Breeding Orpingtons

[twach]

I am going to start an breeding my orpingtons. What colors seem to sell the best? This will determine the color of roosters I buy. Another question I have is if you have solid color birds how do you get the mottled and splashed patterns to show up?

 

[NatJ]

Another question I have is if you have solid color birds how do you get the mottled and splashed patterns to show up?

Mottled and splash are caused by different genes.

Mottling is caused by the mottling gene. That gene is recessive, so a chicken needs to inherit it from the father and from the mother or else you will not see the mottling. The mottling gene causes the color called "mottled" when the chicken otherwise has the genes to be black. The same mottling gene causes the color called "Mille Fleur" when the chicken otherwise has the genes to be Buff Columbian. The mottling gene is also involved in the colors of Speckled Sussex, and Jubilee Orpingtons.

Splash is caused by the blue gene. That gene dilutes black. So a black chicken, plus one copy of the blue gene, will be the gray color called "blue." But a black chicken with two copies of the blue gene will be splash (light gray or white, with splotches of black or blue.) You can get splash chickens by breeding two splashes together, or by breeding a blue to a splash, or by breeding two blues together.

I am going to start an breeding my orpingtons. What colors seem to sell the best? This will determine the color of roosters I buy.

What color orpingtons do you already have? Some colors work well when bred together, and some do not. So knowing what you already have can help people make better recommendations for what to add.

I don't know what colors sell best.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I am going to start an breeding my orpingtons. What colors seem to sell the best? This will determine the color of roosters I buy. Another question I have is if you have solid color birds how do you get the mottled and splashed patterns to show up?

For splash you need two blues or a splash and a blue. For molted, you need two birds c!rrying mottled or one mottled and a bird carrying mottled