The Aloha Chicken Project

[jbolt]

This hen is currently laying and is very evenly spotted.

Nice broad chest to this boy, hes the 8 lb. Roo

Random pic....

 

[Bernie56]

HMMM. It's tough to say. I Google-imaged "Splash" and here are some pics, this Splash Sumatra has a few really really dark tail feathers, but I don't think they are "true" black:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Splash_Sumatra.jpg

And this Splash Ameraucana hen has a few stray feathers that are very dark blue - but I don't think truly black??? Hard to tell:

http://www.wilkamdai.com/images/chicken_Araucana_SplashPullet.jpg

So, I think it is possible he may be a Splash rooster. Only one way to tell, breed him to hens that have Black tail feathers and no blue, and see if you get any Blue chicks. If he is Splash, all of the chicks will have blue tails. If he is Blue, half the chicks will show Blue, half will show Black tail feathers. If he carries zero Blue genes, then all the chicks will have black tails.

IF all the chicks have black tails - then you truly have something special!!!

Because Blue can make it challenging to see how much white is actually there, I bred it out of my flock for now. The nice thing about Blue is that it's a dominant gene. It doesn't hide, so I am able to add it back to the flock (via a Swedish Flower most likely) whenever I want. But, for now, I prefer to leave it out, so I don't have the confusion of Blue or Splash "faking me out" and making me think I have more-spotty chickens than what I really do have in my flock! LOL. Going to get white spotting the HARD way, and then when I add the "mock white" effect of Splash or pale Blue feathering, these are going to look super-duper spotty!

If you are breeding to increase the amount of mottling on pure Swedish (which would be a great help!) see if you can spy any pure Swedish that have black tails, but still have more white than normal. Oh, and note their ages, the baby Swedish have a lot of white that drops as they mature, and then all mottled chickens gain white as they age. So try to compare apples to apples - look at Swedish roosters and hens at about the same age, like one year old. If you see any hens with black tails and lots of spots, or roosters with black tails and lots of white, and no Blue or Splash genes, please report them here! I'd love to see and maybe try to get their offspring to include in the program, it would be a big help.

This information on "splash" genes is really interesting, and helpful. Thanks so much! Its starting to make more sense. I understand now why its been so difficult for me to get anything but splash, or red/white. If they are just all splash, but some have red that is not masked by the blue gene. I'm still a little confused though. I understand the splash gene turning black to blue, but it seems like if these hens are splash with red, and not mottled white then by the same token it seems that the blue hens would be solid blue without white mottling. Actually I'm still confused. LOL

 

[alohachickens]

No, I see what you are saying. LOL. But it does get really confusing, because the red "leaks" past the blue! And yes, the Mottling gene is still there, even if the hen is Splash she still carries it - or maybe even shows it in some way? So it all ends up kind of mixed up.

That's why I just took the blue out altogether, because it can be really hard to tell just by looking, what is going on genetically!

 

[alohachickens]

Nice pics, Jbolt!

 

[5moore]

Bernie love that black hen! I hope mine gets more white on it like she has.

 

[alohachickens]

I do have some new hens that are really dark. I have only had these three about a month so haven't hatched any from them yet. I am really excited about these hens as I have had a difficult time getting blacks.

I do have a few dark ones from my flock, but would like to improve the mottling. This pullet looks promising.

This hen has fantastic mottling. Now, this is BLACK and would be a good "test" for your rooster. (Actually, all the hens in this pen would work, because all carry black, the two behind her are also, not blue or splash, clearly.) Cross these dark hens to the rooster with all the "white" on him, and keep track of JUST the chicks from this breeding pen. If he is Splash, 100% of the chicks will be Blue. (Plus Mottled.)

If any of the chicks end up black mottled - that would mean he's NOT a Splash.

If some end up with black and a ton of mottling, like this girl - then you may have a super-spotty roo.

 

[Bernie56]

Thanks! I am excited about the hens! I've only had them for about a month. There are two that are a year old, and one young pullet about 4 months old. After reading your previous information on splash genetics I plan on abandoning the red hen pairings, and I will give one of these hens to the red/white guy for a test hatch. I'm not willing to give him the whole group just yet as it took me too long to get true blacks. The others will be paired with my other black based roos in hopes of increasing my dark colors. I'm afraid the other blue based roo will be getting acquainted with some noodles in the near future. If my red/white girls are actually splash, I don't dare use him! Also, it will be easier to track the results if I know that all of the chicks in the hatch are from a single pair. Granted it will mean more work initially, but I will KNOW whats up.

 

[alohachickens]

Getting DARK colors is easy. You will have no issues with increasing your dark colors! LOL.

But, do keep some other shades around. Guard your red and light colors carefully, as reds and golds are the hardest to keep bright. Basically, reds and golds are recessive, which is both good and bad. If you have red or gold chickens and breed them to each other, you should get all red or gold, because there simply is no dark.

However, Dark is dominant, so if you (for example) had red hens and a black rooster, all the chicks will be dark. (Unless the rooster has a hidden red gene, in which case the chicks will be half dark, and half red-colored.) So that means your black and white (or very dark) hens should have at least half dark chicks. Even if you bred her to a red and white rooster!

Now, if you change your mind, however, get tired of all black and white want to bring the red back, then you'd have a problem. You would find, after a few crosses of black mottled to black mottled, it would be very hard to ever get your red and white colors back. That's because dark-to-dark will only make more black and white chicks. That's why breeds like Speckled Sussex and Exchequer Leghorn and Mottled Java (all dark brown or black mottled) are able to breed true every generation. It's very easy to keep this black and white coloration.

And, I don't know those red/white hens are Splash at all - there could be something else entirely at play? It's just a guess! Pairing possible Splash chickens against black-based ones will help figure it all out. So do a test mating, cross those red-and-whites against something that is not-blue and see what happens! I'd love to see the results.

 

[Bernie56]

Getting DARK colors is easy. You will have no issues with increasing your dark colors! LOL.

But, do keep some other shades around. Guard your red and light colors carefully, as reds and golds are the hardest to keep bright. Basically, reds and golds are recessive, which is both good and bad. If you have red or gold chickens and breed them to each other, you should get all red or gold, because there simply is no dark.

However, Dark is dominant, so if you (for example) had red hens and a black rooster, all the chicks will be dark. (Unless the rooster has a hidden red gene, in which case the chicks will be half dark, and half red-colored.) So that means your black and white (or very dark) hens should have at least half dark chicks. Even if you bred her to a red and white rooster!

Now, if you change your mind, however, get tired of all black and white want to bring the red back, then you'd have a problem. You would find, after a few crosses of black mottled to black mottled, it would be very hard to ever get your red and white colors back. That's because dark-to-dark will only make more black and white chicks. That's why breeds like Speckled Sussex and Exchequer Leghorn and Mottled Java (all dark brown or black mottled) are able to breed true every generation. It's very easy to keep this black and white coloration.

And, I don't know those red/white hens are Splash at all - there could be something else entirely at play? It's just a guess! Pairing possible Splash chickens against black-based ones will help figure it all out. So do a test mating, cross those red-and-whites against something that is not-blue and see what happens! I'd love to see the results.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread. Sorry! The information has been great though. I definitely want to keep the all of the colors, its just been frustrating to have a pen full of almost identical chickens. Good luck on your project.

 

[alohachickens]

You aren't hijacking the thread, LOL! I like discussing this stuff. Okay, so you want to keep all the colors, but you've got a pen of almost identical chickens. What colors are you (mostly) getting now, and what colors do you want instead? I know you've already shared some pics - I'm just wanting to know where you are and where you want to go with them.