Lavender Ameraucana Breeders .... UNITE

[Couchmo]

Getting ready for my shipment of Lav Am from Once in A Blue Moon....cant wait!!!

YAY! I'll be getting mine in about a month. So excited!

 

[RugerFan777]

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Mr Blehm this blue looking chick came from your lavenders!

 

[Shaffer]

If you breed two lavenders together you will not get a blue chick. Are you sure this is what you mated or do you have a light blue mated to a lavender?

 

[RugerFan777]

If you breed two lavenders together you will not get a blue chick.  Are you sure this is what you mated or do you have a light blue mated to a lavender?

Only John Blehm lavenders and cross splits. No idea, only think I can think off is the is a spontaneous blue or some blue dilutes got into Johns pen.

 

[dheltzel]

Only John Blehm lavenders and cross splits. No idea, only think I can think off is the is a spontaneous blue or some blue dilutes got into Johns pen.

I think either case is unlikely. Because blue is partially dominant, it is trivial to remove from your flock, just always breed black to black. John has not had blue in his flock for years, AFAIK, and you definitely know if you have the blue gene anywhere.

The more likely case is an error when the DNA was being replicated that caused the lavender genes to be "less effective" at fading the base (black) color. It might be heritable, or a one-off sport. The question will be if the color is desirable and you want to try to perpetuate it, or not. If not, I would not breed from that bird as the trait could be recessive and recessives are quite hard to eliminate fully (need homozygous birds for test matings and all the resources that requires).

 

[Shaffer]

Since you used splits which are black then one of the lavenders is also carrying a blue gene. You will not be able to tell if so unless you check the feather quills and that will tell you if it is a lavender carrying a blue gene. This is very possible and not a mutation.

 

[Thespoiledchicken]

There could be something possibly to the mutation theory as I had it in my flock of lavenders as well. I was breeding from blacks (definite blacks no blues) that were split to lavender and I was hatching lavenders, blacks and the occasional grey/ blue chick. I was very confused at the time because I thought black couldn't hide blue so how could that be happening.

I was able to isolate the birds that were passing it and started looking into possibly a smokey mutation or maybe even something attached to the lavender gene but it all got so crazy keeping so many separated and hatching so many and record keeping that I finally gave up

The blues that were hatching had a very dark blue/ smokey appearance and most would eventually turn completely black with a few staying a dark grey at adulthood. This had me thinking it was a partial dominant gene that expressed at hatch but recessive in nature to keep the color.

Here are a few pics

These 3 were all hatched from black splits



This is what the blue chicks look like at hatch





Same blue chick getting darker



Below hens were the black splits I was hatching from (roo not pictured but smooth and black as well)



One of the few blue/ grey chicks now matured that actually kept the color and didn't turn black. He is almost like a silvery black so weird.






I was also working with silkied ameraucanas so the silkied feathering was expected.

 

[RugerFan777]

I have lavender and black crosses. Both from John Blehm. No other roosters.

 

[Shaffer]

I have lavender and black crosses. Both from John Blehm. No other roosters.

Yes but one of your lavenders maybe a blue lavender you will have to check the feather quills to know which one.

 

[Shawneegyrl]

I just had a youngster ask me if Lavender Ameraucana can be shown by 4H members. I have no idea about 4H rules. I think he is here in Florida. Anybody know the answer?