Lavender color question

[Meara]

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It took me a while to figure it out, and I wouldn't have except that as he got older he showed some red leakage.

Lavenders can show red leakage. It just depends on what other color genes they are carrying. Also since lavender and blue are separate genes a bird can be Bl/bl lav/lav - a lavender bird also carrying an allele for blue and so that bird could throw a black chick or a blue chick. My understanding is that it can be hard to tell visually if a bird is lavender and also blue because it will visually appear lavender.

 

[Thespoiledchicken]

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Lavenders can show red leakage. It just depends on what other color genes they are carrying. Also since lavender and blue are separate genes a bird can be Bl/bl lav/lav - a lavender bird also carrying an allele for blue and so that bird could throw a black chick or a blue chick. My understanding is that it can be hard to tell visually if a bird is lavender and also blue because it will visually appear lavender.

This is what I am afraid of. If one of the birds looks Lav but is carrying blue I could unknowingly sell blue chicks as Lav

Would the most likely impostor be the really light Lav pullet? Does anyone know how to tell if a bird is carrying any other genes besides Lav? Is there some type of breeding I can do to show it?

Thanks,
Trish

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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True that the birds can carry both blue and lav, but even if the blue gene throws not-blue (black), the lav gene will always breed true unless they are not pure for lav, so you should not be able to get a black or blue bird.

In my experience, birds that are blue and lavender look more like a blue than like a lavender. They will display the darker body parts as does a blue (darker head, hackles, and on males, saddle and tail); likewise with splash and lavender--you will see the uneven colour of a splash.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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http://www.edelras.nl/belgians/colour.htm will help you tell whether a bird is blue, lavender or both.

 

[Thespoiledchicken]

http://www.edelras.nl/belgians/colour.htm will help you tell whether a bird is blue, lavender or both.

Thank you for that link, great info! Once I get the birds I can use it to help identify them. Interesting how it mentioned a "paler Lavender" as possible for a Bl/bl lav/lav.
Sure hope I can get all this figured out!

Trish

 

[NewHopePoultry]

I have a couple of chicks who from a distance look self blue, when when you hold them, you can see some gold/blonde in their feathers mainly around their neck. Are they still self blue with leakage? They arent Porcelaines
Their mom was self blue, not sure about the dad.

 

[Thespoiledchicken]

I have a couple of chicks who from a distance look self blue, when when you hold them, you can see some gold/blonde in their feathers mainly around their neck. Are they still self blue with leakage? They arent Porcelaines
Their mom was self blue, not sure about the dad.

The Lav chicks tend to have blond in their down and that is ok. As adults though any gold / blonde is considered leakage and is undesirable.

Trish

 

[NewHopePoultry]

Thanks for the info!
How do you tell the difference between a "bad" Porcelaine and self blue/lavender with leakage?