Because of the parentage of the chicks, it's not been that easy to tell which chick comes from which parent. I've been making notes about the different chicks, in the hope that this may help us next year (assuming we have the same parents next year!). It will be interesting to see if the colouring etc turns out to be an indicator of sex, so I'm trying to make quite detailed notes.
Our friends R&C have a Light Sussex (LS) cockerel, running with a number of LS hens and also one rogue RHode Island hen.
We have a Sasso cockerel (which itself is a hybrid, and we aren't really sure what's in him), running with a Sasso hen (ditto) and two Welsh Blacks. The Welsh Blacks are Australorp x Indian Game.
It's been easy to identify those that are the offspring of the LS cockerel. We know we have 13 of those (plus Hannibal). We're also fortunate that R collected eggs over just 2 days, so it's likely that only 2 (or 3) could be Rhodeys. Looking at them, 2 of them ("pink" and number 18) seem to have a slight brown tinge to some of the wing feathers, and so I would guess that their Mum is the Rhodey. The rest (3,7,9,11,12,13,17,21LS,25,orange,purple) are either LSxLS, or the Rhodey gene isn't showing.
Of our own 20 chicks, 9 are black and so have one of our gorgeous Welsh Blacks for Mum.
The rest could be Sasso mum or Welsh Black mum, but there are some interesting colourways going on, and I have made some guesses.
The rest of this is more for my own benefit, as it's very detailed and likely to bore the pants of anyone else.
Numbers 2 and 6 are almost identical, and are different to the rest. They are much lighter sandy/ginger coloured, with a touch of black at the wingtips. I would guess that these are Sasso x Sasso, and I think they are girls.
Numbers 15 and 21 have been very slow to feather up. Both have enormous combs. I would have guessed that these were Sasso x Welsh Black, but on balance I think there is a chance that they are Sasso x Sasso boys. I need them to feather up more to tell.
Numbers 16 and 24 are mottled, but very black. Sasso x Welsh Black.
Numbers 8 and "blue" (we ran out of numbers), are mottled, dark, with just a touch of orange. Sasso x Welsh Black.
3 of them (22, no-ring, and "orange") are very orange, and I would say they are Sasso x Welsh Black.
However, it seems unlikely that with 20 eggs, only 4 are Sasso x Sasso.
Fortunately, I've bought numbered rings in larger sizes so hopefully we can keep track.
Our friends R&C have a Light Sussex (LS) cockerel, running with a number of LS hens and also one rogue RHode Island hen.
We have a Sasso cockerel (which itself is a hybrid, and we aren't really sure what's in him), running with a Sasso hen (ditto) and two Welsh Blacks. The Welsh Blacks are Australorp x Indian Game.
It's been easy to identify those that are the offspring of the LS cockerel. We know we have 13 of those (plus Hannibal). We're also fortunate that R collected eggs over just 2 days, so it's likely that only 2 (or 3) could be Rhodeys. Looking at them, 2 of them ("pink" and number 18) seem to have a slight brown tinge to some of the wing feathers, and so I would guess that their Mum is the Rhodey. The rest (3,7,9,11,12,13,17,21LS,25,orange,purple) are either LSxLS, or the Rhodey gene isn't showing.
Of our own 20 chicks, 9 are black and so have one of our gorgeous Welsh Blacks for Mum.
The rest could be Sasso mum or Welsh Black mum, but there are some interesting colourways going on, and I have made some guesses.
The rest of this is more for my own benefit, as it's very detailed and likely to bore the pants of anyone else.
Numbers 2 and 6 are almost identical, and are different to the rest. They are much lighter sandy/ginger coloured, with a touch of black at the wingtips. I would guess that these are Sasso x Sasso, and I think they are girls.
Numbers 15 and 21 have been very slow to feather up. Both have enormous combs. I would have guessed that these were Sasso x Welsh Black, but on balance I think there is a chance that they are Sasso x Sasso boys. I need them to feather up more to tell.
Numbers 16 and 24 are mottled, but very black. Sasso x Welsh Black.
Numbers 8 and "blue" (we ran out of numbers), are mottled, dark, with just a touch of orange. Sasso x Welsh Black.
3 of them (22, no-ring, and "orange") are very orange, and I would say they are Sasso x Welsh Black.
However, it seems unlikely that with 20 eggs, only 4 are Sasso x Sasso.
Fortunately, I've bought numbered rings in larger sizes so hopefully we can keep track.
