Amberlink over BR sexlink?

[TyRi]

Egg color of daughters should be about the same.

The crest/beard/comb part should be the same no matter which direction you do the cross:

Example of combs from a V/single cross:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-breed.1557482/page-3#post-26389401
(If I did the link right, it will go to the exact post with the picture.)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-kind-of-comb-is-this.1523566/
(First post of this thread has photos of a chick with such a comb.)



Legbar hen/Owlbeard rooster will give chicks like what I described above, except that only sons will have white barring and daughters will not.



Amberlink hen/Owlbeard rooster should give sons that show silver (white) and daughters that show gold (red/gold/cream/lemon.) The patterning should be what I suggested above, and could be in white or black on both males and females. So these chicks should be color-sexable (gold female, silver male).



Owlbeard rooster should give duplex comb, muff/beard, tiny crest to chicks in all cases (unless he carries the gene for not-crest or not-muff/beard, in which case some of his chicks will lack those traits.) Chicks with single-comb mothers should show some form of duplex comb, although it is likely to look bigger and less tidy than his, because he has two duplex genes and they have one. Chicks that inherit pea comb or rose comb from their mothers may not show visible effects from the V-comb gene (duplex), or they might have some splitting of the comb (which might look really odd.)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-kind-of-comb-is-this.1523566/#post-25662074
This post shows a chicken with both V and pea comb genes, with a V/single one in the background.

V comb with rose is giving me trouble. I haven't turned up any photos yet, and I'm tired of looking.

Owlbeard rooster with Barred Rock hens should give black sexlink chicks (daughters black, sons black with white barring.)

Owlbeard rooster with Blue Rock hens should give blue or black chicks (either color can be either sex.) There is a chance of chicks that show blue or black patterning on a red/gold/cream/lemon color, with patterning being in the same range as the Amberlink-mix chicks have.

Owlbeard rooster with Olive Egger hens should give some black chicks. They might also produce chicks of other colors (I think I predicted that with the other roosters too.)

Any of those "black" or "blue" chicks may show leakage of other colors as they grow up. That also goes for ones with white barring on black.

Owlbeard rooster with Silver Laced Wyandotte hens should give sexlinks (gold daughters, silver sons.) I would expect all chicks to show black single lacing on the silver or gold ground color. The "silver" males may look yellowish as they grow, and may get red leakage. For the "gold" females, there is a chance of them being bright gold or even red, but I think lemon or cream color is more likely from that cross.

Egg colors with Owlbeard rooster should be almost the same as egg color with Amberlink rooster, but with a bit less brown in each case.

Hi, me again! About to get those Owlbeards and keep reviewing the crosses and what they may produce! Figured I would pick your brain when you have time to reply!
I know you had said it is up to me to what I find interesting as far as colors so out of what hens I have, Barred Rock, Blue Rock, Amberlink, SL Wyandotte, all black OEs, and Pearl Star “Leghorn”, CL, and Owlbeard …. Interesting colors to me are different patterns on colors and getting more color! Example you provided that peaked my interest was like crossing the SLWs to the roos gets me maybe some different color Wyandottes.
Question 1: Is (if any) what breed crosses would get me some mix up in colors or get some more interesting color mixes than a standard breed? (Similar to above example of different color Wyandottes)
Question 2: Is there a cross or line breeding to get splash, wheaten, buff, or a color I do not currently have in the flock? I know you had said the Blue Rocks or OEs may have some different colors they could throw depending on their parents.
Also with the Blue Rocks I know you had said they are a mix not a true blue, would there be a certain method to keep that blue going? Or is it just a hope they throw blues?
Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing you knowledge when you have time!!!!

 

[TyRi]

To compound on that after those answers, I was planning for when I do separate them into groups were Owlbeard Roo will have hens of: Owlbeard, Amberlink, a SLW, a CL, and maybe a Blue Rock? The rest with the CL roo. And then would crossing any of those offsprings to the same roo or opposite roo create anything different? I know this is getting a little drawn out to maybes but just floating some more ideas

 

[NatJ]

Hi, me again! About to get those Owlbeards and keep reviewing the crosses and what they may produce! Figured I would pick your brain when you have time to reply!
I know you had said it is up to me to what I find interesting as far as colors so out of what hens I have, Barred Rock, Blue Rock, Amberlink, SL Wyandotte, all black OEs, and Pearl Star “Leghorn”, CL, and Owlbeard …. Interesting colors to me are different patterns on colors and getting more color! Example you provided that peaked my interest was like crossing the SLWs to the roos gets me maybe some different color Wyandottes.

