Orpington Color Genetics...What color Roo?

[Curly Whiskers Farm]

Hello all. I'm hoping to get some advice regarding Orpington color genetics. I currently have 3 lavender orpington chicks, but would like to get blue, black, white, and jubilee ordered. What colored rooster would you get to go with the hens? I'm not opposed to having a couple small coops, so would you only put certain colors together?
My ultimate (future) plan is to hatch color specific chicks to sell.

 

[Rose the Legbar]

@NatJ

 

[Ridgerunner]

My ultimate (future) plan is to hatch color specific chicks to sell.

Then get all of them the same color/pattern.

lavender

Base black with two recessive lavender genes. Unless you mate them with a bird that has at last one lavender gene you are getting the genetics for black chicks.

blue

Base black with one blue (B/B/S) gene. If you cross it with a bird that has one B/B/S gene you get 1/2 blue, 1/4 black, and 1/4 splash chicks on average. If you cross it with something other than B/B/S you get roughly 1/2 Blue and 1/2 Black.

black

Base black. You get genetics for black chicks.

white

There are two different ways to make a solid white bird. If you have dominant white, the bird is base black and you could get white offspring. If it is recessive white the base color/pattern could be anything and since it is recessive the recessive white gene will have no effect unless it is crossed with a bird that has recessive white.

jubilee

Probably Wheaten and mottled. Wheaten will not have much effect on color unless it is mated with a red bird. Mottled is recessive so unless it is mated to a mottled bird it will disappear.

What colored rooster would you get to go with the hens?

With many of those you will probably wind up with a lot of black offspring. I really think your best bet is to get the rooster and hens all the same color/pattern.

 

[NatJ]

Hello all. I'm hoping to get some advice regarding Orpington color genetics. I currently have 3 lavender orpington chicks, but would like to get blue, black, white, and jubilee ordered. What colored rooster would you get to go with the hens? I'm not opposed to having a couple small coops, so would you only put certain colors together?
My ultimate (future) plan is to hatch color specific chicks to sell.

If you want specific color chicks, it usually works best to keep the individual colors in separate pens, with very few exceptions.

I would probably make several pens:
Lavenders with no other colors
Whites with no other colors
Jubilees with no other colors

"Blue" pen that could also include black or splash or both. If you start with just blue hens and rooster, you will soon have black and splash as well. Or you could start with more than one of those colors in the pen. Blue does not breed true (blue x blue does not give just blue chicks.)