What colors could they produce

[Wolfefarmyard]

Hello, I have a bantam buff Cochin cockerel that I plan to breed with my bantam black Cochin hen. I'm curious to what colors they could produce. I'm assuming that black will probably be the most dominant gene but is there a chance of producing any other colors? Thank you!

 

[Ridgerunner]

You could have some interesting things happen. Black is a very dominant color so it is likely you'll see a lot of black in the chicks. But since black is so dominant it could be hiding a lot of other things. You are talking about gene pairs, not just individual genes, so a lot could be hiding in there, it just depends on the genetic mix. There are different ways to make black genetically which adds to the possibilities.

Buff is also an interesting color. Again there are different ways to make buff genetically. Those ways can involve some pretty strong modifiers. Some of those modifiers, if they are present, can modify black. I used to have a hen that was a cross between buff and black that produced a lot of yellow spots on most of her body. I've seen photos where there were some orange splotches from that mix.

In theory you should get a solid black chicken from that cross, assuming the hen is pure for the black genes and the rooster certain of the red modified to buff genes. Pure means that the same genes are on both sides of that gene pair. That's not always the case. But from what little I've seen of crossing buff and black that seldom happens even if they are pure for the right genes. I'd expect a lot of "leakage" which means that any feather could be yellow, orange, buff, or red mixed in with black. That could be a few feathers scattered or it could be some interesting splotches or patterns.

if you do that cross try to get some photos of the chicks to show down pattern and colors, the some more photos of them in adult plumage. It could be really interesting.