Question 1: Is (if any) what breed crosses would get me some mix up in colors or get some more interesting color mixes than a standard breed? (Similar to above example of different color Wyandottes)

For a variety of chick colors, you could hatch some from each kind of hen.

Amberlink hens should give you chicks in four colors: sons will be silver with white or black patterning, daughters will be gold with white or black patterning. I can't say what shade of "gold" the daughters will have (cream, lemon, red, etc.) Some of those will look different than anything you currently have in your flock.

If you mostly care about the color of the daughters (because sons will probably get butchered or sold), I would use the Blue Rock but not the Barred Rock hens. The Blue Rock will probably give you some black chicks and some blue ones. The Barred Rock will give you just black chicks (with white barring on the males, but once the male are gone, you won't be seeing that anyway.)

If you like spangled and laced patterns in feathers, use the Silver Laced Wyandotte hens. Spangling and lacing are genetically quite similar, so you will probably end up with an in-between pattern in the chicks (maybe lacing that is heavy at the tips of feathers and fades out on the sides? But that's a guess.)

If you want to know what the Blue Rocks or Olive Eggers might be carrying, definitely hatch some chicks from them and see what turns up.

Question 2: Is there a cross or line breeding to get splash, wheaten, buff, or a color I do not currently have in the flock? I know you had said the Blue Rocks or OEs may have some different colors they could throw depending on their parents.

To get Wheaten, cross Amberlinks with Owlbeard or Cream Legbar or any other rooster that shows gold/cream/red. Pick a son that shows black (not just white), and breed him back to the Amberlink mother. You should get some Wheaten females in that generation. For Wheaten males, breed the Wheaten females back to their half-Amberlink father, and you should get some Wheatens in both sexes. Each of those generations will have chicks of several other colors as well, so if you only hatch a handful of chicks you might not get the ones you want.

To get Splash, use any rooster with a Blue hen. Keep a blue son, and cross him back to the blue hen or to his blue sisters. About 1/4 of chicks from a blue-blue mating will be splash.

For Buff, probably about the same as to get Wheaten, but I don't think you will get a good clean buff in any reasonable number of generations. There will be too much black or white in the feathers (especially the tail.) White is less visible than black, so some of them might look sort-of "buff."

Owlbeard x Silver Laced Wyandotte, then crossing a son back to the Silver Laced Wyandotte, can probably get you some females that are gold laced (black lacing, but I can't say whether the "gold" will be more like cream, lemon, gold, red, etc.)

Owlbeard x Blue Rock, cross a son to a Silver Laced Wyandotte, some chicks will show patterns of blue and gold (cream/lemon/gold/red), some will show black and gold, some will have silver with blue or black, some will be mostly-solid black or blue but probably show some leakage. Leakage is a bad thing if you are breeding purebreds that are not supposed to have it, but for a mixed-color backyard flock it can be a good thing: another set of colors & patterns to enjoy.

Also with the Blue Rocks I know you had said they are a mix not a true blue, would there be a certain method to keep that blue going? Or is it just a hope they throw blues?

The blue gene is incompletely dominant. That means each "blue" chicken has one blue gene and one not-blue gene. About half of chicks will inherit the blue gene and about half will inherit the not-blue gene.

Blue affects any black on the chicken, so in later generations you might have solid blue chickens, blue chickens with leakage of silver or gold, blue chickens with white barring, chickens with blue-and-gold patterns, chickens with blue-and-silver patterns, etc. (Depends on what other colors/patterns get crossed in or were carried by the original parents.) Solid blue is genetically the same as solid black, with the blue gene added.

Two blue genes make splash. So if you cross two chickens with blue, some chicks will inherit the blue gene from both parents. That can give you splash chickens (genetically solid black, plus two blue genes.) It can also give splash chickens with leakage of other colors, and chickens with splash-and-gold patterns, or splash-and-silver patterns. "Patterns" in this case can range from a splash tail on a gold bird, to splash lacing or splash spangling on a gold bird, or various other options.

