Calling all Brahma people - Partridge questions w/lots of pics

[Sjisty]

I have posted pictures before of these guys as chicks, but now they are about 18 weeks old and massive. The first is Junior, son of my beautiful Gizmo. He has a lot of blue and is just starting to get his golden saddle and tail feathers.

Next I have three girls - are these blue partridge hens? They are lighter than my regular partridge hens.

This is a normal partridge, shown for comparison -

I would like to develop the blue, but these guys are all brothers and sisters. What can I add to the mix to dilute the consanguity? Maybe pair the girls with an unrelated regular partridge roo and then breed the offspring back to Junior or one of the moms?

I also have this color from the same pairing - I'm assuming this is the lemon pyle half of the mix. Mother of all these guys was a lemon pyle, dad was a blue partridge.

These are a couple of the boys -

And one of the girls -

I would love some suggestions. I cannot go back to where I got these guys, so I just have them to work with.

Two more pictures - mom and dad

 

[Chickanmanfromarkansas]

Don't know your answer, but those are some beautiful chickens you have there.

 

[big medicine]

I think your cockerel and the first pullet may be somewhere between partridge and columbian patterned. If straight partridge(or penciled) patterned your cockerel should have a solid black or in this case blue chest, and the first pullet should have penciling in her breast feathers. Which makes sense, now that I look at the parents. The second pullet looks to be closer to a blue partridge.

Yes, you could use (black) partridge to improve the pattern, half the chicks should still be blue, if one parent is blue. This would be my choice.

The others look closest to blue and or spash buff columbian to me. You could bring in standard buff brahmas, if so desired.

We have talked about this before, but the thing you are going to have to be diligent about, and cull severely for, if you wish to clean up, are the hocks. Vulture hocks are recessive, and tough to get out, as proper hocked birds could still be carrying the trait. So you would be ahead not to use any birds that show the trait in your breeding pens. If both parents have vulture hocks you will set the trait in your line, every chick will have it. I still have a few show up in my silver laced birds, thanks to their cochin ancestory, and I have been culling for it for many, many years.

 

[Sjisty]

Hi Big Medicine -

My normal partridge boys and girls don't have the vulture hocks. I will have to try them with the blues and cull any that show the hocks. I'm at a disadvantage as there are no blues without them, but maybe in time ...

I've got a long way to go and am really quite ignorant of genetics, so thank you for your help.