A few of my first Pekins. Warning! Lots of pics

[roobz316]

Nice pics Aroz I think pekins are lovely wee things but the eggs are so small which is a bit of a put off for me. I've got a mottle and spangle and 1 that is a cross of 2 colours, they are more to have as broodies along with a few silkies. I have a orpy hen the same colour as the girl in pic 2, just after a moult she is a light blue but it soon fades to look more splash so I just call her a 'spluesh'

[Aroz26]

Nice pics Aroz I think pekins are lovely wee things but the eggs are so small which is a bit of a put off for me. I've got a mottle and spangle and 1 that is a cross of 2 colours, they are more to have as broodies along with a few silkies. I have a orpy hen the same colour as the girl in pic 2, just after a moult she is a light blue but it soon fades to look more splash so I just call her a 'spluesh'

Lol luckily I have two little girls who love boiled eggs so they will be the perfect kiddie size for them I am looking forward to seeing what they are like as broodies as well along with my silkies. I would love to see photos of your Orpy! She sounds like she would be a very pretty girl

[Kracka]

re your splash or light blue - that baby photo would make me think splash - a black chick is hatched black and cream - blue is blue and cream - splash is that light grey-ish
I don't have the standard book with me - seem to recall there's a percentage of the amount of blue a splash should have on them, but that's the flecks - so if her base colour is more pale blue (and its not basically white).... ummm I'm not sure what to advise
maybe 'spluesh' is the new colour ! (although it makes me think I just stood in something )

[Aroz26]

re your splash or light blue - that baby photo would make me think splash - a black chick is hatched black and cream - blue is blue and cream - splash is that light grey-ish
I don't have the standard book with me - seem to recall there's a percentage of the amount of blue a splash should have on them, but that's the flecks - so if her base colour is more pale blue (and its not basically white).... ummm I'm not sure what to advise
maybe 'spluesh' is the new colour ! (although it makes me think I just stood in something )

Haha I wonder if the new colour will take off?

[buzzard]

Firstly, good pics Aroz,
I like the markings on the mottle, thats what they are supposed to look like, just check her wing though, it might be split

I agree with the lacing issue, shame they're pekins, as its not wanted in this breed (would be nice to see a group of young orps with this sort of 'lacing'

...What would be the best way to remove lacing from blues or is it more or less trial and error?...

breed from a blue without the lacing.
I cant see too much wrong wth the dark blue ckl comb. IMO he is the better typed bird than the black fella at this stage, and the black fella does have this lacing, if you would imagine him diluted a little (what happens when blue is added), then darker edges on his chest feathers would become more apparent.

[Kracka]

just with the split wing issue - one thing I've noticed, as the babies grow, they're dropping and growing new feathers - and I've found its a bit unreliable (at times) to check for split wing, as you can look one month & think, uh-oh, problem here, but the feathers grow back in & look okay later - no doubt its because I'm a bit inexperienced with the whole wing thing
but my general rule of thumb is, if the bird looks like they're fully feathered, i.e. about 8 months old & the weather has cooled down (so they should have stopped any moulting & regrown everything) and there's still some doubt on a gap - err on the cautious and reject the bird. Split wing is a hard one to get rid of once you've got it and because I end up waiting till they're nearly a year old to be sure, its a long time waiting to see if they're okay (and a lot of wasted food/space/time).
Unless there's a better way of checking? could you rely on their first baby wing feathers to be reliable indicator?

[buzzard]

Dont think it's a huge secret that Pekins have issues with split wings.

yes I agree that you can get false observations early on, but at this stage I think you could make a fair crack at seeing if the axial feather is there, or coming through.

I would never wait until 8 months to see if a bird had split wings or not, or wait for it to display any trait really for that matter, i am too impatient, and wouldnt want to actively encourage these overly slow developers to influence my breeding program. A genetic pandoras box of sorts, if you allow it then you will effectively breed for it.

[roobz316]

Here are my three, the silkie just would not get out of the shot so gave up trying to shoo him away

[Aroz26]

Sorry I've been absent for so long, we have finally moved into our new property. It took a week for us to finally get everything from the old house (including the chooks lol) Sadly I had to leave my two big roos behind with the neighbour as they flew the coop, literally, and I just couldn't catch them again. Once they realised what I was up to they refused to come near the coop.

On a brighter note, Our Pekins are loving their new home. They have the run of the section along with my 4 silkie teens. The big layers are out in the paddock and our new little cat seems slightly confused about what these birds are so has been keeping her distance. So far their biggest threat is a little 4 year old girl who thinks they all need constant cuddles!
Once I find my camera again (it's in one of these boxes, I'm sure of it ) I can get a few better pics. Does anyone have blue pekins that don't have lacing as I would love to see pics and hopefully add to the mix some day in the future Or is it rather difficult to breed out the lacing?