To compound on that after those answers, I was planning for when I do separate them into groups were Owlbeard Roo will have hens of: Owlbeard, Amberlink, a SLW, a CL, and maybe a Blue Rock? The rest with the CL roo. And then would crossing any of those offsprings to the same roo or opposite roo create anything different? I know this is getting a little drawn out to maybes but just floating some more ideas

That sounds like a good arrangement to start with.

For later generations, the main reason I can see to cross between pens would be if you want lacing or the pattern the Amberlinks have, with less inbreeding. So you could cross chicks with Laced mothers and different-breed fathers, or chicks with Amberlink mothers and different-breed fathers.

The Amberlinks should be genetically Columbian (Wheaten plus the Columbian gene), with the Silver gene turning gold to white, and the Dominant White gene turning black to white. Breeding with either rooster should give daughters that show gold (instead of the silver), and about half of chicks will show black (instead of the white). The Cream Legbar will give white barring to his chicks, the Owlbeard should give some other patterning (semi-spangled or semi-laced), so chicks from those two roosters will look a bit different.

For getting chicks that look different than your current flock, I think the Amberlink hens may be your best bet, followed by Silver Laced Wyandotte hens. And I would hatch at least a few chicks from the Blue Rocks, because that is the first step in breeding for blue patterns in any of the other colors (but if all the chicks show solid black or solid blue, it doesn't really add new colors in this generation. The next generation from them is when I expect to see some chicks with blue AND other colors.)

Edit to add: I had been thinking the "Pearl Star Leghorns" were white. I just looked back in the thread and saw that they are not. So they are probably also a good choice for producing chicks with other colors/patterns with your roosters.

 

[TyRi]

For a variety of chick colors, you could hatch some from each kind of hen.

Amberlink hens should give you chicks in four colors: sons will be silver with white or black patterning, daughters will be gold with white or black patterning. I can't say what shade of "gold" the daughters will have (cream, lemon, red, etc.) Some of those will look different than anything you currently have in your flock.

If you mostly care about the color of the daughters (because sons will probably get butchered or sold), I would use the Blue Rock but not the Barred Rock hens. The Blue Rock will probably give you some black chicks and some blue ones. The Barred Rock will give you just black chicks (with white barring on the males, but once the male are gone, you won't be seeing that anyway.)

If you like spangled and laced patterns in feathers, use the Silver Laced Wyandotte hens. Spangling and lacing are genetically quite similar, so you will probably end up with an in-between pattern in the chicks (maybe lacing that is heavy at the tips of feathers and fades out on the sides? But that's a guess.)

If you want to know what the Blue Rocks or Olive Eggers might be carrying, definitely hatch some chicks from them and see what turns up.


To get Wheaten, cross Amberlinks with Owlbeard or Cream Legbar or any other rooster that shows gold/cream/red. Pick a son that shows black (not just white), and breed him back to the Amberlink mother. You should get some Wheaten females in that generation. For Wheaten males, breed the Wheaten females back to their half-Amberlink father, and you should get some Wheatens in both sexes. Each of those generations will have chicks of several other colors as well, so if you only hatch a handful of chicks you might not get the ones you want.

To get Splash, use any rooster with a Blue hen. Keep a blue son, and cross him back to the blue hen or to his blue sisters. About 1/4 of chicks from a blue-blue mating will be splash.

For Buff, probably about the same as to get Wheaten, but I don't think you will get a good clean buff in any reasonable number of generations. There will be too much black or white in the feathers (especially the tail.) White is less visible than black, so some of them might look sort-of "buff."

Owlbeard x Silver Laced Wyandotte, then crossing a son back to the Silver Laced Wyandotte, can probably get you some females that are gold laced (black lacing, but I can't say whether the "gold" will be more like cream, lemon, gold, red, etc.)

Owlbeard x Blue Rock, cross a son to a Silver Laced Wyandotte, some chicks will show patterns of blue and gold (cream/lemon/gold/red), some will show black and gold, some will have silver with blue or black, some will be mostly-solid black or blue but probably show some leakage. Leakage is a bad thing if you are breeding purebreds that are not supposed to have it, but for a mixed-color backyard flock it can be a good thing: another set of colors & patterns to enjoy.


The blue gene is incompletely dominant. That means each "blue" chicken has one blue gene and one not-blue gene. About half of chicks will inherit the blue gene and about half will inherit the not-blue gene.

