Mixing Breeds

[Liberty615]

Australorp rooster X Isa hens and Bluebell hens. Thoughts and comments please. I've had two black chicks hatch a week ago.

 

[sylviethecochin]

ISA is a crossbreed, or a heterozygote, so it has two different genes that its offspring can inherit—either dominant white (I) or non-white (i) ISAs have a wheaten color pattern.

Australorps have no dominant white. They're (i/i) and have an extended black color pattern (E/E)

All the chicks will inherit an extended black pattern gene from their father, and a wheaten pattern gene from their father. Since extended black is dominant, it's the pattern that the chicks will express. Extended black allows for a variety of colors, so long as they're black or dominant white based. (i.e., black, blue, lavender, dominant white.)

The ISA chicks will all express extended black. Half of them will inherit (i) and simply show the black genes that they've inherited from both parents. Half of them will inherit (I) and will be completely dominant white, with, perhaps, a few black feathers here and there.
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Not sure what bluebell hens are, but I found that they're solid coloured and related to Marans and RIR.

Since Bluebell hens are solid blue, they carry at least one, possibly both extended black pattern genes. Since they're blue, they carry one splash, one black gene. Chicks will inherit black or splash.

The rooster is extended black and he carries two copies of black. His offspring will all be extended black. But half of them will inherit the black gene from their mother and be solid black, and the other half will inherit the blue gene from their mother and be solid blue.

 

[Liberty615]

Very interesting! Thank you! I don't really know that they are Bluebells but after searching for silvery grey hens with darker heads, the pictures matched pretty well. So I will expect black ones but I'll post pics as they grow.