Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ChicoryBlue]

It's Official!

Aster has laid an egg, 7 in fact!

We have been away visiting family for 11 days. She must have started right after we left. There were no eggs on 12/22. In fact I had not seen her even check out a nest box. let's allow a day or 2 and estimate that it was a Christmas present from her to us. that would then be 7 eggs in 9 days!

So now its guessing time. Before looking, what color do you think it is? Is it white like a leghorn? Is it another beige egg? Could it b dark brown? Did BY Bob get another Blue layer somehow like her mum? Is it green of all things? Or is it a royal Pink in hue?

Guess before looking

Spoiler: What color is it?

It is the official color of FBA, Beige.

View attachment 4019181

It weighs 1.7 oz or 47 grams

View attachment 4019182

Does that help at all with breed identification? It must at least rule some breeds out, right?

I’ll say blue because I so want that for you, and maybe it’s possible she’s some kind of different legbar! But I’d prefer two choices, blue or a beautiful white.

 

[BY Bob]

But do you think that Her Majesty would approve of that?

Absolutely.

 

[BY Bob]

@BY Bob What do you know? There ARE Splash Australorps! One of Aster's parents?
View attachment 4019461https://happyheartfarmsfl.com/splash-australorp/

Pretty chickens.

 

[BY Bob]

They are lovely.

But I feel Astor is too sleek for an Australorp cross even. She has to have some sleek light breeds in her.

I'm leaning that way as well. She is very much like her Mum in build.

 

[BY Bob]

Could she be a White Plymouth Rock? Do they fly well? Have to say my BR flies worth crap. But maybe the white are more streamlined…?

In my memory White Plymouth Rocks are large birds. But it's been decades since I saw one in person.

 

[BY Bob]

Splash is 2 copies of the diluted black gene. 1 copy makes blue View attachment 4019486splash (2 copies)

Crossed with the little orange roo in the backgroundView attachment 4019487makes the blue of the little lady in front (yes the offspring). She does have orange leakage around her face, but otherwise is entirely blue.

Black crossed with ANYTHING else CANNOT make splash. It doesn't have the restricted black gene that make the blue tone. Blue crossed with another blue can make blue 50% of the time by getting 1 blue gene from either parent. It makes BLACK 25% time when the offspring gets the not restricted gene from BOTH parents. It makes SPLASH 25% of the time by getting BOTH restricted genes from the parents.

@BY Bob if I recall correctly, she was supposed to be a lavender orpington? Lavender and self-blue are genetically the same while Blue-black-splash (bbs) is the SAME gene, different twist on it, so I don't think can be on the same bird (75% sure on that part).


2016 thread on this, also has links (haven't checked to see if those still work) to more info on lavender.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/difference-between-blue-and-self-blue.1105880/

Basically (I think) lavender washes the same black gene as the BBS does. However, lavender is recessive while BBS is dominate. So, in order for lavender to show, it MUST have 2 copies, otherwise the bird will be "black split to lavender" so can produce lavender offspring when crossed with another bird also lavender or split to lav. The ratio comes out to the same as the blue to blue producing splash or black. Where it differs is the other 75%. Those babies will ALL be black. 50% (of the original total) will also be split to lav, while the remains 25% will be black. Those black (like the black of BBS) will NEVER produce lavender offspring as they lack the gene entirely. The 50% that are split to lav function like the blue of BBS and carry the trait without showing it.

Based upon this, it's possible the original breeder got what THEY thought were lavender birds that were actually BBS without knowing enough to tell the difference (BBS tends to have a darker head and a hint of darker lacing on the feathers. Lavender is called self-blue due to the more uniform color and is usually lighter than BBS blue.)

Interestingly, both porcelain (mostly found in bantam breeds) and Isabella colors use LAVENDER to get the light blue tones combined with superwashed golds. BBS is too dominate (and unpredictable) to get the consistency most breeders are looking for when developing colors.

