Why does their Blue have this show through?

[Germaine_11.20]

Hello,

I have a few Giant Blue Cochins that seem to have leakage. I was wondering if someone could tell me why. I am not good at understanding the genetics and colors and am trying to learn.
The sibling to the Blue Roo cochin does not have leakage, if I breed him will his offspring?

Also, here is a pic of my Lav Orp I got off eggbid. He looks to have the same issue. Is he not good for breeding or is this still a common problem with the lav Orps and i just need to keep breeding to improve?

Thank you to all who help!

 

[speckledhen]

That is most likely the base color showing through. Happens on blacks, too. In addition to that, many blues can become sunbleached. I know my blue Orp, Suede, gets really brassy right before his molt, then the new feathers are really blue again.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Thank you Cynthia, I feel better now!

Oh gosh I am all ready to put your/mine Delaware eggs in the hatcher! I have everything ready, bought sponges and even the Lean Cuisine! Can you tell I am excited?

 

[onthespot]

My barred olive egger roo also did the same thing. He was definitely NOT wrong colored when he grew in his hackles and saddle feathers, then just before molt time I noticed they had gone yellowish tinged. Just the hackles and saddle feathers. He is not in the sun much. He can be if he wants, but his pen is mostly covered, about 3/4 of it, plus blocked from the sunny side on part of it. Maybe he just dustbathes in the sunny part when and because he can. I don't live there with them so I don't really know. I understand your frustration. Even though mine is a made up variety I am developing just off a single hen I bought as an afterthought, I still want them to look like what I want them to, not with leakage, wrong colors, white tail feathers, wrong comb or anything else. I don't know why I am so dang picky even on my mutts, but I am. You got any super duper nice black cochins? I need a roo just for a season to work on my lav orps. Some of them have pointy tall tails and very little under fluff and I would like to fluff up my line and bring down the tails a bit.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Patty you are funny and I totally understand your frustration. That is just how I feel. If only I could ship to you I would. I just posted questions about if my Black Cochins were roo or pullet. So you can see some pics there.

I know I have a roo in there somewhere but am tickled that I have more pullets. These are hard for me to figure out. My DH thinks I am funny when I just stand there and stare at their butts, but I can't tell who is who and have to look hard to see saddle feathers!

 

[Crunchie]

Leaky colors are from a lack of the melanizers, which somehow magically in genetics-world (a place far, far away that I don't understand very well

) cover up those base colors and make the feather the correct color (in your case, blue). I don't breed birds with leaky color if I can avoid it. It's a fault and, in my experience, not easy to get rid of. If you've got birds that are correctly colored (or can add additional stock), I'd pass on breeding the leaky birds. In the case of a project breed/variety--like your lavenders (which, by the way, your lavender just looks sunbleached to me--not leaky)--where the variety still needs plenty of work and breeding stock may be scarce, I'd breed a bird with leaky color and just work to get rid of it in subsequent generations...especially if I didn't have many/any other options and if the leaky bird otherwise had traits I needed in my pens. I have lavender Ameraucanas, and 2 out of the 3 roosters I have (which are black/split to lav) have a lot of leaky silver. One has silver and gold leaking. But I'll keeping one of those leaky roos as back-up, because otherwise they are decent and there aren't tons of options. It's a work in progress, so that's ok.

On the other hand, I hatched a nice chocolate Polish roo earlier this year that has a lot of red leaking through. He's really nice otherwise, so I really don't want to get rid of him, but I have plenty of correctly colored chocolate birds to work with, so...he'll be leaving!

onthespot, my cuckoo birds seem to get brassy after a while, too, even the ones that aren't in the sun very much. The old feathers just get yellow, it's not anything genetic and it doesn't mean that his color is wrong. After a molt mine go back to looking normal again, and then the cycle continues...

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Crunchie, thank you!

I understand your thinking and it makes good sense. It will help with my breeding plans.

I was dissapointed in the Lav Orp and it is good to know he may just be sun bleached. He wasn't that way when I got him and they do love to free range.