Whiting True Blue Roo + Creme Legbars

[rmanney]

Does anyone have experience breeding a Whiting True Blue Rooster with Creme Legbar hens? I know the eggs will be blue, but I'm wondering if the offspring will be auto-sexing like the Creme Legbars? (One can dream.)

 

[KelseyBoxer]

I don't think the auto-sexing will work because the WTB do not all look the same. They will lay blue, but the feather pattern can vary. I have 2 WTB pullets and they are both blue.(gray) One is lighter than the other but both lay bright blue eggs.

edit: I will be watching to see what others think.

 

[AusHen]

No they wont be autosexing. If the rooster isn't barred you will be producing sex-linked chicks, although depending on what other genes are at play you might not be able to spot that easily until they feather in.

 

[phasianidae]

Autosexing typically refers to breeds that consistently breed true for the ability of the chicks to be reliably sexed at hatch based on male vs. female down color. Mating a non barred male with a hen that has barring will result in what are called sex linked chicks, because the gene for barring is located on the sex chromosomes, of which the male has two and the female only one. A female can only pass barring onto her male offspring while a male can pass barring onto both male and female offspring. The resulting male chicks from a non barred male mated to a barred female will generally have a lighter spot on the top of their head. In autosexing breeds such as the Legbar, both male and female chicks will have barring, but the male chicks are lighter because they have two copies of the gene while the female chicks have only one.

Hope that helps!

 

[rmanney]

Autosexing typically refers to breeds that consistently breed true for the ability of the chicks to be reliably sexed at hatch based on male vs. female down color. Mating a non barred male with a hen that has barring will result in what are called sex linked chicks, because the gene for barring is located on the sex chromosomes, of which the male has two and the female only one. A female can only pass barring onto her male offspring while a male can pass barring onto both male and female offspring. The resulting male chicks from a non barred male mated to a barred female will generally have a lighter spot on the top of their head. In autosexing breeds such as the Legbar, both male and female chicks will have barring, but the male chicks are lighter because they have two copies of the gene while the female chicks have only one.

Hope that helps!

That helps so much! Thank you for sharing your knowledge.