Lavender/Split Genetics Questions??

[HenThymes]

A hen that is a black split bred to a lavender, will she produce lavender offspring every time?? So if I end up with a resulting black in my hatch from a lavender rooster over my split hens then obviously someone in the bunch is just a regular black?? TYIA

 

[scbatz33]

if she is a black split to lav and bred to a lav, you will get a mix of black splits and lavenders. If you breed the lavenders back to lavender then you will get 100% lav.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

What scbatz said.

The lavender parent will contribute a lavender gene to all its offspring. The black split to lavender parent will contribute either a lavender gene or a not-lavender gene to its offspring (each chick as a 50% chance of inheriting one versus the other--with a large number of chicks the ratio is 50/50; with a small number of chicks the ration can be off quite a bit).

Chicks who inherit two copies of lavender will display lavender; chicks who inherit one copy of lavender and one copy of not-lavender are said to be split to lavender, and do not display any evidence of it.

With a large number of chicks, you will get 50/50 lavender and splits.


If you breed two splits together the odds change. Only 25% will inherit two copies of the gene. 50% will inherit one copy and the other 25% will inherit two copies of not-lavender. Problem is you cannot tell the difference between those that inherit a single copy and those that do not inherit a copy.

 

[HenThymes]

So say a particular hen is a "split black", can she produce both split blacks and lavenders when bred to lavender??? And if she is throwing split blacks every time is she then just a straight black being bred to lavender thus creating "split blacks"??

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
First, lets get the terminology correct. It is not a "split black" It is a "black split to lavender." The first colour term references the phenotype (actual appearance), "split to" is synonymous with "heterogygous (sometimes abbreviated "het") for." The last term is the gene that is present in a bird in a heterozygous form; meaning that the bird also possesses a different allele for the gene.

And yes, a black split to lav bred to a lavender will produce both lavenders and blacks split to lav. WIth small numbers of offspring, percentages are unlikely to be accurate, with large numbers it should be close to half and half.

 

[HenThymes]

Quote:
Thank you, that does clarify things some for me, well said.

Sorry scbatz, I just wasn't putting two and two together. That's what happens when your brain is scrambled having a six month old.

 

[ChooksChick]

There are a couple of fantastic threads with visuals here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=73357

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=69653

 

[scbatz33]

Quote:
Thank you, that does clarify things some for me, well said.

Sorry scbatz, I just wasn't putting two and two together. That's what happens when your brain is scrambled having a six month old.

Been there, done that! The short answer is if you have a black hen and you have a lavender roo(or vise verse) and you are only getting black chicks, you do not have a "split". All the offspring of the cross however, IS "split" If you are getting both lav and black chicks, then your black adult is "split".

I don't know if anyone else is having this, but I have noticed that some of my offspring from a similar mating are bleeding through lavender. Sometimes, black orps will show some white feathering in their first set and it disappears after molt into adult feathering, but my chicks are "bleeding" lavender. It's actually very cool.

 

[scbatz33]

Quote:
Love that first one! Chicken genetics for dummies! I could have so totally used those charts when I first started! LOL! I spent hours writing and rewriting the break down so I could remember it.

 

[josh44]

Quote:
Split is a fancy word for Half, 50/50
so if she is half / 50% black & 50% Lav, & is being bred back to lavender.

I would say your chances are pretty high , of hatching lavender chicks.
75 % lav . If your luck, & about 25 % black split but carries 3 quarter lav genes.

So keep those offsping/ pullets breed them, back to lavender father.
To strengthen the Lav genes.