Genetics book

[Isaiah53]

I'm interested in genetics for my chickens. We purchased a farm last year and it came with 35 chickens. I would like to figure out colours and learn more about the colours for breeding purposes to keep my line colors clean.

Can anyone recommend a good layman's book and also an advanced book that's fairly easy to grasp.

Currently I have a buff Orpington rooster (although someone thought he might be a lemon cuckoo but I can't see any barring in the feathers)

A blue Orpington rooster
A chocolate cuckoo rooster (although someone thought he might be an English Crele )

I have a lavender Orpington rooster I'm getting tomorrow as well as a blue Ameraucana rooster

My Orpington hens range in colour black, white, chocolate, buff, barred and several more that I cannot identify and may have just been randomly bred with no concerns for colours. I may also be purchasing a blue Orpington pullet.

My ameraucana hens are black and a couple have white with grey splotches. One is a darker grey with splotches. I suspect they're a mix with a couple of the previous roosters who were killed by coyotes last year.

So my goal is to weed out the mix of colours and work with pure colour lines. Any book on figuring this out would be awesome.

Many thanks to you all.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi there.

Check out this link...
http://kippenjungle.nl/Overzicht.htm#kipcalculator

It doesn't account for the birds that will have some bleed through of color but it gives you a good general idea...

And of course may require some term learning... are your white or grey with splotches actually splash? And barring will carry over... hens will give it to their male offspring producing a sex linked white spot on the head when bred to solid color... plus some breeds will have certain things effect a color differently... blah blah blah... I have ALMOST no idea what I'm talking about! One example though... in Ameraucana, what is called partridge for others like Welsummer or Leghorn is actually called Silver. And also in Ameraucana, black copper is known as red brown I THINK, just as examples.

And one more...

While this color chart is basically true... I have learned that running my black and blues together makes for less crisp black and much darker blue, so shade of feathers will be effected by the choices you make. I know just enough to have a lot of fun and be really confused most the time... By which I mean it has become so fascinating, I have so little time and brain power and so much genetic info to try and retain.

Hope this is helpful!

 

[Isaiah53]

You can just see the white with grey splotches in the center, beside the two toned taupish looking one (any idea what colour that is?) with the white one (both of those are Orpingtons).

Appreciated your reply!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I suspect the grey splotches to be Splash like this...

Since you have some chocolate hens... I think your your rooster might be chocolate cuckoo more than creole, but I'm just guessing. Also I feel like creole has more color than that. Do you know what happened to his neck?

My best guess on the two toned one... maybe blue cream/porcelain (that's Lav cross to buff I THINK)? Or even just a light blue (verging on Lav). Blue is often two tone, darker on the head. And shade can vary quite a bit. That's my actual suspicion.

@Ol Grey Mare seems like you are pretty good with this stuff if I remember correctly.

 

[Isaiah53]

I suspect the grey splotches to be Splash like this...

Since you have some chocolate hens... I think your your rooster might be chocolate cuckoo more than creole, but I'm just guessing. Also I feel like creole has more color than that. Do you know what happened to his neck?

My best guess on the two toned one... maybe blue cream/porcelain (that's Lav cross to buff I THINK)? Or even just a light blue (verging on Lav). Blue is often two tone, darker on the head. And shade can vary quite a bit. That's my actual suspicion.

@Ol Grey Mare seems like you are pretty good with this stuff if I remember correctly.

When we purchased the farm his neck was like that but I have noticed he lets the hens peck his feathers. It's bizarre. I think he's chocolate cuckoo as well, but I don't know fersure.

And yes, the white with grey looks much like that. But since all these hens/roosters were brought here by the previous owner, I couldn't tell you who the parents were. The other two are much lighter with more taupe colours and I do have chocolate hens but as I say they were all brought here at the same time . I think they're about 3 years old now.

On a different note. I just picked up a 13 month old lavender Orpington. What colours would you recommend crossing him with?


Thank you for your help and time it's so appreciated!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I just picked up a 13 month old lavender Orpington. What colours would you recommend crossing him with?

Lavender will breed true if bred to Lavender. Bred to anything else, I believe it will act as black since it is a recessive gene to black.

Some need to breed lavender back to black to keep their feather quality good because lav can become brittle after a few generations. I believe all offspring will look black but carry the lav gene so when bred back to one of the "splits" (black with lav gene) or to lav again will give you SOME lav and some black.

My rooster did let the hens clean his wounds daily which kept them from healing very fast. When I separated him to a stag pen, he encouraged the chicks to clean it. I think healing is itchy sometimes.

In some instances... what happens with the offspring will depend on which parent contributed what. For example a barred hen will give two copies of the barring gene to her male offspring when bred to a solid color, so all males will be barred...

On the other hand... breeding a barred male to a solid female, I believe all offspring will be solid but the females will carry a single copy of the barring gene which they could pass to future generations. This *may* be called whatever color "split" to cuckoo. Just like the the other is called lav split to black.

Now I THINK Lav crossed to Buff *might* give you porcelain aka blue cream. But I really haven't researched it well yet. And let me go ahead and call on someone who seems to get things a little more correct than me... @The Moonshiner, I always value reading your input!

Check out this thread, it has a bunch of genetics links to play with...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/genetics-chart-explanation-of-chicken-calculator.1222932/

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Color basics link:
https://www.starmilling.com/chicken-feathers.php

 

[Isaiah53]

Thank you OhZark Biddies this was very helpful as well!

I was told my new lavender Orpington roo has lacing seems it's not so special, but common. Oh well He's a gorgeous rooster and so gentle I absolutely love him already.

 

[Isaiah53]

Unfortunately one of the links goes to a banana page image and the other link to the calculator does not seem to work. I am sure there are other calculators out there so I'll go look around.

Thank you so much for your help. Although I'm done hatching this year I'm looking forward to working with my new roosters and the hens I have.

God bless!