Will rooster color breed true?

[PhiberOptikx]

Just curious to know if I reproduce the colors of one of my roosters. He is an easter egger but I absolutely love his red, orange and silver coloration. So, is it possible for him to pass it on? Would it be possible to incorporate these colors into say my silkies or wyandottes?

 

[1muttsfan]

Chicken colors can be very complicated. Purebred birds are selectively bred for many generations to weed out unwanted genes. Your rooster has genetics that would probably be very difficult to duplicate on purpose. Easter Eggers are usually a conglomerate of genes.

He is very handsome and interesting looking, though.

 

[Kev]

He is basically a blue red duckwing. A red duckwing with the blue gene added. Same blue as in black/blue/splash.

You could make more roosters more/less like him by breeding with red duckwing hens.

As for other breeds, it simply depends on whether red duckwing exists in the breed.

 

[Wappoke]

I agree with the previous individuals that posted comments. If you are serious and want a long term project it can be done. The biggest drawback would be breeding out the white skin and derrmal melanin in the offspring. White skin and dermal melanin (sex-linked) are dominant.


If you are willing to hatch 50 or more chicks a year over a 5 or 6 year period; you can get something close to the males coloration in males and the dimorphic plumage coloration in females. I would start with the male over partridge wyandotte.

Comb genetics will be an issue also since pea comb and rose comb are both dominant to single comb and when found together in a bird form an epistatic phenotype referred to as walnut comb.