Build wise, Aster exhibits so much Mediterranean body shape, that it's pretty much a guarantee that she's got leghorn in her. The white legs make me think a leghorn roo got to an orpington hen and things progressed much like Cheetah's offspring: body build of father, egg color of mother. Blue or splash leghorn rooster went avisiting....blue orpington (lighter shade, breeder thinking was lavender instead) mother reaped the benefits and produced a daughter built just like daddy with mommy's brown egg (dominate over white eggs). Now, wandering daddy could just as easily have been a blue Andalusian (also a Mediterranean frame) with the same results.

This finally makes sense to me. Dad White Leghorn, Mum Lavender Orpington. I like it. 2 of my favorite chickens. Hopefully it makes for a super-healthy, long-lived chicken.

 

[BY Bob]

Why does having chickens shatter my nerves!!

They do that to us all at times. At other times they bring bliss.

 

[BY Bob]

View attachment 4019523

Handsome fellow.

 

[BY Bob]

@BY Bob if I recall correctly, she was supposed to be a lavender orpington?

Yes, she was.

 

[BY Bob]

Splash is 2 copies of the diluted black gene. 1 copy makes blue View attachment 4019486splash (2 copies)

Crossed with the little orange roo in the backgroundView attachment 4019487makes the blue of the little lady in front (yes the offspring). She does have orange leakage around her face, but otherwise is entirely blue.

Black crossed with ANYTHING else CANNOT make splash. It doesn't have the restricted black gene that make the blue tone. Blue crossed with another blue can make blue 50% of the time by getting 1 blue gene from either parent. It makes BLACK 25% time when the offspring gets the not restricted gene from BOTH parents. It makes SPLASH 25% of the time by getting BOTH restricted genes from the parents.

@BY Bob if I recall correctly, she was supposed to be a lavender orpington? Lavender and self-blue are genetically the same while Blue-black-splash (bbs) is the SAME gene, different twist on it, so I don't think can be on the same bird (75% sure on that part).


2016 thread on this, also has links (haven't checked to see if those still work) to more info on lavender.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/difference-between-blue-and-self-blue.1105880/

Basically (I think) lavender washes the same black gene as the BBS does. However, lavender is recessive while BBS is dominate. So, in order for lavender to show, it MUST have 2 copies, otherwise the bird will be "black split to lavender" so can produce lavender offspring when crossed with another bird also lavender or split to lav. The ratio comes out to the same as the blue to blue producing splash or black. Where it differs is the other 75%. Those babies will ALL be black. 50% (of the original total) will also be split to lav, while the remains 25% will be black. Those black (like the black of BBS) will NEVER produce lavender offspring as they lack the gene entirely. The 50% that are split to lav function like the blue of BBS and carry the trait without showing it.

Based upon this, it's possible the original breeder got what THEY thought were lavender birds that were actually BBS without knowing enough to tell the difference (BBS tends to have a darker head and a hint of darker lacing on the feathers. Lavender is called self-blue due to the more uniform color and is usually lighter than BBS blue.)

Interestingly, both porcelain (mostly found in bantam breeds) and Isabella colors use LAVENDER to get the light blue tones combined with superwashed golds. BBS is too dominate (and unpredictable) to get the consistency most breeders are looking for when developing colors.

Build wise, Aster exhibits so much Mediterranean body shape, that it's pretty much a guarantee that she's got leghorn in her. The white legs make me think a leghorn roo got to an orpington hen and things progressed much like Cheetah's offspring: body build of father, egg color of mother. Blue or splash leghorn rooster went avisiting....blue orpington (lighter shade, breeder thinking was lavender instead) mother reaped the benefits and produced a daughter built just like daddy with mommy's brown egg (dominate over white eggs). Now, wandering daddy could just as easily have been a blue Andalusian (also a Mediterranean frame) with the same results.

I rely on you completely for genetic explanations. You make it all seem so simple. Thanks so much for working this through. I am so happy you chose to hang out with us. I learn from you every time.