Easter egger roo/ saphire jem chicks

[kristina84]

I recently incubated eggs from my saphire jem hen and my easter egger roo. All but 1 are black! I did not foresee this being what they'd look like. One is grey like mama and I'm wondering where they got this coloration

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Cuties!

 

[AinaWGSD]

Saphire gems are blue, which requires 1 copy of the blue gene. If you breed blue to blue you get 50% blue (grey) chicks 25% black chicks, and 25% splash chicks (2 copies of the blue gene grey to white birds with light to dark grey "splashes"). Blue is a dilution gene, it changes black to blue. So in a bird colored like your rooster all the black on his feathers would be diluted to grey.

Blue to black would give a 50% chance of blue chicks and 50% chance of black chicks. You just didn't hatch a large enough number of eggs to get a 50% split.

The black chicks could develop more color as they feather in. I'm not certain, but genetically speaking I believe solid is mostly dominant over patterned. So they may feather out mostly black with some leakage.

 

[kristina84]

Saphire gems are blue, which requires 1 copy of the blue gene. If you breed blue to blue you get 50% blue (grey) chicks 25% black chicks, and 25% splash chicks (2 copies of the blue gene grey to white birds with light to dark grey "splashes"). Blue is a dilution gene, it changes black to blue. So in a bird colored like your rooster all the black on his feathers would be diluted to grey.

Blue to black would give a 50% chance of blue chicks and 50% chance of black chicks. You just didn't hatch a large enough number of eggs to get a 50% split.

The black chicks could develop more color as they feather in. I'm not certain, but genetically speaking I believe solid is mostly dominant over patterned. So they may feather out mostly black with some leakage.

Thank you for your response. That helps so much