Information on the Chocolate Variety - Q&A

[Jean]

I have been breeding project chocolate birds since the spring of 2011.  I started with my bantam project first and used a bantam black ameraucana cockerel over bantam chocolate orpingtons.

I made sure the orpingtons I used were true bantams and I tried to find some that laid a very light pinkish colored egg.  These choices helped my bantam project move along quite fast.

Using the ameraucana as the male in the cross helped to promote the blue egg gene in the offspring.  And then I used a split cockerel to mate to pure ameraucana for the second generation.  Now several generations later, I am working on reducing the size just a bit and wing carriage.  I feel the feather quality is good as well as type and egg color.

With the large fowl project I was not able to do the cross the same way.  I had to use a small large fowl chocolate orpington cockerel over my black ameraucana hens.  My last generation of birds are very fluffy, have poor egg color, poor laying ability and not so great type. 

It hasn't moved forward the way the bantams did and it has been a little disappointing, but I have to just keep moving forward.

The chocolate gene was discovered by an orpington breeder named Clive Carefoot in England.  It was a mutation he found in his black orpingtons.  It is a sex linked recessive gene.  This means that it is recessive in males and if a female has the gene, she will display the color.  So, you can only have split to chocolate males in the chocolate varieties.  The females are or are not chocolate, they don't carry the gene.

This gene is not the same chocolate that some people say their polish display.  Polish are dun/khaki.  The variety breeds true.  The gene modifies the black in the beaks, toe nails and legs to be chocolate in color.

I was not able to send out any LF project chicks or eggs this year due to the poor laying ability.  It is something I will continue to work on.  I have been able to send out many bantam chocolate hatching egg orders and am waiting for the girls to start back up so I can get more people working on them.

If anyone has any questions about the variety or the project or if you are also working with them feel free to post.

[Temple DaSilva]

I'm definitely someone that is interested in working with your bantam chocolate project!  I had seen photos of some of your birds quite a while back and was so smitten with them.  Looking forward to hopefully being a recipient of some of your eggs once your girls are back up and going... and not hiding them!

-temple in CT

[Don]

Jean, I was curious about the genetics.  Sounds like they are very different that any of the other varieties.  I did look up some pictures and they are quite nice.  But I was curious about the male and female genes.  So did some looking and tried to understand how this works.   Take a look at the crosses below and see if this makes sense?   All males that carry the gene are splits?   Feel free to correct this before I confuse more than just me!

Choc to Choc = 100% chocolate, I presume 50% male and female (Split males, right?)

Choc. M. to Black F.  = 50% Black Splits and 50% Choc females

Black M. to Choc F.  = 50% Black Splits and 50% Black females

Black split male to Choc female = 25% Choc males, 25% Black split males
       25% Choc and 25% Black females

Black split male to Black female  = 25% Black split males, 25% Black males
       25% Choc females and 25% Black females

[Jean]

Yep, that is correct.

[Susan Mouw]

So, is chocolate a modifier of the black?

[Jean]

Yes it is.

[Cesar “CJ”]

I love the chocolate project. I have several people that are growing pullets from me and they're looking very nice.

But Im worried about irresponsible breeders that wont cull. Sooner or later there will be chocolate pullets popping out from all black flocks.

Ive been very selective on who I sold to, but I think we might have in consequently damaged the black gene pool just a tad.

Or I Can be totally wrong haha

[DeWayne Edgin]

Cesar wouldn`t this also be true with the Lavenders? If it is then you could have blacks that are pure. Blacks with Lavender splits also blacks with chocolate splits. Careless breeding would cause alot of problems if someone used them and didn`t know. Atleast i would think it would.

[Cesar “CJ”]

Cesar wouldn`t this also be true with the Lavenders? If it is then you could have blacks that are pure. Blacks with Lavender splits also blacks with chocolate splits. Careless breeding would cause alot of problems if someone used them and didn`t know. Atleast i would think it would.

Yes It is true, I think Jean ran into that problem from birds she got from someone.