Help Henk69

[Buck Creek Chickens]

I don't know if you can help, but how can you get blue/splash/silver out of black, these are langshans, all of the breeders are black, also do you know if the white langs are sports out of blacks like Giants. I'll get a picture on so soon as I can.

this post has pictures of older chicks that came out these breeders https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=221798

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I'm not Henk, but I'll try to answer. I assume you mean blue/black/splash, not silver?

You have to have at least one bird that carries blue or splash. In the thread you posted, the breeders are listed as being black and blue. You said all black. Are they different breeder birds, or are they black & blue breeders?

A sport is either a recessive trait that pops up unexpectedly or a genetic mutation. With white it is likely to be a recessive gene carried hidden by each parent. But when bred together a certain percentage of the offspring will inherit the recessive variation from each parent and display that recessive trait--in the example you mentioned, white.

 

[Henk69]

You can't get blue or splash from 2 black parents.
You can't get splash from 1 black parent also, even if the other parent is splash.

You can get recessive whites, lavenders (and opals

) from 2 black parents if they both carry that trait.

But blue animals can be very dark up to off black!
Two such animals would throw splashes, blues and blacks.
But they wouldn't have a green sheen.

You can't get an all silver bird from 2 all black birds. Such a bird would have some kind of black pattern at least in tail and wings.
But black birds can be silver underneath the black (or gold).

Hope that helps...

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

So we have, recessive white/lav/opal not blue, cool, what will happen if I breed them together. What is opal?

 

[Henk69]

or you have some kind of accident going on...

Pictures of the parents would help to verify they are true blacks.

recessive white and lavender and opal are 3 examples of a color that is recessive (could be carried unnoticed) and could resemble what your chick looks like.

Opal is a very new mutation found in old english. Testcrosses are done to verify it is not another mutation with modifiers (like lavender or recessive white). Just mentioned it to be complete.

 

[keesmom]

Quote:
How can you verify they are true blacks? Can you tell by a green sheen?

Why I ask is the black cockerel I have has a nice green sheen, one pullet has some and the other doesn't. Though I'll check later when the sun moves around to make sure.

-Cindy in MA

 

[Goose and Fig]

Ahhh- this is starting to make more sense to me. It may be cochin feather type- but the blacks in my BBS flock do not have a sheen- they are almost a dusty black. Does this mean they are not true black? I wouldn't expect them to be, or is it just cochin type feathering?

Not trying to steal the thread- hope I'm staying on your topic!

BTW I love langshans- hope to get some next year.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

FWIW, I do not think green sheen indicates true black. I have birds who are very obviously blue who have a green sheen to their darkest tail feathers.

 

[keesmom]

Quote:
I went out to look at them in the sun and the 3 blacks do all have a green sheen, the boy's being the richest.

The little oddball pullet wasn't thrilled about being picked up but I took a better look at her. Her breast and flight feathers look white, while her hackles, wingbow, back and to some extent her tail feathers have that darker blue grey cast to them. Her hackles and wingbow have the most coloring.

-Cindy in MA

 

[Henk69]

Yes, delicate points my dear posters.

A true black does not have to have a green sheen. True.
A blue can have a green sheen on the black feather(part)s it has. True.

But a dark blue would be a matt black nonetheless.
So I wouldn't look for absence of sheen if your breed does not have any...

And I wouldn't look for sheen where a blue can have sheen. For instance the tailfeathers.

Pitty I don't have pictures of these very dark blues.