Ok, To get everyone on the same page. I have no Mottled genetics or chickens. I am trying to figure out what color to cross over the other color to get a mottled color, or a spangoled color. I want to do this myself,and even if it takes me a while. I want to develop my own strain is what im getting at. It would be easier to get a mottled and cross to my chickens, but im trying to keep the body type close to the same, feathers, combs etc.... lets say cochins.... Any help to get me started would be great....
I'm no expert on genetics, but the mottle gene is recessive, so in order to obtain mottled offspring you need to have both parents carrying at least one copy of the gene. This would mean crossing in a mottled bird to one of your own birds --> offspring will carry one copy of the mottle gene and probably won't show any white, or maybe just a little. Then you cross these offspring, and some of the resulting chicks will be mottled, some will carry one copy of mottle gene, and some will have none. That approach does the least alteration to your existing line's type, especially if the new bird has a build a lot like your own birds. You also won't lose as much of the genetics that you already have and like, because you're crossing siblings. Of course the challenge is that you can't keep on doing that indefinitely; after a few generations the birds tend to lose vigor. To avoid that problem you would probably need to cross that first mottled bird with three or four of your existing birds, to develop a pool of stock to work with that isn't too closely related to itself. I am sure that the experienced breeders on this forum can give you more precise information. For instance, I don't know whether there are genes that will "cover up" mottle. I know that there are genes that affect how well it expresses, but I don't know what they are. I have played around with mottling in my own flock (mostly mutt mixes) and watched how the mottle gene behaves; it's a little unpredictable. Depending on your own birds--like say if you have some mixes--it's even possible that you have mottle hiding in there somewhere, or spangle. Spangle genetics might be easier to work with, but I know even less about spangle than I do mottle. It's very pretty, though. I can recommend a fairly decent book on chicken color genetics if you like; it's a little hard to read in places and lacks photos, but the author does a pretty good job of explaining how color works on chickens.
