I put the last hatch, of ten, of the season in the incubator yesterday. I'm down to just bantam buffs and working yet on the bantam dun project, which also involves using blacks. Some lavenders have also popped up, since the last time I recreated my bantam blacks I used silvers and lavenders. Some of the lavenders aren't just lavender, they have brownish foreheads like some of my dun chicks. I'll grow some out to see what Chocolate Lavender looks like...maybe it is Dun Lavender, but that debate is for another day.
I haven't had any really brown chicks hatch this year, like the one or more last year. Much of what I've read about dun is it should look enough like sex-linked chocolate to be shown as chocolate. There are others that say dun is more "steel" or bluish and from my experience they are closer to the truth. From black to dun matings I'm getting black chicks, as expected, and very dark chicks with brownish foreheads. I'm thinking that is the day-old phenotype I want to get the best dark brown/chocolate adult phenotype. I'm only keeping those dun chicks with brownish foreheads and the rejects/culls are sold locally as easter eggers. Many of the chicks are hatching with what appears to be a khaki phenotype and many are splashed.
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