BBS breeding and dilute / white splash

[2ndTink]

On the basic BBS color charts, some show a diluted splash possibility and on a Meyer's hatchery blog it states that splash x blue can produce 25% white. I've also heard that breeding splash x splash can lead to lighter and lighter splash markings.

I have a "white" pullet from blue x splash breeding, I'm assuming she carries Bl/Bl genes so even though she looks white she is not a true recessive white. Is this correct?

My other questions are in regards to breeding her. My intention is to have BBS, can I cross her with anything to be useful in my breeding pens, or will she put a wildcard in the mix? If I put her in a fun pen, what color rooster would provide the most "fun" colored offspring? My options are blue, black, splash, paint split to chocolate, and black split to chocolate.

Here is the Meyer's blog:
https://blog.meyerhatchery.com/2023/05/splash-and-paint-gentics/

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

I have seen this too. @NatJ and @nicalandia

 

[JacinLarkwell]

@Amer

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I have heard conflicting reports on whether the dilution effect with splash actually happens or not. I don't honestly know on that one, and have no personal experience to lean on in order to answer about that.

As far as the blog goes, some of the wording choices are... not exactly the best in my opinion. But I think what they were saying about white coming out of blue is more meant to be that, while you would expect blue, black, and splash to be the results of breeding blue to blue, in some cases you might have recessive white pop up as well, and this is not to be confused with the white that causes the paint pattern.

Recessive white, as the name implies, is recessive, which means that it can be carried without expressing. That means it can essentially 'hide' in a line without showing up generation to generation. When two birds who happen to both carry the gene breed and produce offspring, then about 25% of their offspring end up being white due to inheriting the recessive white gene from both parents.

Recessive white shuts off all pigment to the feathering, so regardless of other genes being carried, the bird is white in color. It does not matter what those other genes are, the bird is still white. So, your pullet from your Blue x Splash crossing, if she really is pure white all over, then she could just be a true White Silkie and her parents both happened to carry the recessive white gene. Since you don't have a recessive White male, I don't think crossing her to any of the males you have would necessarily confirm anything 100% about her unless she happens to have the right genetics hiding under recessive white. If you cross her to a Splash male and get any Blues, for example, that would tell you that she is not truly a Splash and instead recessive White covering up Blue. However, she could also be recessive white covering Splash, thus making the result of crossing her to any of those males the same as if she was just a Splash without recessive white, so that would not really confirm anything at all.

As for fun colors to cross her to, I would think that the chocolate-splits would be the most fun to cross her to as they would impart the most variety in their offspring regardless of whether she's recessive White or Splash. However, it all depends on what your definition of fun is in this context.

 

[2ndTink]

I have heard conflicting reports on whether the dilution effect with splash actually happens or not. I don't honestly know on that one, and have no personal experience to lean on in order to answer about that.

As far as the blog goes, some of the wording choices are... not exactly the best in my opinion. But I think what they were saying about white coming out of blue is more meant to be that, while you would expect blue, black, and splash to be the results of breeding blue to blue, in some cases you might have recessive white pop up as well, and this is not to be confused with the white that causes the paint pattern.

Recessive white, as the name implies, is recessive, which means that it can be carried without expressing. That means it can essentially 'hide' in a line without showing up generation to generation. When two birds who happen to both carry the gene breed and produce offspring, then about 25% of their offspring end up being white due to inheriting the recessive white gene from both parents.

Recessive white shuts off all pigment to the feathering, so regardless of other genes being carried, the bird is white in color. It does not matter what those other genes are, the bird is still white. So, your pullet from your Blue x Splash crossing, if she really is pure white all over, then she could just be a true White Silkie and her parents both happened to carry the recessive white gene. Since you don't have a recessive White male, I don't think crossing her to any of the males you have would necessarily confirm anything 100% about her unless she happens to have the right genetics hiding under recessive white. If you cross her to a Splash male and get any Blues, for example, that would tell you that she is not truly a Splash and instead recessive White covering up Blue. However, she could also be recessive white covering Splash, thus making the result of crossing her to any of those males the same as if she was just a Splash without recessive white, so that would not really confirm anything at all.

