Patterning

[PeckinGorgeous]

H! Hope this is in the right place.

After joining byc I kind of got into the idea of mixing varieties just for fun. The only thing I have right now is a flick of Black Australorps. I love their size, disposition, egg laying abilities; basically everything about them, but I would love to see them in a crele or partridge pattern. I just don't know if this is possible.

I've looked at genetics a bit but it is WAY over my head right now with school and everything. So I was hoping someone would find it in their big, floppy chicken heart to explain how I could get an Australorps with a pattern the quickest route? I assume an Orpington of sorts but where do I go from there?

 

[junebuggena]

Australorps are extended black. It's a dominant gene, so it will take a few generations to stop getting mostly black birds. There is no quick route to breeding for a new color in an established breed that does not have the genetic material required for the desired pattern. You will have to add in a different breed to introduce the color and pattern that you want. Then you will have to line breed tightly to get back to the proper conformation. Barring would be probably the easiest color pattern to work on, since it's already based on extended black. A Barred Rock rooster would pass his barring to all his chicks. Since the Australorps' white skin is dominant over the Rock's yellow, that should be fairly easy to breed out. Then you would just have to pay close attention to overall shape and color. Once you have good quality Barred Australorps (this may take a few years), you can cross your best rooster to red or partridge type hens. This will give the barring the multi-colored effect of 'crele.' Again, you will have to work towards getting back to the right overall shape while selecting for the coloring that you want.

Or you could just get a few Golden Cuckoo Marans. They are comparable to Australorps in size and laying abilities, and they are the color that you want.

 

[PeckinGorgeous]

Australorps are extended black. It's a dominant gene, so it will take a few generations to stop getting mostly black birds. There is no quick route to breeding for a new color in an established breed that does not have the genetic material required for the desired pattern. You will have to add in a different breed to introduce the color and pattern that you want. Then you will have to line breed tightly to get back to the proper conformation. Barring would be probably the easiest color pattern to work on, since it's already based on extended black. A Barred Rock rooster would pass his barring to all his chicks. Since the Australorps' white skin is dominant over the Rock's yellow, that should be fairly easy to breed out. Then you would just have to pay close attention to overall shape and color. Once you have good quality Barred Australorps (this may take a few years), you can cross your best rooster to red or partridge type hens. This will give the barring the multi-colored effect of 'crele.' Again, you will have to work towards getting back to the right overall shape while selecting for the coloring that you want.

Or you could just get a few Golden Cuckoo Marans. They are comparable to Australorps in size and laying abilities, and they are the color that you want.

Well, the last is just about as simple as it gets. I had no idea the marans were so comprable to th australorp.

Thanks for taking the time to explain the rest. I wonder if anyone else is already working something like this.