am I colorblind? Is the color off on my moniter?

[cottagechick]

I am new to chickens, and so haven't seen many of these breeds or colors up close and personal yet. Some of the colors like blue, lavender, violet....they all look like shades of gray to me. Do they really look blue lavender and violet in person or is that just a fancy name for different shades of gray?

 

[jeremy]

They're all pretty much a gray color, varying shades and intensities.

But, the color is in the eye of the beholder- what you and I might see as gray someone else might see as a vibrant blue.

ETA: Wanted to add... the reason they seem like varying shades of gray is because they're all just dilutions of the color Black.

 

[slurrywidow]

I have a lavender ameraucana and while she's so lovely, she's pretty much just gray to me.

 

[pgpoultry]

Yep, I've got a lot of 'blue' chickens and they are all grey.

I would like a real blue one, though.

 

[cottagechick]

ok...so seems like good marketing to me...would you rather have a light gray chicken or a LAHVAHNDAAR chicken? Hmmm....are there any breeds that have any real blue like blue jay or budgie blue?? It seems like they are all variations of white, black or red...pretty much sum it up?

 

[pgpoultry]

I've seen bright blue, pink and green chicks years ago....coated with food colorant....seemed pretty cruel to me.

 

[call ducks]

Quote:
Self Blue is different then Blue.

IMO there is no way we could ever have an actual blue chicken, as the gene does not exist in chickens (at least i think). There is a gene in ducks that is a blue gene. I am not certain at this point what gene it is.

 

[becky3086]

Quote:
LOL, that gave me a chuckle LAHVAHNDAAR--have been watching too many Jeff Dunham videos lately and I could just see 'peanut' saying that, lol.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Blue, and lavender, are genes that cause a dilution of the black color in chickens. Therefor, they really are just shades of grey. Kind of like how they have "blue" and "lilac" colors in cats, dogs, rabbits, etc. It's not the bright colors but rather a shade of grey with a hint of that hue. However, pictures really do have a hard time capturing the true color. I really didn't think lavender was all that pretty a color when all I had to see of it was pictures here on BYC. But once I went to a show and saw actual lavender chickens I do have to say that it is quite pretty and none of the pictures I've seen do it justice at all. Yes, they're "just" grey chickens, but they really do have a hint of purple to them in real life.

 

[hennyannie]

I tend to look at it like they were flowers. Blue flowers (like petunias, daylillies,pansies)don't really exist, but the ones that come the closest are differant and beautiful.