As for fun colors to cross her to, I would think that the chocolate-splits would be the most fun to cross her to as they would impart the most variety in their offspring regardless of whether she's recessive White or Splash. However, it all depends on what your definition of fun is in this context.

Oh! I will have a recessive white cockerel! Through some not 100% responsible choices, I set some eggs from my TSC white silkies and I currently have 6 peeping 3 week old recessive white silkies I'm not so lucky as to have hatched 6 pullets so... if I crossed the mystery white to a recessive white, what would the chick colors tell us?

My definition of fun at this time is not defined, I figured I'd throw a few different combinations together and see what happens I plan on this initial "fun pen" changing over time as I learn what colors make what and what I like. I have a blue partridge, this white pullet, and whatever recessive white pullets I just hatched plus the two hens they are from. I'm not sure I'll do much if these kinds of crosses past this year. Once I have my fun (lol) I may just dabble in mauve's as my non-standard silkie color.

What would you expect chicks from a recessive white hen crossed with either of the chocolate splits I have? Or what color would you cross a recessive white with for kicks?

Thank you so much for the response too!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Oh! I will have a recessive white cockerel! Through some not 100% responsible choices, I set some eggs from my TSC white silkies and I currently have 6 peeping 3 week old recessive white silkies I'm not so lucky as to have hatched 6 pullets so... if I crossed the mystery white to a recessive white, what would the chick colors tell us?

My definition of fun at this time is not defined, I figured I'd throw a few different combinations together and see what happens I plan on this initial "fun pen" changing over time as I learn what colors make what and what I like. I have a blue partridge, this white pullet, and whatever recessive white pullets I just hatched plus the two hens they are from. I'm not sure I'll do much if these kinds of crosses past this year. Once I have my fun (lol) I may just dabble in mauve's as my non-standard silkie color.

What would you expect chicks from a recessive white hen crossed with either of the chocolate splits I have? Or what color would you cross a recessive white with for kicks?

Thank you so much for the response too!

TSC/Hoover's Silkies are dominant white. But they could potentially carry recessive white, though I've never hatched a recessive white one from them.

 

[2ndTink]

TSC/Hoover's Silkies are dominant white. But they could potentially carry recessive white, though I've never hatched a recessive white one from them.

Oh, I didn't know that! I just hatched two EE x white silkie and one SLW x white silkie, two are brown and only the ine from the white EE is white. If the TSC silkies were dominant white, wouldn't all the crosses be white?

I know basically diddly-squat about genetics...

 

[MysteryChicken]

Oh, I didn't know that! I just hatched two EE x white silkie and one SLW x white silkie, two are brown and only the ine from the white EE is white. If the TSC silkies were dominant white, wouldn't all the crosses be white?

I know basically diddly-squat about genetics...

Not necessarily all offspring would be white. What isn't known whether how many are pure for dominant white(2 copies), & who are only split(1 copy).
Not saying that these don't have the possibility of carrying recessive white, I'm just speaking from experience, breeding from them.

 

[2ndTink]

Not necessarily all offspring would be white. What isn't known whether how many are pure for dominant white(2 copies), & who are only split(1 copy).
Not saying that these don't have the possibility of carrying recessive white, I'm just speaking from experience, breeding from them.

I guess that would make sense, for the hatcheries specifically wanting white, they could mix the two. Once hatched with a single comb too.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I guess that would make sense, for the hatcheries specifically wanting white, they could mix the two. Once hatched with a single comb too.

Yeah.
This was a hatch from my Giant Silkie Project. These are from a Silkie/Brahma X White Silkie back crossing. Got 1 Dominant White chick, out of it.

The chick all grown up.