Brahma chicken colors!

[JK Farms]

I'm starting to breed Brahmas. I'm getting a dark Brahma rooster Saturday and have to wait a month to make sure that the mixed rooster isn't the chicks father is the Brahma. I have one buff Brahma hen and the rest are light Brahma hens. My question is what colors should expect? should I expect more dark brahma colors or just a mix of them? I will post pictures of the flock as soon as I get everyone one separated into the different coops but I have to finish the other coop first. Also would I have to wait a month before they hatch or should I keep on that path instead of doing it earlier?

 

[Ravynscroft]

Color variety should be bred to same color variety... I don't know if darks and lights can be bred together without mixing the color patterns up... pretty sure you don't want to to mix buff with either...

 

[JK Farms]

They are the same breed so why would it matter if I breed them to the different colors? I found some on what they would look like

 

[speckledhen]

Here are some answers for you from this page: http://www.brahmacochin.org/poultry-breeding-genetics

If you want to breed to a standard, don't mix them, other than partridge and blue partridge, which is like blue/black/splash, same results, really, with addition of a pattern. It does not even show breeding darks to buffs on the page, but this is from Australia where they have different colors than we do here. I'd say do not breed Dark to Buff. (Buff and Buff Columbian are the same thing, in case you ask)

If you are breeding a backyard flock for fun, you can do anything you like, of course!

Light male x Buff Columbian female = 100% Light (hiding Buff) males x 100% Light females

Buff Columbian male x Light female = 100% Light (hiding Buff) males and 100% Buff Columbian females

Light male (hiding Buff) x Light female = 25% Light males, 25% Light males (hiding Buff), 25% Light females and 25% Buff Columbian females

Light male (hiding Buff) x Buff Columbian female = 25% Buff Columbian males, 25% Light males (hiding Buff), 25% Light females and 25% Buff Columbian females


Since I have partridge and blue partridge with one Dark hen, I found this interesting:

Dark male x Partridge female = 100% Dark (hiding Partridge) males x 100% Dark females

Partridge male x Dark female = 100% Dark (hiding Partridge) males and 100% Partridge females

Dark male (hiding Partridge) x Dark female = 25% Dark males, 25% Dark males (hiding Partridge), 25% Dark females and 25% Partridge females

Dark male (hiding Partridge) x Partridge female = 25% Partridge males, 25% Dark males (hiding Partridge), 25% Dark females and 25% Partridge females

Dark males (hiding Partridge) will look like a Dark male because the Silver gene is dominant over its alternative the Gold gene. So heterozygotes for Silver and Gold look like a Dark. However, the gold can sometimes 'leak' through in the plumage, particularly on the wing and around the neck and saddle hackle. This is not always a certainty and sometimes Dark males (hiding Partridge) can appear to be a pure Dark male. In this instance the males genetic makeup is only revealed when some of his daughters turn out to be Partridge even though he was mated to a Dark female. At first, the results of these crosses may seem odd but if we think about the inheritance of sex-linked genes it makes sense. Remember males can possess two copies of either the Silver or Gold gene or a combination of both genes whilst females can only possess one of the alternatives. Because females can only posses one Silver or one Gold gene they are called hemizygous and not heterozygous.



This is because the Silver and Gold genes are located on chromosomes which determine the sex of an individual, termed sex chromosomes. The two sex chromosomes in chooks are called Z and W. Females have a Z and W (ZW) chromosome and males have two Z chromosomes (ZZ). The W chromosome in females is very small and does not carry the same genetic information as the larger Z chromosome. In humans we call our sex chromosomes X and Y and the pairing of these chromosomes is reversed between the sexes. So human females have two X chromosomes (XX) and males have an X and a Y chromosome (XY), with the Y chromosome being small and carrying less genetic information.



We call the sex possessing two copies of the same sex chromosome the homogametic sex and the sex possessing one of each type of sex chromosome the heterogametic sex.

 

[JK Farms]

The rooster is dark and the hens are light and I have one buff

 

[speckledhen]

I found this post from 2011 for you by Illia. Hope it helps.

Buff and Light Brahmas are identical except for gold vs silver genes. Crossing a Buff male to a Light female will give sexlinked offspring for example, whereas the females are Buff, them males are "golden" - they're yellow with red shoulders.

Crossing Light with Dark makes for what most hatchery Lights look like - Mostly white with a lot of black penciling.

Crossing Dark with Buff makes for what most hatchery Buffs look like - Mostly orangey with a lot of black penciling. If the female is the dark one in this crossing, you get sex-linked offspring. Females will be heavily pencilled orange birds, males will be yellow, red, and black in color.

Sounds like the Light x Dark would make a lower quality-looking Light Brahma. Too much penciling. What it will not do is give you good quality colors. As with most breeds, there is usually a big difference in hatchery stock and good quality breeder stock.

BUT, what is your goal? To sell stock? A fun backyard Brahma flock? Depends on what you want.

 

[JK Farms]

This is my stock.....someone told me he might be a birchen Brahma instead of a dark...he's in the 4th and 5th pic

 

[Ravynscroft]

This is my stock.....someone told me he might be a birchen Brahma instead of a dark...he's in the 4th and 5th picView attachment 1160908 View attachment 1160908 View attachment 1160910 View attachment 1160903 View attachment 1160904 View attachment 1160905 View attachment 1160906 View attachment 1160907

Sorry, but he is neither... he is mixed color... if you just want a fun colored flock of brahmas, then use what you have... but you made your thread in the breeding to standards forum... breeding to standards requires breeding like color to like color... mixing colors will just give you tons of work to breed out later...

 

[gojira]

First, the hens the op has are dark Brahma, not light. The rooster is a mix like was already stated. I agree that breeding to this rooster will not get you to the standard, I disagree that breeding to the standard requires breeding like color to like color. There are many routes to breeding to the Standard.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Agree that the OP has a dark brahma, and a buff... no light at all. Also agree that the cockerel is a mix of something.

BUT... if breeding to a standard is what you want, then you have to understand that the colors cannot be mixed or they won't be to standard. In birds, like other domestic animals that are color specific, you have to keep like to like. If you breed that cockerel to any of your pullets, all your going to have is mixed breed brahmas.