Lavender breeding

[verycherry]

What percentage of the hatch are white?  That second one is unusual...boggles MY mind anyway.

A silver based white will have a blue/gray cast to the down instead of yellow.  Maybe they aren\'t from the Lavenders after all.  Do you have any new white breeders that could be silver based instead of gold?

[John]

What percentage

I have no idea.

white breeders

I haven\'t had any white birds for a few years.

[verycherry]

Probably are from the Lavenders then.  If you have black/Lavenders with ER that are silver based that would explain the gray down.


...or I believe even just E with the silver gene.

More test breeding ahead?  :p

[Mike Gilbert]

A silver based white will have a blue/gray cast to the down instead of yellow.  

I\'m curious as to what you base that statement on?   Generally speaking, recessive white chicks will have gray in the down, while dominant white will have yellow down.   E locus genes also affect down color.   I never before have heard that it has anything to do with the sex linked silver/gold allele.    As one example, White Plymouth Rocks carrying sex linked gold will usually have gray chick down.

[verycherry]

A silver based white will have a blue/gray cast to the down instead of yellow.  

I\'m curious as to what you base that statement on?   Generally speaking, recessive white chicks will have gray in the down, while dominant white will have yellow down.   E locus genes also affect down color.   I never before have heard that it has anything to do with the sex linked silver/gold allele.    As one example, White Plymouth Rocks carrying sex linked gold will usually have gray chick down.

Maybe I was given false information then, but that\'s what I\'ve been told about breeding White Cochins.  I had purchased some \"blue\" (gray down) Cochins that feathered in white, and I was told that they were probably silver based as opposed to gold.  My others had had yellow down.  I\'ve also heard that mentioned about Silkies.  BUT I\'d also been told once that the gray down might be because of dominant white, which is the total opposite of what you just said.  

From my own experience, the Red Pyle project birds I have hatched have all had yellow down, and those are gold based and also have dominant white.

[Mike Gilbert]

\"From my own experience, the Red Pyle project birds I have hatched have all had yellow down, and those are gold based and also have dominant white. \"

Your red pyles are based on e (wild type).   The chicks are yellow primarily because of the dominant white.   I believe the e-locus has much more to do with chick down color than does silver/gold.  Take buff columbians for example.   They are gold based, chicks are buffish on the head and front, and are grey/black on the rest of the body.   Silver Columbians are the same, with white replacing the buffish areas.  Both have grey chick down.   But they are both based on e>b (brown).    Also, I have hatched many hundreds of wheaten chicks that are off-white (not yellowish) at hatch.   They are definitely gold based, but don\'t have yellow chick down.  
This is what makes poultry breeding so much fun - trying to figure out all the variables.

[verycherry]

I\'ve learned so much from reading the topics here over the past year or so.  Definately worth the $10.00 membership fee!  So I guess both Cochins and Silkies come in both Dominant white and recessive white?...and the down color has nothing to do with the gold and silver gene?  Wow, scratch everything I though I knew, lol!

Well, the white chick I hatched from my Black/Lavender split Ameraucana (from John) is yellow, and feathering in white.  She was breed by a white roo about 2 weeks prior to being put in with my Lavender roo, so I\'m leaning towards her (and her white father) being dominant white even more now.  

[Mike Gilbert]

So I guess both Cochins and Silkies come in both Dominant white and recessive white?I don\'t raise those breeds, but suspect that might be the case.....and the down color has nothing to do with the gold and silver gene?  
I would not go that far.   It depends on a variety of factors, so one can\'t make a blanket statement that it always is this or that. Silver/gold is responsible for the chick down color differences between buff and light Brahmas, partridge and silver penciled, silver and light brown, etc., etc.
But I don\'t think it causes yellow versus gray down in most cases.
Well, the white chick I hatched from my Black/Lavender split Ameraucana (from John) is yellow, and feathering in white.  She was breed by a white roo about 2 weeks prior to being put in with my Lavender roo, so I\'m leaning towards her (and her white father) being dominant white even more now.  

By \"she\" do you mean the mother of the yellow chick, which is the split from John?
Do you know the source of your white rooster?   It is possible he could be dominant white - in fact it is possible for chickens to be BOTH dominant and recessive white, as the genes are inherited independently of each other.  

[verycherry]

So I guess both Cochins and Silkies come in both Dominant white and recessive white?I don\'t raise those breeds, but suspect that might be the case.....and the down color has nothing to do with the gold and silver gene?  
I would not go that far.   It depends on a variety of factors, so one can\'t make a blanket statement that it always is this or that. Silver/gold is responsible for the chick down color differences between buff and light Brahmas, partridge and silver penciled, silver and light brown, etc., etc.
But I don\'t think it causes yellow versus gray down in most cases.
Well, the white chick I hatched from my Black/Lavender split Ameraucana (from John) is yellow, and feathering in white.  She was breed by a white roo about 2 weeks prior to being put in with my Lavender roo, so I\'m leaning towards her (and her white father) being dominant white even more now.  

By \"she\" do you mean the mother of the yellow chick, which is the split from John?
Do you know the source of your white rooster?   It is possible he could be dominant white - in fact it is possible for chickens to be BOTH dominant and recessive white, as the genes are inherited independently of each other.  

Yes, she, my B/L split (and a few more from John), was in a pen with other hens and roos (a white roo being dominant roo) prior to being separated into a breeding pen with John\'s Lav cockerel and 3 more B/L splits.  

I hatched the white roo from some of my white Ameraucana hens back in the day when everyone ran together, just for fun, just to have chickens, and his father MIGHT have been one of the EE\'s that I used in developing the red pyles, so he could very well be dominant white, but as you mentioned they can also carry recessive white, so that is also also a possibility.  

I don\'t have this same white roo now.  I sold him several weeks to months back as an EE, because his comb was a little floppy and he had a little green in his legs.  I also have his brother, who\'s much better but still a touch of green near his feet.  I\'ve never used him for breeding, but may use him with the Red Pyles if he\'s dominant white.  

Breeding the white roo to that B/L hen wasn\'t intentional by the way, but neither was it prevented.  They were all in a large coop/grow out pen and a run together.  

[Beth C]

I\'ve learned so much from reading the topics here over the past year or so.  Definately worth the $10.00 membership fee!

[John]

some lovely pictures of Harry Shaffers lavender chicks

From Cindy...

[Mike Gilbert]

Stop it John, just stop it.   I swear I can\'t take on another variety!

[John]

Ah, but look deep into the eyes of those awesome little lav-en-der babes...and those perfectly gorgeous pea combs are to die for! :p

[Guest]

aww that first picture really draws you in... \"the force is strong with this one... you will cross over to the LAVENDER side.... \"

[verycherry]

OMGosh, what gorgeous babies and great photographs!  

If I didn\'t have 16 newly hatched chicks at home, 8 Lavender and 8 B/L splits, I\'d probably be ordering a few right now.