Self Blue (Lavender) Silkie Thread

[Sonoran Silkies]

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No. A bird who is lavender AND splash will still have the splashing from the double blue gene; a bird who is lavender AND blue will still have darker head & hackles (and saddle on males).

Breeding to black keeps the lavender colour purer; it isn't about limiting the amount of the dilution; it's about keeping the bird's colouring uniform. I have fairly limited knowledge about how genes work at the cellular level, so I cannot tell you WHY blue gives darker heads/hackles/saddle, and why splash gives a splotchy appearance. But I do know that that is what this gene does. Lavender does not change that. I do not believe that a person could reliably tell the difference between a bird who is blue or splash AND lavender without knowing the breeding background.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Trisha, why do you believe your bird to be lavender rather than splash? It has the appearance of a splash.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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This is understand Bren. But a true lavender bird should LOOK lavender...and a light blue should not look like a lavender....should it? Do you think it's just inexperienced people saying they have a lavender because it is a light even color?

I do agree that folks get greedy and even say "May be carrying lavender gene"... WTH?? What difference does it make if they may or may not be carrying the gene?? I say..."Buyer beware" of any claims like that. Save your $$ and buy a true lavender birds from a reputable breeder. It costs the same amount to feed them and you won't have to wonder if your bird is a lavender or an imposter.

I would like to know as much genetic background of my birds as possible. Telling me that a bird may be carrying lavender gives me more information than not mentioning it. Whether I choose to do anything about that "maybe" is then up to me. Yes, If I want a lavender bird, I can buy one (did--he's a handsome lad!).

 

[trisha19]

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Trisha, why do you believe your bird to be lavender rather than splash? It has the appearance of a splash.

The bird was sold to me along with 7 other's to be lavender. It is a different color then just a normal splash,( light grey color)
It may have been sold to me wrong that is why I come to back yard chickens to get more information and help from experienced
breeders.

 

[Elite Silkies]

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Trisha, why do you believe your bird to be lavender rather than splash? It has the appearance of a splash.

The bird was sold to me along with 7 other's to be lavender. It is a different color then just a normal splash,( light grey color)
It may have been sold to me wrong that is why I come to back yard chickens to get more information and help from experienced
breeders.

It most likely carries 1 Lavender gene (it's a split Lavender bird), you will need to be breed back to a Pure lavender, but the the offspring still will not be all lav's. You will only get 50% Lav's and then you have to try and figure out, which ones are the True Lav's. I think this is case of the seller assumed that it was Lavender, because like Bren says, it is hard to tell the difference, when they come from splash and blue backgrounds.

The Seller should not have sold these birds until she/he was 100% certain, that when bred back together they produce 100% Lavender offspring. Or at least inform her buyers that they may or may not breed true. She has not bred her birds long enough to acquire true Lavender. When you breed to black, you can be certain that the Lavender offspring is in fact TRUE Lavender.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

There really is no "typical" splash. The background colour can vary from white to medium slate; the splashings can vary from pale slate to vibrant black. Numbers of splashes can be many to few. All this without the lavender gene.

I will assume that the breeder had some knowledge of the birds, so you should get back with him/her to ask questions--as Elite says, it may be split for lavender (no way to tell from appearance that lavender is present, only from breeding records).

 

[Elite Silkies]

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The splashing can vary greatly! I have 2 splash hens and they look absolutely nothing alike. Trisha, you will def. have to keep breeding records in order to determine wether the bird carries a lav gene or the bird is just splash.

 

[Gordonhillfarm]

Ok I've read this thread from front to here . But I still have a Question ? I know I have read several times that even true lavender should be bred back to black to keep the color rich . How often though . Or have I mistaken what I read ? Say your breeding lavender to lavender , is that the end of needing to bring black back in ? or do you need to freshen it so to say at some point and when or how do you know to do this ? ( color lighter in offspring ? ) Can you mess up your lavender with to much black ? This is really kinda like Art , I love the creative energy on this thread . I have to say this has been a very useful thread , It was sooo nice to read people actually helping each other learn together .

 

[brenTx]

Although this quest has been on going for years it is still relatively new to the variety. For now I don't think I will need to breed back to black once you get pure lavender and the best quality of color but there is always that possibility if I see color changes I don't like. Does that help? It is really a hands on learning experience with lavenders. There are more issues with the color gene in it's self but I am not going into all that or worrying for now.

 

[suebee]

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My thinking is once you have 100% true lavender MALE & FEMALE, you wouldn't need to breed black back into it. You used the black to ultimately get to that point. (?)