Hatching Frizzle Chicks
I had the opportunity to purchase fertilized eggs for bantams with the potential of hatching Frizzle chicks. This is the second time that I have used an incubator and I was hoping for the same rate of success. This time, all the Barred Rock eggs hatched, but only 5 of the 8 bantam eggs did. Now the chicks are finally old enough to tell which ones are frizzles by how their feathers curl.
What’s a Frizzle?
A Frizzle usually refers to chickens who’s feathers curl up and away from their body instead of laying flat. The curled feathers make them look much larger than they actually are and reminded me of big fluffy puffs. This is a genetic condition and not a breed characteristic. They can be any breed although the ones that I have seen have been Bantams, Seramas, or Polish. The eggs that I got came from a porcelain D’uccles Bantam and a Cochin bantam rooster. These would be considered a barnyard mix.
How many?
To prevent health issues, a Frizzle chicken needs to be paired with a chicken without this characteristic.The odds for hatching Frizzle chicks, in this case would be 25%. When they first hatched, all the chicks had fuzz so I couldn’t really be sure which ones were going to curl and which ones wouldn”t. Now that their adult feathers are coming in, it is very noticable. Three of the five are Frizzles, and it looks like they are all going to be pullets! Now I just need to get a regular bantam rooster and I can make more…the chicken math is mathing!
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