by porkpal as something smedgekles had claimed to have.
So seventh guess: Mamma: Buff Orpington
Papa: Cochin x Lakenvelder?
Edited to add: Lakenvelders have slate coloured legs!
This message was edited Aug 8, 2010 10:25 PM
I like that guess! (But we only ruled out Leghorns and Ameraucanas because of the brown egg thing and if two of the breeds layed brown eggs the third could be over ruled even if dominant - as with the rose combs and the feathered legs.) I still your most recent guess.
Also see Smedgekles most recent post. These chicks may have had a nearly white sister...
This message was edited Aug 8, 2010 8:44 PM
But Lakenvelders are almost white, except for the black "furnishings". And they have slate legs...they lay white eggs, but the other two parental lines lay brown...so the progeny would be expected to be single combed from all parents, slate legged through the Lakenvelder, brown egg laying.
I also had a black tailed white Japanese Bantam x Nankin (always buff with black tail) roo, the roo was almost all white with just the black tail of both parents....it then mated with one of the other Nankins and they had three pullets, all three were white with a little black at the neck and wings and tail...less than the smedgekles' chicks. That would have been a similar cross, a full coloured buff mother with a colored (cochin?) crossed to a black tailed white (Lakenvelder) .So it seems pretty easy to get away from the buff. And one of the siblings was buff.
See Nankin X White Tailed Japanese roo crossed with Nankin pullets:
With their Mummy:
Do your pullets have really dark eyes like Smedgekles'? I wondered where that trait came from. I still like your last guess.
No, but might those be from the Lakenvelder? They do have nice eyes....and check out the colouring on the buff ones:
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGK/Lakens/BRKLakenvelder.html
seventh guess...nope
ARRRRGH!
I'll tell you if your ready to know.
No, no not yet...Hmmm.
Should we breakdown and guess Sussex, Leghorn or Amerauca?
Okay, the Buff Orpington mother contributed the general conformation, single comb and brown eggs. The Cochin grandparent also has a single comb, lays brown eggs, and may have produced the color if it was barred. But then it would have had yellow legs so the other grandparent would have to have dark legs. If the Cochin was blue (and we need a dilute colour here somewhere unless buff counts), it would have dark legs (? - most blue birds have black legs), but then where does the barring come from? So we need a grandparent that is either barred or black-legged, and no feathers on the legs. The egg colour and comb might not matter. Is all that logical?
Does anyone know whether buff is a dilute colour?
Throwing Ameraucana into the mix would really open it up since all sorts of colours are available - except barred.
This message was edited Aug 9, 2010 10:48 AM
In Nankins, buff is very complex, and to get an even coloured bird is difficult. Different parts of the body seem to be under the control of different genes, so there must be some modifier genes, but I don't think buff and black are under the control of the same major genes.
We need this book!
http://forums.thepoultrykeeper.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=163280