Blue Rock color

[ravenswood]

I like Blue Rocks. I can't seem to find them to buy; thought maybe breeding them would be easier.

Also fun. My training is in animal genetics.

I understand blue x blue = black, blue, & splash, and that black x splash = blue.

Here is where the internet sources get hazy / nonexistant.

(I think) Splash = black x white, and these splashes bred back to black sire make blue.

Will this work with all White Rock hens and all Black Rock roosters?

White Rock pullets / sexed chicks seem easy to come by.

Black Rocks not so much. Any suggestions?

Where do the Barred Rocks fit in? Could they be used instead of the Whites?

 

[RAREROO]

No you do not get Splash from breeding black to white. You get splash from a double dose of andalusian blue. You have to breed Blue to blue, blue to splash, or splash to splash to get slash.

If you want blue Rocks, you have to start with the blue gene, if you can find a Blue or Splash roo to breed with barred rock hens, that would give sexlinks that would be Blue barred males and Blue females.

But either way, you have to have the blue gene to start with.

halo ( though I think she has her birds running together for the summer is what some one else who was looking for them told me) and Yard full o' rocks have them and I'm sure there are several others here that have them from halos lines.

Maybe PM one of them and see if they have anything avaiable.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! I have Blue / Blue Barred Rocks (originally from Kathy) --- 2 blue girls with a blue barred boy.
Chicks hatch black, blue, splash, barred, blue barred, splash barred.
Next generation, I'll be able to hatch all Blue Rocks (Black Rock over Splash Rock hens) --- just waiting on those girls to start laying.

Lisa

 

[MrChicken207]

I personally am not a big fan of blue, BUT that shouldn't prevent anyone or even everyone else from being fans. It's only because if you breed blue to blue, you don't get all blues (unless you get struck by the lucky genes fairy and all of the chicks happen to have that gene combination). If I wanted to have a variety of colors in the chicks, I'd just mix 2 colors from the start. Good luck with your search for blue rocks of your own.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! To me, that's the fabulous thing about breeding blues... you get a reliable variety of colors.
I've read that people don't like breeding bluexblue because they don't 'breed true'.
But to me, they do breed true --- always black, blue, or splash. Truely and always.
And they are all useful to breed back to get more blues! Or breed all blue x splash (all blue and splash). Or pull the blacks to get just blacks (although some would disagree they don't make 'black enough' blacks (??).

The blue gene is an excellent example of an incompletely dominant gene.
One copy of blue (Bl/bl+) dilutes black to blue; two copies of blue (Bl/Bl) further dilutes the plumage to splash.

Seems to me, if the blue gene isn't there, black is just black.

Lisa​

 

[HBuehler]

We have them as well but I just turned them out to play rest of the summer..have as many chicks as I needed in the bators right now.I've thought about hatching only blues but I have so many raves about my splash and the demand here for black is nearly as good as blue.
Barred Rocks work fine for making blue as long as you want some blue barred..they are beeauutifull but then again all the blue rocks are..who am I kidding...all chickens are

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! Rocks are popular here. Everybody that sees the splash Rocks wants to have one. But splash-anything is really attractive. Blue Barred and Splash Barred Rock girls sell well, but I get booggged down explaining their genetics (fancy that).
Most people don't give a whit about genetics --- they want a showy/pretty girl that will lay well.

Lisa

 

[Tony]

Quote:
Not ALL of us have Halo`s or Yards Lines. lol

Some of MY Blue and Splash Rocks:

 

[Chickanmanfromarkansas]

HBuehler Wrote

Barred Rocks work fine for making blue as long as you want some blue barred..they are beeauutifull but then again all the blue rocks are..who am I kidding...all chickens are

Right all chickens are beautiful, except frizzles, showgirls and silkies.​

 

[HBuehler]

hands off my frizzle..we love him(he's only cute not pretty) would sell you every one of my son's silkies if I could...I meant chickens not those things

We will be hatching the last(maybe) of my blue's this year in about 2 more weeks..all of the roos will be for sale since they will be barred and I don't need barred blue boys..just girls.