Question about the Lavender Color

[Blue]

I have a lavender Cochin bantam (I'm assuming lavender because she has pretty solid coloring, and with other blues I've seen, their heads and necks were much darker than the rest of their bodies), and this spring I hatched out a chick from one of her eggs (the father is a black-tailed red Old English). Her chick is a solid black cockerel with a small bit of leg feathering and he is now getting a small bit of gold/red in his hackles (he's around 8 or 9 weeks old right now). My question is does lavender work like regular blue? If I cross her with her son, will the offspring be 50% black, 50% lavender, or possibly some other combinations since his father was red?

 

[GotGame]

No, the only way for you to get lavendar is for both birds to carry lavendar. You cross a lavendar on a black bird, you will get all black chicks, some of which will carry the lav. gene and some wont. Lavendar to lavendar will always produce lavendar, and only lavendar.

 

[Blue]

So, if her son carries the lavender gene (don't know if he does) would some of the offspring be lavender? Is there any way to tell if a chicken has the lavender gene other than just breeding it and seeing what hatches? These are probably dumb questions, but I'm really not that good when it comes to genetics.

 

[gumbii]

the only way to know for sure is to test breed...

 

[muddyhorse]

the hen has two copies of the lavender gene.
she gave one to her son. if you breed him to a lavender bird you will bet 50 % lavender offspring.
if you breed to a bird with one copy of the lav gene you will bet 25 % lav babies
you can not tell if a bird is a lav carrier by looking at it.

 

[Blue]

Quote:
Thanks! I'll probably just hold onto him and try hatching out some eggs from them next spring to see what I get.