Random Lavender Chick?

[mebberry4]

This is one of the chicks that hatched under my broody today from 'barnyard mix' eggs which were purchased locally. The lady that sold them to me stated she had NH Roos with BA, BO, NH, RIR and BR hens. She also said she had WL and Ameracaunas, but didn't give me any white or colored eggs. The eggs I set from what she gave me were brown, tan and cream if that helps, but the cream/off-white colored ones candled clear at last check a few days ago.

I'm wondering how I could have possibly gotten a lavender chick out of any of those combinations. Not that I mind, it is a beautiful color, but let's just say I'm baffled by chicken genetics.

Any suggestions or thoughts would be great! Thanks in advance!

 

[BantamLover21]

I'm not sure how you could have got a Lavender colored chick from those breeds, but am interested to find out. Hopefully others with more chicken genetics knowledge will respond. It is very cute!

 

[Griffinsong]

Lavender is a recessive gene, meaning a chicken can be a carrier without it being visible [unlike regular blue, which is always visible] Not sure how that gene would get into the parents if they are purebreds, though, there must have been some crossing along the lines. Or maybe they had an EE/Ameracauna roo? That can carry pretty much anything and the eggs would not be blue if the father but not the mother was the 'cauna. One of the mostly black hens would be likely to be the mom, either way..

If both parents carry blue it could also be a Splash chick[or a pale Blue, if only one parent carries blue], but blue would be visible on the parent birds[their usually black markings would be gray or whitish] because it is incomplete dominant, not recessive like Lavender.

 

[keesmom]

It is not possible to get lavender out of any of those pairings. I suspect it came from one of the Easter Eggers (what she called an Ameraucana). Not all lay blue/green eggs, some lay brown or off white.

 

[donrae]

Mixing breeds does funky things. I got a similar colored bird (blue, not lavender)



and best I could figure, this was momma



and this may not have been the exact father, but it was him or a similar brother




I'm not sure you can tell blue from lavender from the appearance of the chick? I'd think it's more on the blue side. Depending on the Ameraucana's color, that could easily be a blue chick from a splash rooster over either the Aussie or Rock hens.

 

[mebberry4]

I'm not sure how you could have got a Lavender colored chick from those breeds, but am interested to find out. Hopefully others with more chicken genetics knowledge will respond. It is very cute!

Thank you! I do think it is very sweet.

Lavender is a recessive gene, meaning a chicken can be a carrier without it being visible [unlike regular blue, which is always visible] Not sure how that gene would get into the parents if they are purebreds, though, there must have been some crossing along the lines. Or maybe they had an EE/Ameracauna roo? That can carry pretty much anything and the eggs would not be blue if the father but not the mother was the 'cauna. One of the mostly black hens would be likely to be the mom, either way..

If both parents carry blue it could also be a Splash chick[or a pale Blue, if only one parent carries blue], but blue would be visible on the parent birds[their usually black markings would be gray or whitish] because it is incomplete dominant, not recessive like Lavender.

Thank you Griffinsong, that makes a lot of sense to me! How will I tel if it is splash as it grows? Will it just have a bunch of different colors?

It is not possible to get lavender out of any of those pairings. I suspect it came from one of the Easter Eggers (what she called an Ameraucana). Not all lay blue/green eggs, some lay brown or off white.

That would certainly explain why this chick hatched from a brown egg. I never knew that they could lay brown eggs, too. Tricky! Thanks for your help!

 

[keesmom]

Odd. None of the breeds you listed have feathered legs. She may have left at least one breed off her list.

 

[mebberry4]

Mixing breeds does funky things. I got a similar colored bird (blue, not lavender)




I'm not sure you can tell blue from lavender from the appearance of the chick? I'd think it's more on the blue side. Depending on the Ameraucana's color, that could easily be a blue chick from a splash rooster over either the Aussie or Rock hens.

Thank you for your reply! That is very interesting. What a long neck that chicken has! Does the picture I just posted above give you any additional clues? The feathered legs that I just spotted really threw me for a loop!

What is the best way to differentiate lavender from blue?

 

[mebberry4]

Yes, that is what I was thinking as well. She said she had some fancy types of chickens, but they were separate from her others....unless one snuck in lol. I will have to look for the email to see what she called them

 

[mebberry4]

Odd. None of the breeds you listed have feathered legs. She may have left at least one breed off her list.

The email stated she has "sultans, silver spangled hamburg, frizzles, and a large variety of excellent layers but all crosses my roosters are nh reds and I also have white leghorns, Americaunas, Australlops, buff orphingtons, nh reds, Rhode Island reds, and barred rocks."