Chick Down to Wing Color Study
The ABA Standard suggests that Golden Laced Chick Down is "gray with brownish red, back darker, almost black with lighter shadings, body & breast dark gray, lighter toward the rear, head and neck dark sometimes showing a brownish ring at the base of neck."
Below is a (YouTube) video from McMurray Hatchery of Golden Laced Cochin Chicks, which emphasizes that the chicks have a dark back, white tipped wings, white underbelly, and a golden tint on their forehead.
Below is a (YouTube) video from McMurray Hatchery of Golden Laced Cochin Chicks, which emphasizes that the chicks have a dark back, white tipped wings, white underbelly, and a golden tint on their forehead.
What prompted me to follow and study more closely the wing color is the fact that the best laced wings on my December, 2013 hatch came from the chick whose entire wing/shoulder was cream/white colored. What I am looking at when I say "best laced wings" is the clarity of the lacing, i.e. no smut, ticking or mealiness in the gold. I also want to see a good sharp contrast between the gold centers and the black edging.
The below photos show all the chicks at one day, one month, two months, three months, and four-six months. Remember the first 6 chicks are from Nugget x Goldie; the remaining 19 are from Nugget x Sunshine. You can see that the chicks out of Goldie all started with an overall darker gray coloring, while the chicks out of Sunshine all started more golden-brown.
The below photos show all the chicks at one day, one month, two months, three months, and four-six months. Remember the first 6 chicks are from Nugget x Goldie; the remaining 19 are from Nugget x Sunshine. You can see that the chicks out of Goldie all started with an overall darker gray coloring, while the chicks out of Sunshine all started more golden-brown.
We still have quite a ways to go to get the wings to the SOP description, which is:
For Males: WINGS: Shoulders & Fronts - black, golden bay centers. Bows - rich golden bay, matching back. Coverts - exposed portion of surface of feather rich golden bay, forming a broad, oval golden bay center in each feather, with a narrow, sharply defined lacing of lustrous greenish black, the whole forming a double bar across wing. Primaries - black, lower edge rich golden bay. Secondaries - black, lower half of outer webs rich golden bay, with a narrow black edging wider at the tips; upper webs edged with rich golden bay.
For Females: WINGS: Shoulders, Fronts, Bows and Coverts - same as back**. Primaries - black, lower edge rich golden bay. Secondaries - black, lower half of outer webs rich golden bay, with a narrow, black edging wider at the tips; upper webs edged with rich golden bay. **BACK: Exposed portion of surface of feather rich golden bay, forming a broad, oval rich golden bay center in each feather, with a narrow and sharply defined lacing of lustrous greenish black.
For Males: WINGS: Shoulders & Fronts - black, golden bay centers. Bows - rich golden bay, matching back. Coverts - exposed portion of surface of feather rich golden bay, forming a broad, oval golden bay center in each feather, with a narrow, sharply defined lacing of lustrous greenish black, the whole forming a double bar across wing. Primaries - black, lower edge rich golden bay. Secondaries - black, lower half of outer webs rich golden bay, with a narrow black edging wider at the tips; upper webs edged with rich golden bay.
For Females: WINGS: Shoulders, Fronts, Bows and Coverts - same as back**. Primaries - black, lower edge rich golden bay. Secondaries - black, lower half of outer webs rich golden bay, with a narrow, black edging wider at the tips; upper webs edged with rich golden bay. **BACK: Exposed portion of surface of feather rich golden bay, forming a broad, oval rich golden bay center in each feather, with a narrow and sharply defined lacing of lustrous greenish black.
The End.