Checking Lavender Cockerel's Viability

[adubsroit]

My boyfriend and I just purchased a Lavender Orpington. He is beautiful beyond belief, in quarantine till we are sure he is totally healthy but seems to be acclimating to the flock well through the pen fencing.

We plan to use him in a breeding project this spring and was wondering if it is unheard of to have a test-run? We also have a Delaware pullet who has been steadily laying, though the days are getting shorter here in NE Oregon so it has declined. If she continues to lay steadily, would breeding the two to check make sure of his potency be out of the question?

He has some days to go before he is run loose with the flock, but please remember this is hypothetical. He is coming up on 18 weeks and she is about 24 weeks old. I realize they are young, but even in the case an older set of birds: is this a viable option?

Also, any idea as to what a Lavender Orp and Delaware cross progeny would even look like? Come spring he should have some nice Lav Orp girls to keep him plenty busy,

 

[dsqard]

I have read that many breeders will hatch "test" eggs to ensure fertility.

 

[adubsroit]

In the chicken calculator, would it make sense to enter a Delaware as a ground color silver and pattern color black? If yes, would I enter the pullet as a columbian, blacktail or ginger? On the calculator selection table they all look sort of Delaware-ish.

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

According to the chicken calculator you would likely get

Black BARRED roosters (split to lavender)
Solid black hens (split to lavender)

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

I don't know about the whole "columbian" thing and all that it entails, however, sounds like with a lav orp x delaware, you'd be well on your way to coronation delawares or something of that sort!

 

[Yard full o' rocks]

On the calculator, Delawares are Columbian, silver wheaten based, barred

 

[adubsroit]

Quote:
Ya? I'm just interested in what the hatch may result in. Seems to me like a Opr X Delaware would be a really sweet bird. Our Delaware, Alice (as in "Wonderland") follows you around and is very talkative around us. The Orp so far seems extremely calm. We have one other cockerel, Sasquatch the white Silkie, and he is just not having this new man around his ladies. Usually he is really quiet and to himself, unless you're around his main squeeze our seemingly calico Silkie pullet.

 

[dsqard]

I don't know enough about color genetics to tell you what you might wind up with but I bet they will be really cute chicks! If you don't want to keep them there would probably be plenty of people who would love to buy them for their flocks. If you do hatch some, you will have to post pictures!

 

[adubsroit]

Definitely,

.

 

[adubsroit]

Quote:
Yano, I never even though of that even being a possibility. It was honestly within the past month I even found out about the Coronation Sussex. My boyfriend really likes them, so for the hell of it I looked around for hatching eggs. Before shipping, I found 6 of them going for 51 dollars!! Needless to say: they'll have to wait. After all, I'm still a college student, and he is at his first real job.

Also, Yard full o' rocks: thanks for the info!