Barred rock or mix?

[caseebeths]

Ok I have a question. I have a barred rock rooster and Barred rock hens. I also black australorp hens. Will I be able to tell the difference between my pure barred rock offspring from the barred rock/ australorp mix???

 

[DraigAthar]

They'll all be barred, because the roo will pass the barring on to all of his offspring. But you might be able to tell from the leg color.

 

[smarsh]

i would think the cross will not be as perfectly barred, but i may be wrong.

 

[smarsh]

upon 2nd thougt, I really don't know the make up of the Australorp. i know that some birds, the new hampshire red for one, that the columbian gene (i believe this is the correct name) is dominant. Cross a barred roo with a NHR and you get a delaware with no barring over most of the body

 

[DraigAthar]

i would think the cross will not be as perfectly barred, but i may be wrong.

Sometimes this is definitely true. But I think since the australorp is a plain black bird, the cross should be fairly straightforward. After all, a barred bird is simply a black bird with white stripes where the barring gene inhibits pigment deposition. Of course, every offspring of a barred roo / black hen cross will end up with a single copy of the barring gene, so you won't be able to tell boys from girls like you can with pure barred chicks.

 

[caseebeths]

Well I sell the barred rock chicks and I'm afraid i might end up selling them an Australorp instead.

 

[DraigAthar]

Then you either need to separate the barred rock breeders from the australorps to guarantee your breed is true, or just represent your chicks accurately and tell people they may be cross breeds when you sell them.

 

[caseebeths]

I think I will just seperate them or I will be selling Barreds as mixed birds.

 

[DraigAthar]

Yeah, I just looked up a bit of info about shank color, and the black legs on the australorps appear to be a recessive gene (or group of genes) so you probably can't rely on leg color to tell the chicks apart.

 

[caseebeths]

Ok thanks! I wonder as they get older will I be able to tell?