Can someone explain cuckoo?

[chipens]

Hi, I'm looking at buying fertile eggs to get some hens to go with my orpington roo and came across cuckoo orpington.
My question is, is cuckoo a breed type? Or just a name for colour, like buff, splash lavender etc? So the colour would be like the barred?

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Cuckoo is similar to Barred but more irregular. Genetically cuckoo and barred are not the same thing.

 

[lilmillefleur]

Cuckoo is just a pattern, not a breed. There are also cuckoo marans, dominiques, and even silkies.
I thought cuckoo/barred were the same genetically. They do look a bit different. Compare a cuckoo orpington to a show quality barred rock.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I think when broken down into genetic terms they are different. A cuckoo bird or a barred bird can be used to make a Black Sex Link.

 

[Rysktal]

I think when broken down into generic terms they are different. A cuckoo bird or a barred bird can be used to make a Black Sex Link.

How?

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Cuckoo and barred are the same thing genetically, meaning its the same gene involved that contributes the barring, it is just expressed a bit differently on slow vs fast feathering breeds.

Slower feathering breeds like the rock, develop nice even bars of black and white, faster feathering breeds like the marans, develop less even barring, and so it is called cuckoo pattern

 

[OhZark Biddies]

How?

If you use a barred hen with an unbarred rooster, then you will get barred males, and unbarred black females, and there is a head spot on all of the day old male chicks that indicate the barred chicks.

see the first post at this link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/sex-linked-information.261208/

 

[BlackHackle]

Hi, I'm looking at buying fertile eggs to get some hens to go with my orpington roo and came across cuckoo orpington.
My question is, is cuckoo a breed type? Or just a name for colour, like buff, splash lavender etc? So the colour would be like the barred?

Cuckoo isn't a breed type, but just a color. It is genetically the same as barred, and carries the B/B cuckoo/barred gene that barred does. It is simply just a fast-feathering bird's version of barred, with a 'V' shape to it rather than barring.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

How?

@The Moonshiner would know.