Blue affects any black on the chicken, so in later generations you might have solid blue chickens, blue chickens with leakage of silver or gold, blue chickens with white barring, chickens with blue-and-gold patterns, chickens with blue-and-silver patterns, etc. (Depends on what other colors/patterns get crossed in or were carried by the original parents.) Solid blue is genetically the same as solid black, with the blue gene added.

Two blue genes make splash. So if you cross two chickens with blue, some chicks will inherit the blue gene from both parents. That can give you splash chickens (genetically solid black, plus two blue genes.) It can also give splash chickens with leakage of other colors, and chickens with splash-and-gold patterns, or splash-and-silver patterns. "Patterns" in this case can range from a splash tail on a gold bird, to splash lacing or splash spangling on a gold bird, or various other options.


That sounds like a good arrangement to start with.

For later generations, the main reason I can see to cross between pens would be if you want lacing or the pattern the Amberlinks have, with less inbreeding. So you could cross chicks with Laced mothers and different-breed fathers, or chicks with Amberlink mothers and different-breed fathers.

The Amberlinks should be genetically Columbian (Wheaten plus the Columbian gene), with the Silver gene turning gold to white, and the Dominant White gene turning black to white. Breeding with either rooster should give daughters that show gold (instead of the silver), and about half of chicks will show black (instead of the white). The Cream Legbar will give white barring to his chicks, the Owlbeard should give some other patterning (semi-spangled or semi-laced), so chicks from those two roosters will look a bit different.

For getting chicks that look different than your current flock, I think the Amberlink hens may be your best bet, followed by Silver Laced Wyandotte hens. And I would hatch at least a few chicks from the Blue Rocks, because that is the first step in breeding for blue patterns in any of the other colors (but if all the chicks show solid black or solid blue, it doesn't really add new colors in this generation. The next generation from them is when I expect to see some chicks with blue AND other colors.)

Edit to add: I had been thinking the "Pearl Star Leghorns" were white. I just looked back in the thread and saw that they are not. So they are probably also a good choice for producing chicks with other colors/patterns with your roosters.

I guess I don’t know for sure but are the owlbeards the same pattern as a speckled sussex or is it just similar not necessarily the same? I originally wanted Speckled Sussex so figured I would ask if there was a way to get offsprings close to that or if they would always be more lemon shades? Thanks!

 

[NatJ]

I guess I don’t know for sure but are the owlbeards the same pattern as a speckled sussex or is it just similar not necessarily the same? I originally wanted Speckled Sussex so figured I would ask if there was a way to get offsprings close to that or if they would always be more lemon shades? Thanks!

As regards the lemon vs. red shades in the coloring, you should be able to get the darker shades in some chicks, either this generation or one later. I would try the Amberlinks, along with any of the hens that show gold/brown/red in their coloring. The black or barred hens may also have some of the genes that make a darker red, but we just can't tell because there's no red to see. So it will come down to trying things and looking at the results. If you don't get dark enough chicks this year, maybe raise them up and cross them to something like a Rhode Island Red the next year. That will almost certainly give you some of the darker shades.

But genetically, I think the Owlbeards have a very different pattern than Speckled Sussex.

Speckled Sussex have the mottling gene. That puts both white and black on the red bird.

Lemon Owlbeards, judging by pictures on the internet, have the kind of spangling that is found in Hamburgs and Spitzhaubens and Brabanters. It does not have the mottling gene, but does have the pattern gene and several other genes that work with it. That makes a pattern of black and red or black and lemon, but you do not get white as a third color. In a genetic sense, it is very close to lacing (like on Silver Laced Wyandottes).

Working with the Owlbeards, I think you will eventually be able to get chickens with two-color patterns, in almost any combination: black with lemon/gold/red, black with silver (white), white with lemon/gold/red, white with silver (that one's boring because white on white just looks white.)

If you want some white as well, you need either the mottling gene (probably not in any of your current birds) or the barring gene (from the Barred Rocks or the Cream Legbars). The barring gene will not give quite the same effect as mottling, but it does give three colors on the bird instead of just two. Candy Corn Polish have white barring on a gold-laced pattern, and you might be able to create something sort of similar with the Owlbeards and Legbars. (Cross an Owlbeard rooster to a Legbar hen and an Amberlink hen. Then breed a son of the Legbar to a gold-and-black daughter of the Amberlink, and I think you will get some birds of both sexes with red/black/white.)

