extra claw

[gazeds]

Just noticed on two out of the four of my light sussex bantam chick's have a little claw coming off the side of the rear claw. Is this quite common.

 

[Chuck]

Hard to know without seeing a photo but it could be a 'fifth toe' which occurs on Dorkings and Silkies but should not occur on Sussex (bantams or L/F).

 

[gazeds]

it look's exactly the same as this dorking chick

 

[foxy]

That's a "copy" fifth toe. Somewhere along the line a breed with 5 toes has been crossed, and as this is an incomplete dominant a modifying gene somehow has allowed this 5th toe to be expressed.

Lucky you! 17

 

[gazeds]

I've got four light sussex bantam's about to hatch next week, these are from another source, which i hope to have two group's of breeding hen's next year which are unrelated, but would this fifth toe appear on furure chick's

 

[Chuck]

There is some probability that this will happen again in the same way that you've had it occur unexpectedly. If you intend breeding from the ones that have the fifth toe it will increase the chances. The fact that these extra toes have appeared means that somewhere in the past, probably not too far back, they have been mixed up with another breed and would not be considered pure LS.