Can anyone help identify the breed(s) of this rooster? Im thinking bielefed and new Hampshire?

[Twizzler]

Have you found the chicken genetics calculator yet? It's great fun to play with!
https://kippenjungle.nl/kruising.html
http://kippenjungle.nl/breeds/crossbreeds.html
(Same basic calculator, but the second version has even more options.)

Oh man I have to read up on chicken genetics before I fiddle with those so I know what I’m looking at!

 

[Kayburt]

Thanks NatJ, that was really helpful!

 

[NatJ]

Oh man I have to read up on chicken genetics before I fiddle with those so I know what I’m looking at!

Well, you can read up on genetics, but I often use it like a little min-game: "if I change this gene, what will the chicken look like?" It usually updates the picture at the top of the page, and it definitely updates the description.

Some genes only show effects in the presence of certain other genes, but there are quite a few that have simple effects that are easy to see.

For example:
Di or Ig make the red parts turn pale yellow
S makes the red parts turn white
B makes white bars across the feathers
Bl makes the black parts turn blue
lav/lav makes the black turn lavender and the red turn pale yellow
choc/choc makes the black parts turn chocolate
I makes the black parts turn white
c/c make the whole bird turn white

There are even some things that I learned by playing with it, that hadn't made sense when I read about them

 

[Twizzler]

Well, you can read up on genetics, but I often use it like a little min-game: "if I change this gene, what will the chicken look like?" It usually updates the picture at the top of the page, and it definitely updates the description.

Some genes only show effects in the presence of certain other genes, but there are quite a few that have simple effects that are easy to see.

For example:
Di or Ig make the red parts turn pale yellow
S makes the red parts turn white
B makes white bars across the feathers
Bl makes the black parts turn blue
lav/lav makes the black turn lavender and the red turn pale yellow
choc/choc makes the black parts turn chocolate
I makes the black parts turn white
c/c make the whole bird turn white

There are even some things that I learned by playing with it, that hadn't made sense when I read about them

I think what throws me is that I know the abbreviations with dogs. B is black, b is blue, d is liver/chocolate, bbdd is isabella, I is intensity that controls the red on a dog, making it anywhere from fox red to white. So I need to re-learn the abbreviations I know and then keep the others straight lol

 

[NatJ]

I think what throws me is that I know the abbreviations with dogs. B is black, b is blue, d is liver/chocolate, bbdd is isabella, I is intensity that controls the red on a dog, making it anywhere from fox red to white. So I need to re-learn the abbreviations I know and then keep the others straight lol

Oh, I can see how that would make it confusing!

The calculator does list both the abbreviations and what the gene is usually called, which means at least you don't have to go back-and-forth to another page for the names.

I've also found that knowing something about the genes for one animal makes it easier for me to learn about another, because I understand the basics of how genes work. (Although chickens have backwards sex chromosomes: females are ZW, males are ZZ, so all the sex-linkage things work backwards compared to mammals.)