Genetics of the Blue chicken

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wornoutmomto3

wornoutmomto3

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9 Years
Jan 6, 2014
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I am considering raising olive egg chickens. It is just fun to watch the kids expression when I tell them we are eating "green" eggs. Lol.

Well, I have a blue Maran hen. She came from a blue/black/splash pen. (The rooster was black and the hen was blue.) The same breeder whom i purchased her from also raises Lavendar Ameracauna. I am considering getting a LA rooster from him. I am wondering what the resulting offspring would look like. How would it effect the feather color?

I am still learning all the intricacies of chicken genetics. So, any help would be appreciated. But, if you could word in easily understood terms, I would be most greatful.
 
A Lavender rooster over a blue hen will give you blue and black chicks. That’s as simple as I can say it.

Both birds are based on black. Both the Lavender gene and the Blue/Black/Splash gene modify black. They do not modify red feathers, only black. There are some other modifiers, like white, that can interfere with it so it can get complicated quickly. But since your blue and lavender are solid, they are based on solid black birds.

The Lavender is a recessive gene. There are two genes at each gene pair on the DNA. If both of these genes are Lavender, then it will modify black and you will see it. If only one of those genes is Lavender then you will not see it. Since the blue hen does not have Lavender, the chicks from that cross will receive one Lavender from the rooster and none from the hen so Lavender will not have an effect.

The Blue gene gets complicated because it is a partially dominant gene. If both genes at that gene pair are Blue, then you get a Splash chick. If only one of those genes is Blue, you get a Blue chick. If neither of those two genes are blue, you get a black chick. Remember this gene only works on black feather color.

Since your hen is blue, she only has one blue gene. The other is called “not-blue”. She will randomly give one of those genes to her offspring, you don’t know which she will give. So some of her chicks will receive the blue gene and will be blue. But some will receive the ”not-blue” gene and will be black.

That’s the first generation. If you decide to breed the offspring, especially the blue offspring, you can get a real mix-up. The Lavender gene will pair up in some so you get some Lavender. The Blue gene will pair up in some so you can get some Splash. You should get some Blue. And you should get some black. Breeding crosses like that can be fun.
 
Last edited:
Ridgerunner said:
A Lavender rooster over a blue hen will give you blue and black chicks. That’s as simple as I can say it.

Both birds are based on black. Both the Lavender gene and the Blue/Black/Splash gene modify black. They do not modify red feathers, only black. There are some other modifiers, like white, that can interfere with it so it can get complicated quickly. But since your blue and lavender are solid, they are based on solid black birds.

The Lavender is a recessive gene. There are two genes at each gene pair on the DNA. If both of these genes are Lavender, then it will modify black and you will see it. If only one of those genes is Lavender then you will not see it. Since the blue hen does not have Lavender, the chicks form that cross will receive one Lavender from the rooster and none from the hen so Lavender will not have an effect.

The Blue gene gets complicated because it is a partially dominant gene. If both genes at that gene pair are Blue, then you get a Splash chick. If only one of those genes is Blue, you get a Blue chick. If neither of those two genes are blue, you get a black chick. Remember this gene only works on black feather color.

Since your hen is blue, she only has one blue gene. The other is called “not-blue”. She will randomly give one of those genes to her offspring, you don’t know which she will give. So some of her chicks will receive the blue gene and will be blue. But some will receive the ”not-blue” gene and will be black.

That’s the first generation. If you decide to breed the offspring, especially the blue offspring, you can get a real mix-up. The Lavender gene will pair up in some so you get some Lavender. The Blue gene will pair up in some so you can get some Splash. You should get some Blue. And you should get some black. Breeding crosses like that can be fun.
Click to expand...
Ridgerunner did an excellent job explaining the offspring (F1) possibilities of a lavender male x blue female cross. I would like to add that in the F2 generation lavender and blue could also be found in a single chicken. Both genes ( two lavender and one blue ) will be found in the same chicken. This will produce a lighter color than lavender alone in some of the offspring. In order for this to happen a black must be crossed with a blue.
 
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