Why Are We Black?

[3KillerBs]

I just picked up 4, lovely, all-black chicks from a friend. I had thought they were the offspring of a Lavender Orpington rooster and some Silver-Laced Wyandotte hens but today my friend told me she had separated her breeds so that the SLW hens were with the Blue-Laced Red Wyandotte rooster for 3-4 weeks before she collected eggs to incubate.

With my imperfect knowledge of chicken color genetics I thought that the black could only come from the Lavender and that BLRW over SLW would *have to* produce stripey chicks who ended up laced.

I don't have photos of the hens, though I have seen them and they look like perfectly normal Buff Orpingtons and Silver-Laced Wyandottes. I do have photos of the 2 roosters:

And the chicks, all 4 apparently identical, (hatch date was April 10).

 

[Oncoming Storm]

Well, neither rooster pictured is a blue-laced red so that might have something to do with it...

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I just picked up 4, lovely, all-black chicks from a friend. I had thought they were the offspring of a Lavender Orpington rooster and some Silver-Laced Wyandotte hens but today my friend told me she had separated her breeds so that the SLW hens were with the Blue-Laced Red Wyandotte rooster for 3-4 weeks before she collected eggs to incubate.

With my imperfect knowledge of chicken color genetics I thought that the black could only come from the Lavender and that BLRW over SLW would *have to* produce stripey chicks who ended up laced.

I don't have photos of the hens, though I have seen them and they look like perfectly normal Buff Orpingtons and Silver-Laced Wyandottes. I do have photos of the 2 roosters:

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And the chicks, all 4 apparently identical, (hatch date was April 10).

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You are correct the SPLASH laced red (does not really matter for your question) can not be the father of these pullets. The offspring of the Splash laced red and the silver laced would be both sex linked and laced. These girls HAVE to have the lavender roo as the father. Only explanation that makes sense.

 

[JedJackson]

You are correct the SPLASH laced red (does not really matter for your question) can not be the father of these pullets. The offspring of the Splash laced red and the silver laced would be both sex linked and laced. These girls HAVE to have the lavender roo as the father. Only explanation that makes sense.

I agree.

 

[3KillerBs]

Here's some comb pictures -- do they look right for Orpington over Wyandotte? (I know they might be too young for any certainty).

The offspring of the Splash laced red and the silver laced would be both sex linked and laced. These girls HAVE to have the lavender roo as the father.

I'm glad they're not sex-linked because I was hoping for at least one male (though not *all* males).

 

[Tre3hugger]

Those appear to be the pea combs of a wyandotte. I am far form an expert, but that is what my wyandottes comb looks like.

 

[3KillerBs]

Those appear to be the pea combs of a wyandotte. I am far form an expert, but that is what my wyandottes comb looks like.

Yes. They look much like my SLW's comb when she was little. But she was stripey before her lacing grew in.

But I didn't think that Wyandotte rooster could possibly produce solid black chicks. I hope that one of the genetics experts has the answer.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Here's some comb pictures -- do they look right for Orpington over Wyandotte? (I know they might be too young for any certainty).

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I'm glad they're not sex-linked because I was hoping for at least one male (though not *all* males).

Yes, looks like wyandotte type combs. I believe the single comb is recessive.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Yes. They look much like my SLW's comb when she was little. But she was stripey before her lacing grew in.

But I didn't think that Wyandotte rooster could possibly produce solid black chicks. I hope that one of the genetics experts has the answer.

The wyandotte rooster can not produce black chicks with SLW mothers. The combs these chicks have inherited from the mother, the fathers (lavender orp) single comb is recessive, so it will not show in the offspring.

 

[3KillerBs]

The wyandotte rooster can not produce black chicks with SLW mothers. The combs these chicks have inherited from the mother, the fathers (lavender orp) single comb is recessive, so it will not show in the offspring.

Thank you. I need to learn more about chicken genetics.

I will be quite delighted to have split-to-lavender in my flock.

I guess it's proof of how long hens can store the rooster's sperm because my friend waited 3-4 weeks before collecting eggs but quite a lot of the hatch were these black chicks rather than black and gold ones.

Here's a picture of some of the chicks together: