How Does Chicken Breeding Work?

[ottopt]

I’m pretty new to having backyard chickens. I have a black copper maran rooster and some various other breeds of hens. I’m just curious as to what the outcome breed would be it they mated? I know chickens will lay the same colored egg their whole life, so if I were to breed my black copper maran with a lavender ameraucana hen, would the offspring always be a lavender ameraucana? Just want some clarification

 

[Compton Chickens]

I have a a Black Copper Maran rooster as well! I was wondering the exact same thing since one of my hens just went brooody

 

[aart]

I’m pretty new to having backyard chickens. I have a black copper maran rooster and some various other breeds of hens. I’m just curious as to what the outcome breed would be it they mated? I know chickens will lay the same colored egg their whole life, so if I were to breed my black copper maran with a lavender ameraucana hen, would the offspring always be a lavender ameraucana? Just want some clarification

No, they would be a cross of Marans and Lavender Ameraucana.
Egg color is a different story.....offsprings egg may well be 'olive' eggs.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC and the wonderful world of chickens. If you put your general location into your profile people will be able to give better targeted advice for many of your questions because climate matters.

Chicken genetics are complicated and I'm just starting to get the hang of some of the easier parts.

Any time you cross two breeds you get a crossbreed/mixed breed/barnyard mix/etc that isn't one or the other -- though certain crosses are so common as to have their own names.

The cross of a dark-layer with a blue layer *should* produce olive eggs and thus an Olive Egger.

As for the birds' appearance, they're almost certainly going to be black. Lavender is a recessive gene that turns a black bird pale grey. So chicks from a black parent and a lavender parent are going to be black.

I admit that I have no idea how the "copper" part of a BCM works. I haven't delved into the genetics of "gold" and it's permutations (red, buff, etc.).

If your rooster has feathered feet and your hen has a beard the chicks will *probably* have feathered feet and beards -- like my little OE's here (Unknown variety of Marans x Easter Egger):