What color offspring??

[JacksFarmNGardn]

So..I hatched some chicks from a friends eggs, back in July. I ended up keeping 2 pullets. The dad for both is a black orp. One mom was a maran mix,and is my black pullet,the other mom a blue oeg bantam and a blue pullet.I aquired a free coop and was going to get a blue cooper maran pair in the spring. Not only did I want to add a nice chocolate egg to the basket, but wanted to put all 4 together and breed for blue chicks. Well, 2 weeks ago, a family friend needed to rehome her 3 laying hens. So they have acquired that extra coop. Now unless I build a bigger coop for my current 7 layers, to add those 3,my plans for the blues are on hold. The 2 pullets have been in their coop/pen since 10days old, with a buff orp pair and 2 light brahma hens. I'm wondering if I leave them where they are, what their cross would be to a buff orp roo. I have already found on google, a black and buff cross, but I can't find chicks from a buff and blue crossing!

If anyone has done this combo, or even pure blue orp and buff orp, can you please share what color the chicks would be? I know blue with black would give me half blue, half black chicks.what about buff? Lol

 

[QueenMisha]

It'll yield the same as a black X buff cross, except with blue in the place of black. The bird will be mostly buff and red over the top half (head, hackle, shoulders, upper breast) and mostly blue over the lower half. As in a blue X black cross, 50% of the offspring will have the blue gene and 50% will just be black.

 

[JacksFarmNGardn]

So, like this bird??? This is the mom of my blue.

And am I understanding correctly, half chicks will still be black,even with a buff parent?

 

[QueenMisha]

So, like this bird??? This is the mom of my blue.

And am I understanding correctly, half chicks will still be black,even with a buff parent?

More like this (photos not mine):

Yes - the simplest way to describe it is like a light switch. All birds have the light switch (gene) that tells whether a bird is blue or not. Even if the bird itself appears, for example, Cuckoo, Mille Fleur, Red, etc., any color really - at a certain point in its genome is a little switch that says it will have either black or blue pigment. However, this can only occur where black pigment is present. A Buff bird has been bred so no black shows - it is pure buff, that is to say red pigment. Despite not SHOWING any black, it still has a little note in its genes that says if it did have black pigment anywhere, it would be either black or blue depending on which way the "switch" is flipped. In Buff birds, that switch is flipped toward the "Black" side, and they act as such whenever crossed.