Creating an autosexing breed

[viragogurl]

I love the Buff Orpington Rhode Island Red Cross birds. I have a huge golden orange rooster that I would love to use to father an autosexing breed. I know I can breed barring into them, but I'm not particularly fond of barring. I'd like to use an alternate color female like a blue, or a laced variety to create a breed that can be sexed at birth. I am trying to understand the genetics, but it's slow going. Can anyone tell me if this is possible?

 

[DCchicken]

I am not an expert in chicken genetics, but if I were trying to create an autosexing Orpington-like bird, I would start with a breed like the Rhodebar or Bielefelder and mix with an Orpington. Although it may initially result in some barring, you would at least be able to sex by head dot at birth (or lack of a head dot). And if I had to choose an Orpington to start with, I would start with a Crele (sometimes called Legbar) Orpington. When my Bielefelders and Crele Orpingtons are old enough next year, I might actually try this to see if the autosexing gene would carry over to the Orpingtons.

But then again, I am not an expert in genetics, so I admit that this is just a guess. If you are serious about creating an autosexing breed, I would study the work done by Father Martin Silverudd, specifically his work on Fifty Five Flowery Hens and the Isbar breeds (although I don't believe he ever finished the work on the Isbars).

 

[viragogurl]

Thank you so much for the information. I will definitely check it out. I'm slowly absorbing the genetic info, but I have far far to go!