Orpington breeding/genetic questions

[chipens]

Hi all, I have a lil breeding group of 5 orpingtons. A black roo, 2 black hens, a blue hen and a lavender hen.
The lav, blue and roo are from the same batch of eggs I brought from another breeder. The 2 black hens I was given so unsure breeding etc.
So far I've been getting black and lavender chicks.
So the roo is a lavender carrying black?
I've got a lav roo I want to swap with the black so I get more lavender chicks. The roo is the group's offspring. But i want another opinion if he is going to be any good, to me he is slim looking not nice and poofy like my other roo. Will post pic.
Also the latest batch has 2 black chicks but they have an orange tinge, where would this come from? Is it normal for "pure chicks" or maybe the 2 unkown hens are not 100% orp??

 

[LaidWithLove]

Bear with me since I am new to color genetics lol..

Your roo is a black carrying lavender. Not all blacks carry lavender, but some can without showing it (being lavender) themselves. All your chicks from the black roo WILL carry that lavender gene, so you still will have those if you choose to retain and breed the black rooster.
Lavender, unlike blue, breeds true, so if you cross the Lavender roo and hen, you will get more lavenders. A higher ratio.
as far as the "orange" on the black chicks, I'm surmising leakage or bleedthrough, which is what we call it when a color (usually red brown) comes through on the color when it was not bred to be that way.
I just rehomed a splash Langshan boy for this, a bummer as he was my first splash!!


it is also possible the hens are not 100% orp or came from hatchery stock, which can throw more wonkiness in the mix in terms of color. I have a blue cochin hen from a hatchery that has the tail shredder gene, which is pretty common in lavenders. it can be broken by careful breeding, so keep record. it presents as a raggedy looking tail, like they've been drug through a bush or that they're molting. I see it commonly in hatchery blues and lavenders.

here is a link that explains more about lavender genetics:
https://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-b...ariety of poultry,softer shade of pastel blue.

 

[chipens]

Pics.
Lavender roo
Orange on chick
And added some of parents (black roo and one of the black hens)

 

[LaidWithLove]

I would think bleedthrough but it also could be a color pattern from another breed showing up if those two weren't total Orpington.

On the roos.. that Lavender definitely has some tail shred goin on lol. He's pretty, but I would not breed him. Your black roo is MUCH nicer. The Lavender also seems slim like you said, lacking the body depth an Orpington should exhibit. I would keep the Lavender as a guard or general, nonbreeding roo unless these are just for pets. Tail shred will be hereditary and I personally wouldn't want to add it into the mix. You'll likely get another lavender cockerel without it as you go.

 

[chipens]

Bear with me since I am new to color genetics lol..

Your roo is a black carrying lavender. Not all blacks carry lavender, but some can without showing it (being lavender) themselves. All your chicks from the black roo WILL carry that lavender gene, so you still will have those if you choose to retain and breed the black rooster.
Lavender, unlike blue, breeds true, so if you cross the Lavender roo and hen, you will get more lavenders. A higher ratio.
as far as the "orange" on the black chicks, I'm surmising leakage or bleedthrough, which is what we call it when a color (usually red brown) comes through on the color when it was not bred to be that way.
I just rehomed a splash Langshan boy for this, a bummer as he was my first splash!!


it is also possible the hens are not 100% orp or came from hatchery stock, which can throw more wonkiness in the mix in terms of color. I have a blue cochin hen from a hatchery that has the tail shredder gene, which is pretty common in lavenders. it can be broken by careful breeding, so keep record. it presents as a raggedy looking tail, like they've been drug through a bush or that they're molting. I see it commonly in hatchery blues and lavenders.

here is a link that explains more about lavender genetics:
https://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-breeding/the-lavender-gene/#targetText=The Lavender Gene&targetText=The lavender variety of poultry,softer shade of pastel blue.

Interesting about the tail shredder thing if u look at the lav roo he has raggety feathers. I thought it was from him being picked on when I put him in hes is only young hatches April 19th

 

[LaidWithLove]

hmm that could be. I would keep an eye on it and if it doesn't smooth out then I would refrain from using him. You could also run a test hatch using him to see what you get. Lavender will always be popular so you shouldn't have a hard time selling the chicks if you do not want them

 

[chipens]

I would think bleedthrough but it also could be a color pattern from another breed showing up if those two weren't total Orpington.

On the roos.. that Lavender definitely has some tail shred goin on lol. He's pretty, but I would not breed him. Your black roo is MUCH nicer. The Lavender also seems slim like you said, lacking the body depth an Orpington should exhibit. I would keep the Lavender as a guard or general, nonbreeding roo unless these are just for pets. Tail shred will be hereditary and I personally wouldn't want to add it into the mix. You'll likely get another lavender cockerel without it as you go.

Yes I didnt think he is a very good representation of the breed and my goal is to sell fertile eggs, chicks and pullets. And now I look I think possibly my lav hen has the shredder thing

 

[LazytownChick]

That's a beautiful black rooster!

 

[chipens]

That's a beautiful black rooster!

Thanks

 

[The Moonshiner]

All your chicks from the black roo WILL carry that lavender gene,

Not all chicks will carry lavender.
There's a 50% chance they will and a 50% chance they won't.
So expect about half to carry it but you of course won't know which do or don't by looks.