which birchen roo do i use?

[cows and chickens]

Color pattern question - I have 2 males with equally decent type and size.

Male 1 has incomplete lacing, he has good hackle pattern but is too light in the back and saddle and his wing pattern and over all lacing is light and incomplete.

Male 2 has very nice complete lacing. It is crisp and defined. He has good hackles very good back and saddle color. Wing bows are proper color. But he also has white where it shouldn't be - chest, body and coverts/primaries.

So which is the better bird to use? Is it better to use a bird with good lacing and try to cull out offspring with too much white? Or should I use the bird with poor lacing and hope he has the genes to pass on correct color?

The hens are both lacking the correct lacing. They are barely showing any color at all. If that helps, idk? Thanks in advance!

 

[chooks4life]

No expert, so sorry about that, but I'd use both and then YOU can tell us which is best. I suspect the male without the white would be the better bet as the white could be harder to eradicate than the weak lacing could be to strengthen.

There's lots of threads on this site about lacing and white and dominant/recessive genetics so you may be able to find your answer there but not knowing the exact genetics of your birds, using both to see what results may end up being the answer.... But someone more knowledgeable about that should be able to guide you. I will just lurk and learn.

Best wishes.

 

[cows and chickens]

Thanks for the reply! right now all i know is this, they are supposed to be silver sussex. The carry lines for the silver and for light sussex. i need to figure out how to seperate the two. in the bird with too much white, it is obvious to see both colorations.

 

[chooks4life]

Will be keen to see how this goes and learn from this.