 

[TyRi]

Speckled Sussex have the mottling gene. That puts both white and black on the red bird.

Hello, my annoying butt again!
So i have some “Chocolate Eggers” from Cackle coming but also have a Speckled Sussex roo coming! I know you won’t be able to tell me on color but I want to make sure I have my idea correct. Breeding those 2, would that lighten the next generation’s eggs correct? The reason I ask is I am thinking on putting him over my Cream Legbars and Olive Eggers. My CL eggs are a little too green compared to what I was hoping for so I was wondering if that would lighten them up more? Or would that make them darker green with adding any sort of brown egg to it no matter how light? Same to OEs? I am also interested the offsprings color but a little less than my interest in egg color. Figured you would be best that I know to set me straight if I am not thinking correctly? Molting gene in my flock is also making me excited for all the crosses!!! Wonder if that would interact at all with my blue rocks? Would that make the black on the SS pattern a blue? Okay sorry for the extra questions! Thank you so much whenever you see this and if you can help my mind!

 

[NatJ]

So i have some “Chocolate Eggers” from Cackle coming but also have a Speckled Sussex roo coming! I know you won’t be able to tell me on color but I want to make sure I have my idea correct. Breeding those 2, would that lighten the next generation’s eggs correct?

If Chocolate Eggers lay very dark brown eggs, then breeding them with a Speckled Sussex rooster should give daughters that lay lighter eggs than what the Chocolate Eggers lay.

The reason I ask is I am thinking on putting him over my Cream Legbars and Olive Eggers. My CL eggs are a little too green compared to what I was hoping for so I was wondering if that would lighten them up more? Or would that make them darker green with adding any sort of brown egg to it no matter how light? Same to OEs?

Speckled Sussex with Olive Egger: I would expect chicks to lay lighter eggs than the Olive Eggers do.

Speckled Sussex with Cream Legbar: I would expect chicks to lay green eggs, not blue. If you want to get eggs closer to blue, either breed among the best blues you have (not the darker/greener ones), or cross with a breed that lays actual white eggs.

I am also interested the offsprings color but a little less than my interest in egg color.

Speckled Sussex rooster with Cream Legbar hens:
Sons will probably look like a darker version of Cream Legbar coloring. They will be darker because they have just one barring gene instead of the two barring genes in purebred Legbars, and because of the genes in Speckled Sussex that make the dark red color instead of the lighter shades in the Legbars. They will carry the mottling gene but not show it (mottling gene is what makes the white & black speckles in the Sussex.)

Daughters will probably look darker than Legbar hens but otherwise similar. They will not have the barring gene. Like their brothers, they will carry the mottling gene but not show it.

With your Olive Egger hens that look black, I would expect at least half of the chicks to be black. They will carry the mottling gene but will not show it, except that they may have a few white dots here and there (easy to see on a black bird, not so much on other colors, so you're not likely to notice it with the Legbar-mix chicks, even though it can happen there too.) I don't know if the other half of the chicks will also be black, or if they will show other colors. If they do show other colors, they will most likely have some combination of black with red/gold/brown shades, but I can't say exactly how it would go.

Molting gene in my flock is also making me excited for all the crosses!!! Wonder if that would interact at all with my blue rocks? Would that make the black on the SS pattern a blue?

Speckled Sussex pattern plus the blue gene, yes that would make the black areas into blue.

But the Blue Rocks might give you a bunch of black chicks, and a bunch of blue chicks, and not many chicks that show any other coloring.

If you only get black and blue chicks from that cross, you can breed a blue one back to Speckled Sussex and get a bunch of chick colors:
--half of chicks black or blue, with or without mottling
--other half of chicks would include some that are patterned like Speckled Sussex (some with blue and some with black), and chicks that have no speckles so they look similar to a Rhode Island Red (some with black in the tails and some with blue), and possibly some that have silver instead of the red/gold colors.

That backcross could give some that look like Speckled Sussex with blue, but you would probably have to hatch a large number of chicks to get very many of them! If you don't get the right kind, take one that shows blue and mottling and breed it to Speckled Sussex again, or one that shows blue and some kind of not-solid patterning and breed it back to Speckled Sussex. Either of those would increase your chance of getting blue/mottled/patterned chicks in that later generation.

