Hello Angela.
Did you happen to notice any brownish-red near the tips of the down feathers on your chicks, especially towards their heads? In my experience this is usually a sign that brassiness or red will show up in the shoulder, hackle and saddle areas when they mature.
I have had similar experiences with my Black and Blue large fowl Ameraucana. Comparing them with my black and blue Sumatra, there is a striking difference as I don\'t see any hint of brown or red in the chick down and subsequently, no brassiness or red shows up in the adult birds.
The genetic cause of the problem isn\'t really all that important, just observation. It wouldn\'t take much to run a little experiment of your own to help pin down the problem. When your next hatching season is under way sort out your chicks by down color and mark the variations distinctively (different colored electrical ties or different toe punches work great). Take notes on their changes as they grow and mark them on a cage card or in a note book. When all the birds in your study group have grown, you\'ll have a pretty good idea of what to look for and/or avoid in the future. Fixing the problem might be as simple as starting the selection process at hatching time.
You won\'t be the only person running this experiment, I\'ll be doing it myself for the 2006 season. I\'m also working on why it\'s so hard to get good lacing to show up in the blues. I\'ve had too many \"smurfy blues\".
Just out of curiosity, did you change the type of feed you usually give them? Or expose them to more sunlight?
Dan Demarest
Missouri
