Blue / Gray / Lavender ...difference?

[BlackBart]

What is the difference between blue, gray or lavender? I can't tell the difference except for shades of gray.

I went to see somebody's Lavender Orpingtons, expecting to see lavender colored birds (

) and I saw what I would call light gray.

I searched but couldn't find a description. Or is the shades of gray the difference? or is it more complicated?

 

[Goose and Fig]

Lavender and blue are completely different. As for gray- I've always assumed ti's just another name for blue, but in the context of breeds other than the usual orps, cochins, & the like. I could be wrong about that part though.

Lavender birds are a uniform color. They are very light.

Blue should be "laced" and can very in it's darkness. Blue roosters are usually really dark on top when they mature.

Beside that- lav & blue are different color genes.

 

[Goose and Fig]

Also- lavender will breed true, as blue (andalusian) will give you blue, black & splash.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Also, lavender goes by several different names. In the US, the recognised variety is called self-blue. Parts of Europe (Britain?) call it pearl grey. And self-blue is not necessarily lavender in other parts of the world.

Grey is entirely different than either of these. It is a patterned bird. It is multiple-laced partridge with silver instead of gold. It is exactly the same as silver partridge.