Introducing new blood line to blue orps

[joebryant]

Quote:
Doesnt seem right to me, but I am no genetics guru. I would expect some blacks and even a splash from that mating.
I was told that the feather shaft being blue, no matter how dark the bird is, means you have a blue bird. If the feather shaft is black, he's black. I rarely get super-dark blues, but I had one that I would swear was black; I went back and forth till he was about 10 weeks old when I sold him via the feedstore, but now I realize he was a very dark blue.

If you get another one soon, I'd like to buy him/her.

 

[speckledhen]

Joe, you'd have to come down and pick it up, though. I don't ship, sorry! I had one dark blue from the last hatch, but not as dark as that first one. He was Suede's brother.

 

[halo]

So heres another blue question. What if you have a nicely laced and shaded blue, such as Miss P's Mosby and Cyn's Suede. If you breed them to hens of a similar color, a nice medium blue with lacing, what will you get? Will the next generation fade out even more, or will you get blues like their parents?

 

[speckledhen]

Since I've done that with Suede and his two ladies, I can tell you that I get usually a lighter blue, a couple medium blues and one blue that is fairly dark, plus the usual one splash. Every batch I get seems to work out that way.

 

[halo]

So I have another question (I must have too much time on my hands to keep thinking of chicken questions). If you breed splash to splash, you get all splash, correct? Now are these offspring able to be bred back to blues, or do you lose the blue gene? What about the lacing gene, will you lose that if you breed splash to splash?

 

[msrma7670]

I think you do get all splash back if you breed it that way. I do not think you would lose the blue gene.
Someone correct me if wrong but, splash carry the blue gene (the black non dominant gene) So if you breed those offspring back to a blue orp you should wind up with all blues since both parents carry the gene.

I belive the only time you lose the blue gene is when you cross black to black b/c the genetic square leaves you with a black orp without the blue gene. someone correct me if I am wrong.

I know very little of lacing. Do not even know what lacing is exactly sounds pretty though!
Maybe someone could explain that to me?

 

[MissPrissy]

Quote:
Memorize that chart. Seriously. This is the way the genetics works.

This chart is always right no matter which combination you breed and the generation doesn't matter.

If it is a splash and you breed it to a blue you can get blue and splash.

If you breed a black and a blue you get black and blue.

The lacing is the dark outline on the feather tips. The lacing you see is there even if it is so light it blends in with the rest of the feather coloring. It is poor coloring that is poorly defined.

 

[msrma7670]

Thank ya I forgot.

Miss Priss what are some good books on the market on this genetic stuff? Or is it more learn as you go...experiance.

 

[MissPrissy]

Anything you can get your hands on. There are many books written over the years amd most have something to offer but don't have everything we want. There is a new book supposed to be coming out from the Netherlands that is strictly the genetics of color. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy.

Here is a website that I find interesting.

http://www.utilitypoultry.co.uk/genetics.shtml

Search google and amazon. You'll find tons of stuff.

 

[EweSheep]

Most of my Orpingtons were from Catalupa Farms, Gordie (Tommy Stanley and Warren Tye lines), Bama Chicken (Sandhill) and two from Angela Stanley would give me alot of areas to work with. I would not hesitate using father to daughter matings, mother to son matings and aunt and uncle matings but I do shy away from brother x sister matings because it would be opening a can of worms that I least expect.

I agree with some of the folks in here about the genetics. I would pick the blackest pullets to mate with blue roos or vice versa. I agree that Catalupa Farm Black Orpingtons are so beautiful that my Onyx won top of her class at the county fair and she probably will go on to the state fair. Too bad we dont have any Orpington shows around here. Her color is so black with some green sheen and boy, was she BIG! The judges at the show loved her overall of all the chickens shown at the fair and she was true to type even she was starting to molt.

Good luck and hope you would have good success in raising Orps.