Testing for Splash in an EE Rooster

[RanchHens]

Hi All,

I've decided to start raising some EE's and Olive Eggers.

I lucked upon what I thought was a young, white Ameracauna Roo, But after getting him home and really looking him over, I realized that he has several small, black/blue feathers mixed in.

He was with another rooster who was blue, but at the time it didn't occur to me that he could be splash. I don 't have anyway to contact the old owner to confirm that he is or isn 't splash, so I'd like to test breed him .

Now my understanding is, that since he is possible splash that when bred to a black hen he will produce a percentage of blue chicks.

I have him in with two black Cochins, a black Australorp, and a home-bred EE (Sussex/EE).

My plan is to hatch only the EE's eggs so that I am at least guaranteed a blue/green egg layer. (Plus I prefer to know exactly whose eggs are going in the incubator.)

This hen is Silver-Laced Sussex over a Brown-Red EE hen, but is herself totally black. Will she still produce blue, or will there be red-leakage from Mom, or lacing from dad which overrides the blue gene?

 

[RanchHens]

Anyone?

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! I think the way that works is splash x 'any-black-based' bird will give you 'blue-something'.
That is to say, if your new guy is a splash, you will see blue in the chicks : )
If he is a white, you will not see any blues from her:

This hen is Silver-Laced Sussex over a Brown-Red EE hen, but is herself totally black. Will she still produce blue, or will there be red-leakage from Mom, or lacing from dad which overrides the blue gene?

The leaky-red is likely and more likely to show in male offspring, but could go either way.
I got a small % of clean blues from 'leaky splash' x wheaten.
It will be most interesting and informative for you to hatch the chicks and see what you get.
Good luck!

 

[Makomd]

Hi! I think the way that works is splash x 'any-black-based' bird will give you 'blue-something'.
That is to say, if your new guy is a splash, you will see blue in the chicks : )
If he is a white, you will not see any blues from her:
The leaky-red is likely and more likely to show in male offspring, but could go either way.
I got a small % of clean blues from 'leaky splash' x wheaten.
It will be most interesting and informative for you to hatch the chicks and see what you get.
Good luck!

x2

 

[RanchHens]

Thanks!

I just put her in today. So it'll be another two weeks before I can start collecting eggs, but I'm very excited to see what they'll produce!

 

[donrae]

I believe the red leakage and potential lacing are different than the base color, so you'd be safe doing as you've described. I may be way off base, but in my way of thinking those things are pattern genes, not base color genes. Like frosting on the cake lol. You might wind up with a blue rooster with red leakage, but the base color would still be blue.