amazondoc wrote:
If you know which hen produced his egg, then you could breed him back to his mom in order to produce more birchens. But you'd still have to breed out the gold gene in order to have something really useful. Otherwise you could breed him to a black copper hen, then breed him to his own daughters to produce more birchens. And once again you'd still have to work on getting rid of the gold gene.
Dangit, I realized when I was driving down the interstate this afternoon that I said this half wrong. I forgot one VERY important fact, namely that the silver/gold genes are sex-linked!
This means that the hen has only one copy of the gene. She has EITHER silver OR gold, but she CAN NOT have both. So she can't be a carrier.
SO -- in order to get more birchens, breed the birchen-carrying-gold rooster to a black copper hen. The hens that are produced will be either black copper, OR they will be birchen. The roos that are produced will be either black copper or birchen-carrying-gold. Then breed the birchen hens back to their birchen-carrying-gold father (or one of their birchen-carrying-gold brothers). THOSE offspring roosters will be either birchen-carrying-gold, or birchen.
Whew. Sorry for my attack of CRS syndrome earlier
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No problem
amazon. I really appreciate you taking the time to correct. Funny how things are always subject to change. I was hopeing for a flock of Blue Coppers,but Birchen are just as beautiful. So I wil take your advice. I have Black Copper pullets from the same eggs so I will breed the Birchens back to them,then the Birchen Roos back to whatever Birchen hens he produces,and so on.
One other question. Will the Blue Gene still crop up in some of the offspring since they came from Blue Copper eggs?
So much more to breeding these birds than I originally realized,but anything worth having is worth working for. Just glad we have knowlegeable people here!
