leg color genetics?

I've got a question too about slate legs. I have an EE bantam cockrel who has slate legs, and is blue with copper hackles. Very handsome! The pullets who arrived with him from Cackle all have green (willow) legs, and some are blue, and some black, all with white necks and lacing, similar to the Iowa Blues. It's a very pretty group, and I'd like to have the slate (blue) legs come through if possible, with the gray/ blue feathering. Possible? Mary

Yes but you have to be sure to use a slate legged parent in every mating. Doesn;t matter which sex the slate leg is- slate leg roo, willow leg hens or willow leg roo with slate leg hens are equally "good" for producing slate leg offspring(in both sexes as it;'s not sex linked either).

Creating a line pure breeding for slate legs is trickier though.. as you cannot tell visually which ones are pure slate or green carriers. The most straightforward way to do this is individually test each bird by breeding it with a yellow or green leg bird and try to hatch 10 chicks at least. Any yellow/green leg chick, even if just one proves the bird being tested is a carrier. Then you decide if the bird is worth breeding or to take out of the breeding pool. Most breeders don't go this far though.. breeding slate with slate will produce mostly slates even if they are both green carriers.

You're gonna produce a beautiful line with those birds.
 
I wasn't going to keep any cockrels from this group, but they are irresistible! His slate legs totally got me, too. There's not a picture of the gray/ white pullet here, but she's beautiful too. Fun!!! Mary
 
This is a follow-up on my EE bantam group. The hens all are laying very nice blue/aqua eggs, and out of a very small hatch (BAD incubator issues!), one cockerel, and three pullets. Photos to follow, hopefully tomorrow, at six weeks of age. Still love them! Mary
 
May have photos today; the cockerel and one pullet have willow legs, and the other two pullets have slate legs. I'm trying to decide what to do about them; I think maybe move the green legged babies on? Or keep them as insurance if there are losses. It is a nice group, and it will be a good sign if the pullets this year do lay those blue eggs! Mary
 
These are pictures (very poor Quality) of my EE bantam chicks (and Belgian d'Uccle cockerels) at eleven weeks of age, today. The EE boy has green legs, as does one of the pullets. I do have a couple of three day old EE bantam chicks with a broody h IMG_0674.JPG IMG_0676.JPG IMG_0677.JPG en, two of them have dark legs. Mary PS The white chick is a Chantecler.
 
pips&peeps :

Araucanas are supposed to have yellow skin, so you should be getting yellow or willow legs in all your offspring if they are pure.

Yellow legs are common occurrence but the standard calls for green, so i need to work at breeding that to code
wink.png
Unless your Araucana are black or white then they shouldn't have willow according to SOP
 
So, would it be possible to tell which rooster fathered my chicks from leg color? One male has willow legs, one has white and one yellow. All my girls have yellow except my JG and Australorp, who of course have black one being over white and other over yellow, according to bottom of their feet.
 
Hi, i have a partridge orpington rooster that has black legs with white soles. Would it be fair to assume he is
E/Eb
Id/Id
w+/w+
He has partridge colouring but very dark like he was crossed with a black orp. Thanks
 

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