Australorp colouring plan

[WFP]

I’m sure this has been discussed before and I’ve gone over various charts regarding colouring… but I just want to confirm my understanding.

A splash Australorp rooster over black Australorp hens will result in 100% blue chicks ?? Varying degrees of blue anyway.

To improve the blue colour, where would I go from there for the next generation? Ideally minimising less desirable colours (like dull blue/black (without the beautiful black Australorp sheen)).

People are pretty serious about their Australorps around here lol I’d just like to breed a few nice backyard quality chickens

 

[Amer]

A black to a splash is a good start to get a lot of blues to choose from for the project but:
If you are looking to breed for nice, even blues with good black lacing, you should breed nice blues with good lacing together, even though you will get blacks and splashes which can’t be used in the blue program.

 

[Siana]

I thought I'd ask here.

I can't find information on how to combine black and blue Australorp properly. I think I saw a mention somewhere that one shouldn't breed blue to blue much, or blue to splash, and especially splash to splash, as one is going to run into health issues. Maybe not some very obvious defects, but lowered immunity and vitality.

In dogs, when you breed merle to merle, you can get deafness and other issues. How is it with Australorps?

I have chicks growing, blue and black ones, and there's another hatch being prepared, from blue and black parents. They are from different parents. My plan was to go cheap and just swap the roos (of course that is based on the assumption that there will be breeding worthy birds in both litters). Do I need to give myself more trouble and look for, say, black roosters who are blue carriers, or something like that? Or maybe at my backyard breeding level it is not so important? Thank you!