Okay sorry for the extra questions! Thank you so much whenever you see this and if you can help my mind!

Not a problem

 

[TyRi]

Daughters will probably look darker than Legbar hens but otherwise similar. They will not have the barring gene. Like their brothers, they will carry the mottling gene but not show it.

I figure so but want to be positive, SSxCL would make sexlink still correct?

 

[TyRi]

If Chocolate Eggers lay very dark brown eggs, then breeding them with a Speckled Sussex rooster should give daughters that lay lighter eggs than what the Chocolate Eggers lay.


Speckled Sussex with Olive Egger: I would expect chicks to lay lighter eggs than the Olive Eggers do.

Speckled Sussex with Cream Legbar: I would expect chicks to lay green eggs, not blue. If you want to get eggs closer to blue, either breed among the best blues you have (not the darker/greener ones), or cross with a breed that lays actual white eggs.


Speckled Sussex rooster with Cream Legbar hens:
Sons will probably look like a darker version of Cream Legbar coloring. They will be darker because they have just one barring gene instead of the two barring genes in purebred Legbars, and because of the genes in Speckled Sussex that make the dark red color instead of the lighter shades in the Legbars. They will carry the mottling gene but not show it (mottling gene is what makes the white & black speckles in the Sussex.)

Daughters will probably look darker than Legbar hens but otherwise similar. They will not have the barring gene. Like their brothers, they will carry the mottling gene but not show it.

With your Olive Egger hens that look black, I would expect at least half of the chicks to be black. They will carry the mottling gene but will not show it, except that they may have a few white dots here and there (easy to see on a black bird, not so much on other colors, so you're not likely to notice it with the Legbar-mix chicks, even though it can happen there too.) I don't know if the other half of the chicks will also be black, or if they will show other colors. If they do show other colors, they will most likely have some combination of black with red/gold/brown shades, but I can't say exactly how it would go.


Speckled Sussex pattern plus the blue gene, yes that would make the black areas into blue.

But the Blue Rocks might give you a bunch of black chicks, and a bunch of blue chicks, and not many chicks that show any other coloring.

If you only get black and blue chicks from that cross, you can breed a blue one back to Speckled Sussex and get a bunch of chick colors:
--half of chicks black or blue, with or without mottling
--other half of chicks would include some that are patterned like Speckled Sussex (some with blue and some with black), and chicks that have no speckles so they look similar to a Rhode Island Red (some with black in the tails and some with blue), and possibly some that have silver instead of the red/gold colors.

That backcross could give some that look like Speckled Sussex with blue, but you would probably have to hatch a large number of chicks to get very many of them! If you don't get the right kind, take one that shows blue and mottling and breed it to Speckled Sussex again, or one that shows blue and some kind of not-solid patterning and breed it back to Speckled Sussex. Either of those would increase your chance of getting blue/mottled/patterned chicks in that later generation.


Not a problem

Also, (sorry) is it mostly common when crossing different breeds that you don’t see big feather changes until the 2nd generation of them?
Thank you so much again!!

 

[NatJ]

I figure so but want to be positive, SSxCL would make sexlink still correct?

If you can tell which ones have the barring gene (males) from the ones with no barring gene (females), then yes.

With black-based chickens it is easy to see (example: Black Sexlinks). With multi-colored chickens that have a lot of red, it can be harder to tell. So I can't be sure whether you will have a useful kind of sexlink or not.

Also, (sorry) is it mostly common when crossing different breeds that you don’t see big feather changes until the 2nd generation of them?

You are likely to see more variety in the colors of chicks in the 2nd generation.

In the first generation, it is common to have chicks look like one parent breed or the other. But it is also common for them to have an in-between appearance, and sometimes they look very different than either parent. So I can't really say what is most common.

Some examples:
If you cross a White Leghorn chicken to any other color of chicken, you typically get white chicks. That's because the White Leghorn has several dominant genes that cause the coloring.

If you cross a Speckled Sussex chicken to other colors of chicken, you will often get chicks that match the other breed, because Speckled Sussex mostly has recessive genes for coloring.

If you cross a Lavender chicken to other colors, you often get black chicks, because the Lavender color involves some genes that are dominant (make the chicken black) and one that is recessive (turns black into lavender.)