I have some black meat birds and some white meat birds that both have unique attributes that I would like to combine. I would also like the cross I produce to be "blue" feathered. What would be the best way to produce this? Is it better to breed a black roo to a white hen or a white roo to a black hen???Does it even matter? Any help and useful charts would be much appreciated!
You need to ask nicalandia . Hangs out on a bunch of lists here. He's a human genetics calculator. Very respected. https://www.backyardchickens.com/u/36900/nicalandia Best, Karen in western PA, USA
I am not Marvin but I do know the genetics of the chicken. The phenotype blue is a due to an incompletely dominant autosomal gene called blue. Normally, you can not cross a white chicken variety with a black variety of chicken and get blue. The only way you could produce blue chickens is if the white variety is carrying the blue gene under the white color.The white color is seen because the genes that cause white color remove any pigments that would add color to the bird. Most chickens are white because they carry one or two dominant white genes or they carry two recessive white genes. It is difficult to tell the difference between the two completely white varieties. An individual would have to see the down color of the chicks and or do some test crossing to determine the type of white the bird carries. Also as a rule dominant white birds are actually black under the white. If your white birds carry two dominant white genes, It makes no difference which bird is black or white. If you cross black male with a dominant white female ( or vise versa) all of the offspring will be a basic white color. The birds usually show some black leaking through the white but not always. If you cross a recessive white bird with a black bird ( does not matter which is male or female), all of the offspring will be basically black in color. You will have to out cross to a blue breed to get blue into the mix. Tim
I'm not one of the genetic gurus, but I can tell you it pretty much ain't gonna happen If you want a blue meat bird, the best thing I can think of is to find a splash rooster of a meaty breed, maybe a Marans? Put him over your black meat bird hens and all the offspring will be blue. At that point, research blue/black/splash genetic to see who to mate to who to increase the meat bird traits you want and still keep the blue color.
Thank you Tim! I have seen the types of birds I have mated together and a blue resulted. I'm just not sure exactly how they did it. Also I was wondering how long would it take until I got the blue birds to produce blue offspring? I assume some would be blue,some black,and some white? Sorry I'm slow with all this genetics are not my strong point. Thanks again!
