Colour experts

[Canuck88]

Hey guys!

I have a sweet Isabel Cuckoo Orpington cockerel that I was planning on finding a few girlfriends for, but the more I research the colour the more I find myself backing off from how difficult it seems to maintain. I am not the best with colour genetics..

I am just curious what I would get if I crossed him on other coloured Orpington hens? Just a straight mix of colours? Or..?

I currently have buff and chocolate hens, and either lavender or mauve pullets. But I’m not opposed to buying new hens/pullets of any colour, just wondering what do to with my cute little guy as I don’t really want to give him up but am trying to only keep roosters to breed with.

Sorry for the random post!

 

[sylviethecochin]

Columbian is just lavender Crele, correct? And that's barred partridge in orps, correct?

Partridge x buff'll get you spotty black and yellow coloring. It'll vary, depending on the parent's genetics, but you should get mostly yellow chests and bellies, and some ghost multiple lacing (think barnevelders or partridge rocks) on the back/saddle feathers (this pattern is in hens. I've got no experience with the males.) They'll all be barred. This should make the lacing pretty hard to see.

Partridge x chocolate should get black chickens with gold leakage (on the chest and neck for hens, on the neck and shoulders for males) and barring. Mauve's the same, but there'll be different recessive genes hidden under the black.

All in all, I'd avoid breeding him to either of those colours. If you don't want to find some Isabel Cuckoos, breeding him to a Partridge hen should at least give you chicks with a nice, non-leaky pattern. If you breed his chicks back to him, you might even get some proper Isabel Cuckoos. Statistically, about 1/8 of those theoretical F2s should be Isabel Cuckoos.

 

[Amer]

With buff you get buff barred (males with one copy of barring)...
With chocolate you will get barred with leakage(males carrying chocolate and with one copy of barring)
With lavender you will get lavender barred with leakage (males have one copy of barring)
With mauve you will get lavender barred with leakage (males have one copy of barring and carry chocolate)
IF your male has two copies of barring.



Your male crossed with buff will be by far the most interesting. I’d be interested in seeing that.