She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[Ravynscroft]

Very interesting! So a first generation cross with a silkie will always produce regular feathers. That explains alot...lol

Yep... if you want the Silkie feathers back you have to cross the F1 back into pure Silkie...

 

[WVduckchick]

Thanks for the confidence vote, but I only know enough to get me in trouble, lol... but I do know Lavender and Silkies...
Couple of issues there... it's more successful to breed a bantam roo over a standard hen as the chick will usually grow too big for a bantam egg... also, most white (especially in Silkies) is recessive so breeding other colors to it is very unpredictable... you also only want to use black to mix in with Lavender as it breeds in and out well without leakage issues or surprise colors popping up... and Lavender color will only express if 2 copies are present in the bird... this is why I only use black splits in breeding my Lavs as the splits are carrying 1 copy of Lav but show black so offspring have 50/50 chance of being black split again or Lavender...
Also, Silkie feathers are always lost in a cross, the chick will have regular smooth feathers and you'd have to breed back to Silkie for the next generation to start getting the Silkie type feathering back...

I knew you would know, but didn't want to put you on the spot! you got some new lavs, didn't you?
Also, my silkies are poor specimens. Large wattles, funky combs, only one of the two has a few leg feathers, the other has bare legs. I bought them on a whim when I got my layer comets, so they are just for fun basically. But they are decent size birds. Their eggs are usually 40-45 grams, sometimes larger. I have the one black/lav split, and I assume they all are, but I don't know for sure. Some could be pure lav.
So in essence, I probably wouldn't hatch any of these, but was curious anyway and its all so interesting, so thank you!!

 

[kwhites634]

And I thought canine genetics was complicated! You gals is making me dizzy!

 

[WVduckchick]

And I thought canine genetics was complicated! You gals is making me dizzy!

It makes me dizzy too! It drives me most crazy because I'm a left-brain, number nerd, detail person. Did all the chemistry and calculus and stuff like that in school, I work in accounting... and genetics should not be so confusing to me! But it is, mostly. But I'm learning.

 

[NatureChica]

When you go about creating an olive egger would you cross a French Black Copper Marans(m) x Ameraucana (f) or Ameraucana (m) x French Black Copper Marans (f)? Site the reason for your preference too please?

 

[Ravynscroft]

I knew you would know, but didn't want to put you on the spot! you got some new lavs, didn't you?
Also, my silkies are poor specimens. Large wattles, funky combs, only one of the two has a few leg feathers, the other has bare legs. I bought them on a whim when I got my layer comets, so they are just for fun basically. But they are decent size birds. Their eggs are usually 40-45 grams, sometimes larger. I have the one black/lav split, and I assume they all are, but I don't know for sure. Some could be pure lav.
So in essence, I probably wouldn't hatch any of these, but was curious anyway and its all so interesting, so thank you!!

I hatched out new Lavs out of my own Lav Am flock, haven't brought in any new Lavs if that's what you were saying... sorry, trying to keep up with a lot lately, lol...
Silkies vary a lot in quality, as long as you are happy that is what counts... I seriously lucked out with mine and looks like my colors are breeding better now... I gotta weight their eggs nkw I have a scale, but mine lay really large for bantams for sure...
Ok, on the Lavs again... if the bird is Lav colored, then it is 'pure' for Lav... it has to have 2 copies to show the Lav color... blacks are the ones that are splits or possible splits... the only way to tell for sure if any blacks are true splits is to breed them to a Lav bird... if it is split then it will throw 50/50 Lav color and black split...
I never breed splits together though cuz that will give you some Lavs, some splits, and some regular blacks... and visually blacks and black splits are identical...

And I thought canine genetics was complicated! You gals is making me dizzy!

Sorry... take another ride on the merry-go-round...

 

[Ravynscroft]

When you go about creating an olive egger would you cross a French Black Copper Marans(m) x Ameraucana (f) or Ameraucana (m) x French Black Copper Marans (f)? Site the reason for your preference too please?

It is best to always put the Marans roo over the Am hen as the only way to tell for sure that you have the necessary blue egg gene is to check the egg layed and you can't tell for sure if the roo has the blue egg gene until you grow out a pullet from him and see her eggs... make sense?

 

[WVduckchick]

I hatched out new Lavs out of my own Lav Am flock, haven't brought in any new Lavs if that's what you were saying... sorry, trying to keep up with a lot lately, lol...
Silkies vary a lot in quality, as long as you are happy that is what counts... I seriously lucked out with mine and looks like my colors are breeding better now... I gotta weight their eggs nkw I have a scale, but mine lay really large for bantams for sure...
Ok, on the Lavs again... if the bird is Lav colored, then it is 'pure' for Lav... it has to have 2 copies to show the Lav color... blacks are the ones that are splits or possible splits... the only way to tell for sure if any blacks are true splits is to breed them to a Lav bird... if it is split then it will throw 50/50 Lav color and black split...
I never breed splits together though cuz that will give you some Lavs, some splits, and some regular blacks... and visually blacks and black splits are identical...
Sorry... take another ride on the merry-go-round...

Yes, your own lav ams was what I meant. I have only skimmed some of the thread lately, but thought I saw that you hatched some. I'm anxious to see them grown out.

And on the lav, that's what I was thinking, but guess I misinterpreted something. But that makes sense now. I believe the breeder only had a split roo with lav hens, so my lav hen should be split, but again, I'm not positive on her roo. I hope I can identify my hen's eggs once she starts laying. I only have lav roos.

And your silkies are gorgeous, from what I saw!

 

[kwhites634]

I hatched out new Lavs out of my own Lav Am flock, haven't brought in any new Lavs if that's what you were saying... sorry, trying to keep up with a lot lately, lol...
Silkies vary a lot in quality, as long as you are happy that is what counts... I seriously lucked out with mine and looks like my colors are breeding better now... I gotta weight their eggs nkw I have a scale, but mine lay really large for bantams for sure...
Ok, on the Lavs again... if the bird is Lav colored, then it is 'pure' for Lav... it has to have 2 copies to show the Lav color... blacks are the ones that are splits or possible splits... the only way to tell for sure if any blacks are true splits is to breed them to a Lav bird... if it is split then it will throw 50/50 Lav color and black split...
I never breed splits together though cuz that will give you some Lavs, some splits, and some regular blacks... and visually blacks and black splits are identical...
Sorry... take another ride on the merry-go-round...

There are those who know me well who will swear that I fell of the merry-go-round a long time ago, and most likely onto my head

 

[Ravynscroft]

Yes, your own lav ams was what I meant. I have only skimmed some of the thread lately, but thought I saw that you hatched some. I'm anxious to see them grown out.

And on the lav, that's what I was thinking, but guess I misinterpreted something. But that makes sense now. I believe the breeder only had a split roo with lav hens, so my lav hen should be split, but again, I'm not positive on her roo. I hope I can identify my hen's eggs once she starts laying. I only have lav roos.

And your silkies are gorgeous, from what I saw!

If you have a black and she was breeding black to Lav and some came out Lav and some black, then her black should be a split... and any black bred to Lav creates all splits...

This should help you...

Yep, I can't wait to see these Lavs grow out too... have some looking decent from a hatch right before Chicapee's too...

Thanks for the compliments on the Silkies... soon as we dry up a bit, I'll get pics of the juvies I'm happy with now and you'll see the difference...

There are those who know me well who will swear that I fell of the merry-go-round a long time ago, and most likely onto my head

Truthfully... I did... my older brother spun it around way too fast and I lost my grip and went headfirst into a large hardwood log...

Explains my eccentricities though...