Making Mille Fleur from scratch

[onthespot]

in an earlier thread, and on other boards I have heard of different approaches to bringing new blood into mille fleur lines, by crossing with black mottled or buff lines. My question is, can a person create mille fleur from scratch by crossing mottledd with buff and crossing the F1 and F2 get back on each other?

 

[Krys109uk]

It takes three things to make a mille fleur: you need the Columbian gene, the mottling gene, and something to make a red/buff background. The red/buff background, in turn, can come from either wheaten -- E(Wh) -- partridge -- E(b) -- or duckwing -- e+ .

In theory, I hope Henk will correct me if I'm wrong, the columbian will restrict the black from the body of the birds leaving the body buff coloured.

Using mottled over buff columbian (or the other way around). If the mottled birds are mottled on extended black as one might expect the F1s will all be black. Possibly with some leakage. They would give a genotype E/eb, Co/co+,Mo+/mo. If you put that into the chicken calculator leaving all other genes, it will calculate the F2s. There ought to be some mille fleur in the F2s if you breed enough.

 

[amazondoc]

It takes three things to make a mille fleur: you need the Columbian gene, the mottling gene, and something to make a red/buff background. The red/buff background, in turn, can come from either wheaten -- E(Wh) -- partridge -- E(b) -- or duckwing -- e+ . So you have some flexibility.

The partridge and duckwing genes may add some feather patterning that you will have to work to get rid of. OTOH, I have heard that the wheaten gene may lead to problems with even distribution of color. So you pick your poison!

 

[Lotje]

I'm sorry to bring up an old topic -- but I'd like to know the answer as well! I have a buff rooster and a blue mottled hen. Is there any possible way that I could get millies, starting with them?

 

[Goose and Fig]

Me too! I'd like to know if I could use speckled sussex in the mix. I played with the chicken calculator but I couldn't figure out what color speckled is. BTW- love your little mille avatar!

Is there a way to use the chicken calculator backwards? That would be excellent!

 

[Krys109uk]

Henk made mille fleur from buff columbian & mottled.

The trouble with using Speckled Sussex in US, imo, is they are on wild type.

 

[Goose and Fig]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2554792#p2554792

So- I have a buff columbain- (buff brahma) and I oculd get a mottled. You know how many generations it took?

What does "wild type" mean with the sussex? Anyone know what oclor catagory they would be on the calculator? I just love the way they look- if I could only move that coloring into my Orps!​

 

[Msbear]

Quote:
Exactly. The buff columbian gives the black striping on the mottling. Buff will not get you the whole way there. And reg columbian uses the silver gene instead of the gold gene in buff columbian. This silver gene will cause sex-linked problems in your hens... not sure I can explain exactly what problems but maybe Krys will expand on that.

 

[tate]

i have used buff to improve type you can get milli from this cross but it doesnt show up till the f3s Josh started with a milli rooster and 2 mili/ buff cross hens his dad bought from me so he could tell better

 

[Krys109uk]

I've read that brown (eb) is the best for mille fleur. The millie bantams in UK were on eb.
From what I've seen wheaten (eWh) works well enough. Speckled Speckled Sussex & Jubilee Orpingtons are on eWh in UK, Personally, I don't think wild type/duckwing (e+) is a very good base for mille fleur.

I had not heard the thing about wheaten & distribution. In what way does it cause problems? Please will you elaborate?