Yes ty. The first 2 photos are the same chick. It’s cross is Whiting Green/Lavender Roo. I was just wondering if it would throw blue or green eggs still after the cross.
The last photo is what I’m thinking people call a Black/Lavender Split. So if she’s a pullet, if I cross her back to another Lavender Roo could I end up with a Lavender Maran? Her mother hen is a BCM x Lavender Orpington. This is so very interesting. Ty so much!
As to your Whiting Greens/Lavender Roo crossing for egg color. THAT I am very confident on the genetics.
I looked up Whiting True Greens which were developed by Tom Whiting. According to my research, they are a newly established breed and apparently have solid blue gene genetics. Why does that matter you ask? Because to breed blue forward, you want to 2 blue genes.
The blue gene is dominant. That means many green layers are hybrids that only have 1 blue gene as they are the progeny of a blue layer over a brown layer producing offspring that lay green. Whitings are a breed meaning standardized genetics (though still in progress as it is an early breed). That means it *should* have 2 blue genes. To breed blue forward all the time, you want a parent that has 2 blue genes.
You have bred your Whiting True Green over a Marans.
The Marans, if you have a typical one, should have lovely dark brown genetics for the brown wash over the shell (actually hemoglobin wash, like paint). Crack open a brown egg, and you see white shell inside as the brown is literally hemoglobin paint on the outside.
Blue shell is produced by bile thrown into the calcite gland. The shell itself is blue. Crack open a blue egg, and you will see blue shell.
Brown wash over white shell (no blue shell gene) produces shades of brown. Brown wash over blue shell produces shades of green. No brown genes present, you have only blue shell.
Whiting has both blue genetics and brown genetics as it is stated a "green layer." As stated, it appears it is a true breed that will have 2 blue genes, and some brown wash genes, so its offspring will always get 1 blue gene. Your Marans should have lovely genes for brown wash (it is estimated about 13 genes cover brown wash). This should add to the brown wash genes in the Whiting.
That means the Whiting will bring green (created by blue shell with brown wash) to the Marans dark brown wash. The offspring should lay dark olive eggs.
In my olive egger breeding, I find the brown wash genetics breeds out very quickly, and I often get a lighter brown tone each generation, so lighter olive. I am working on my next generation of rooster (son of my Barnevelder) eagerly awaiting this batch of chicks to grow to see how much of the brown genes I recaptured.
You are smart to use a pure Marans rooster as he will always bring fresh brown wash genetics to the table. Likewise with the Whiting (if it is as I read and a true breed with 2 blue genes). The Whiting will always bring blue to the table.
However this F1 (1st generation) hybrid of olive eggers will NOT always breed blue forward since that would mean breeding forward you would get the blue gene only 50% of the time. 50% of the time you would not have any blue gene passed. No blue gene means no blue shell. Breeding these F1 back to the rooster will get 50% green and 50% brown, varying shades.
Very fun project near and dear to my heart. I used Cream Legbar (my blue layer) and Barnevelder (my brown layer). I'm now on F3 or F4 scrambling to keep all my genetics clean.
LofMc
