Black LF Chick SOP

[Samantha Tripp]

Hello! I have just hatched my first set of Black LF chicks on Wednesday and wondered if there was a standard of how much of their penguin pattern should be cream/yellow?  Like it should or shouldn't extend to/past whatever. I feel like they have more cream/yellow in their faces than they should.

[John W Blehm]

Mine usually didn't have the cream/white extending that far up into the faces, but that was because I selected against it. I wanted the most uniformity I could get with day-old chicks, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't have it or as much. The proof is in the adult plumage, so ID the chicks with the most and those with the least amount of cream/white in their faces and check them after 6 months or more to see if it matters.

[Russ Blair]

Are these black chicks from a Black line? Or is there a possibility that they come from a blue line? Reason I ask is I see alot of “clown faces” from my blue lines. I suspect it comes from the genes needed for lacing. Only reason I assume that is because I have seen it a lot in blue Andalusian chick pictures I have seen as well.

[Samantha Tripp]

Thank you both for the input. These chicks were from a Pure Black line but I know that who I got them from also does Ermie but not sure on BBS.

Some of the eggs were also very light, almost white, so I already tagged those as future freezer birds.

[Russ Blair]

I wouldn’t get to upset just on the chick phenotype, it’s the adult plumage that really matters