Chocolate Orpingtons

[jeremy]

Are mine true chocolates? Can you tell by pictures? One of them has red blotches on her wings and the other one has one red feather on the back of it's neck. The one that I'm sure is a cockrel is a nice dark chocolate color...






I'm also trying to decide if the two outside birds are pullets or cockrels. I'm sure the middle one is a cockrel...

Your birds do look like sex linked Chocolates, not Dun.

Watch out for any red/orange feathers. This is a color fault called leakage, meaning they are leaking color from recessively carrried genetics...

You DO NOT want to breed any birds with leakage. They should be culled.

Wait until they are mature though, as it could also be damage from the sun that is bleaching their feathers, though at their age it is unlikely.

 

[jeremy]

Can anyone explain how the sexing by color works? I've seen it with chocolates with other colors.
For instance ullets are chocolate and cockerels are black.
And I've even seen pullets said to be mauve,chocolate while the cockerels another color.
What do you need in a pen to do sex linked orps?
Thank you in advance

Choc MALE X Black FEMALE = 50% Choc FEMALES, 50% Black, split to/recessively carrying Choc MALES

Choc MALE X Splash FEMALE = 50% Mauve FEMALES, 50% Blue, split to/recessively carrying Choc MALES

 

[mjgigax]

Thanks for the plug @HighStreetCoop ! I'll attempt to explain the genetics behind the different colors as it was explained to me.

The Andalusian Blue gene (Bl/bl+) dilutes a Black bird. With one copy of the gene, a Black bird is turned Blue (Bl/bl+). With two copies of the gene, the bird is made Splash (Bl/Bl).

Dun behaves similarly to Blue. But instead of being a diluter, I was told that the Dun gene "masks"/covers up Black. So with one copy of the gene you have a cool hued-brown colored Dun (I^d/id+) bird, partially masking black. With two copies of the gene you get a Khaki bird (I^d/iI^d).

Both Blue & Dun only require 1 copy of the gene to be visually expressed in a bird.

The Chocolate gene (choc/choc) is also a diluter, turning Black birds a warm chocolately brown color. The gene is sex linked recessive, meaning females require only 1 copy of the gene to express Chocolate, while male birds need 2.

So if a Chocolate female doesn't have the gene she will be Black. She will only be Black, as females cannot be split to/recessively carry the gene. Males can hide one copy of the gene, visually they will be Black, but carry the Choc gene to pass onto their offspring.

If you breed a Choc male over a Black female, all of the resulting female offspring will be Chocolate, and all of the resulting male offspring will be Black, split to/recessively carrying 1 copy of the Choc gene.

When Blue and Dun combine, you get Platinum.
When Blue and Choc combine, you get Mauve.

The Chicken Calculator also refers to both of these colors as "Khaki", this is incorrect. I assume this is done because both colors are the result of 2 genes at work, a double dose, like you see with Khaki or Splash.

When Dun and Choc combine, you get a color folks are calling "Beige". I've only ever seen one picture of the color, and it looks to be a tan/blonde/pale brown color.

***Remember, because the Choc gene is sex linked, you will produce different colored and sexed offspring depending on how you have your breeding pens set up.

For example-

Choc MALE X Black FEMALE = 50% Choc FEMALES & 50% Black, split to/recessively carrying Choc MALES

but if you breed

Black MALE X Choc FEMALE = 100% Black offspring, with all of the MALES split to/recessively carrying Choc. The FEMALES will just be Black

Now... any questions?

My pen is a Chocolate cockerel, 3 Chocolate females and 1 Mauve female. Two of the chicks that I hatched recently are very, very dark. They look Black to me. Could my pen produce any Blacks?

 

[jeremy]

I am new to Chocolate breeding I have a Chocolate roo, 3 Chocolate hens, a Dun hen and a Cockoo Dun hen. I have just started hatching and my first two chicks look black. I breed Lavender Cochins and Black is used to improve Lavenders so I know what Black chicks look like. I have been reading some about Chocolate genetics and it is just a little more complicated but doesn't Chocolate to Chocolate = all Chocolate chicks?

Choc X Choc, no matter the sex of either parent bird = 100% Choc offspring, straight run.

You have DUN Orps @mjgigax ? LF or bantam?

Any pics?

 

[mjgigax]

Yes, painful but I sure do like these Orps.
Here is the Chocolate pullet I got with the Mauve girl-
I hatched 3 more chicks today, 2 definite Chocolates and a dusty colored chick that I guess is a Mauve

I started keeping chickens with Cochins because I love fluffy round and calm birds but Orpingtons lay better than Cochins!

 

[jeremy]

My pen is a Chocolate cockerel, 3 Chocolate females and 1 Mauve female. Two of the chicks that I hatched recently are very, very dark. They look Black to me. Could my pen produce any Blacks?

No. You should only hatch Chocolate birds, as well as a small percentage of Mauves from your Mauve hen.

The dark chicks are likely Chocolate. I've noticed some variability in down color, like you see with Blues, where some Choc chicks are paler brown, and others are darker almost appearing Black. As soon as they start to feather in, you should be able to see the Choc color.

IF they do start to feather in Black... then one of your birds isn't the color that you think it is, OR there's some sort of weird genetic mutation happening...

 

[chrissyr]

Choc MALE X Black FEMALE = 50% Choc FEMALES, 50% Black, split to/recessively carrying Choc MALES

Choc MALE X Splash FEMALE = 50% Mauve FEMALES, 50% Blue, split to/recessively carrying Choc MALES

thank you for the explanations. Made it all so easy to understand. I appreciate it

 

[jeremy]

Some of my bantams...

Mauve pullet.


Same Mauve pullet as above, different lighting.


Black split to Choc male, my main flock sire.


Mauve pair, the Mauve cockerel pictured here is the one I posted for sale.


Blue pullet.

 

[jeremy]

thank you for the explanations. Made it all so easy to understand. I appreciate it

You're very welcome!

 

[mjgigax]

Choc X Choc, no matter the sex of either parent bird = 100% Choc offspring, straight run.

You have DUN Orps @mjgigax ? LF or bantam?

Any pics?

I have LFs.
I do have a Cuckoo Orp. hen that was in with them at the time I collected the first eggs.
I thought I recognized her eggs and separated them but a couple of them could have made it to the incubator.
Also, the breeder I got my Mauve from called her a Dun (?)
Cuckoo hen that was in the Chocolate pen-
She is such a pretty girl that I keep her for eating eggs.