How did I get WHITE chicks from a blue rooster and blue/black/splash/cuckoo hens? And what will happen if I breed the white back to the blue roo?

[StefneyRSA]

I have Bantam Orpingtons in my backyard flock. This is a new flock that I started in April, all adult (or point of lay) birds from various breeders of bantam Orps.

I only have one rooster, he’s blue. And the 5 hens who are the possible mothers are blue, splash, black, and a black cuckoo.

My first batch of chicks hatched 10 weeks ago, and in the mix of 9 chicks we got 1 x splash boy, 1 x blue boy, 1 x blue cuckoo boy. The 6 girls are blue, black and 2 x WHITE. The one black pullet has some white leakage it seems (her head around her comb has some white specks and the tip of each wing is white).

My questions:
1. HOW did the white chicks happen? I was expecting only blue/black/splash offspring.
2. And what causes the black chick to have white faults?
3. And what will I get if I breed my white pullets back to their blue dad?

Just to add, all these birds are show-quality from top breeders. The father was best in show at the national Orp show in Feb, the hens are from show breeders. So they should all be pretty well-bred and of good quality.

I have two more batches of chicks on the ground now from the same parents (6 x 4 weeks old and 6 x 2 weeks old). There’s another white one in the mix, can’t tell gender yet. The rest are splash and blue and black, but with the cuckoo they only show their barring later, my blue cuckoo cockerel from the first batch looked regular blue until about 8/9 weeks old when I noticed the barring on his feathers.

 

[Ecarroll]

I have Bantam Orpingtons in my backyard flock. This is a new flock that I started in April, all adult (or point of lay) birds from various breeders of bantam Orps.

I only have one rooster, he’s blue. And the 5 hens who are the possible mothers are blue, splash, black, and a black cuckoo.

My first batch of chicks hatched 10 weeks ago, and in the mix of 9 chicks we got 1 x splash boy, 1 x blue boy, 1 x blue cuckoo boy. The 6 girls are blue, black and 2 x WHITE. The one black pullet has some white leakage it seems (her head around her comb has some white specks and the tip of each wing is white).

My questions:
1. HOW did the white chicks happen? I was expecting only blue/black/splash offspring.
2. And what causes the black chick to have white faults?
3. And what will I get if I breed my white pullets back to their blue dad?

Just to add, all these birds are show-quality from top breeders. The father was best in show at the national Orp show in Feb, the hens are from show breeders. So they should all be pretty well-bred and of good quality.

I have two more batches of chicks on the ground now from the same parents (6 x 4 weeks old and 6 x 2 weeks old). There’s another white one in the mix, can’t tell gender yet. The rest are splash and blue and black, but with the cuckoo they only show their barring later, my blue cuckoo cockerel from the first batch looked regular blue until about 8/9 weeks old when I noticed the barring on his feathers.

I could be wrong about this but I’m pretty sure breeding blue to blue can give you blue, black, white, or splash

 

[arianna7]

1. How did the white chicks happen?The appearance of white chicks in your hatch can be attributed to the genetics of the birds involved. In Bantam Orpingtons, the white color can occur due to the presence of the recessive white gene (often denoted as "wh" for white). If any of the hens you have carry this recessive gene, it can combine with the other colors during breeding, resulting in white chicks. Since you have a mix of colors, it's possible that one of the hens (likely the black cuckoo or another) carried the white gene, leading to the unexpected white offspring.
2. What causes the black chick to have white faults?The presence of white leakage in a black chick can indicate that the chick is not a true solid black but may carry a gene for white. This is often referred to as "white leakage." In Orpingtons, this can occur due to the influence of the dominant white gene or other modifiers that affect color expression. The white specks and tips on the wings suggest that the chick may carry a recessive gene that affects color distribution, which is not uncommon in black birds that carry the white gene.
3. What will I get if I breed my white pullets back to their blue dad?When you breed the white pullets back to the blue rooster, the offspring will depend on the genetic makeup of the white pullets. If they are homozygous for the white gene (meaning they carry two copies), all offspring will be white. If they are heterozygous (one white gene and one non-white gene), you can expect a mix of colors. The potential outcomes could include blue, splash, black, and possibly white chicks, depending on the genetic contributions from the blue father. The blue rooster will pass on the blue gene, which could result in various combinations with the white gene from the pullets.

Overall, breeding can yield a fascinating variety of colors, and it's always interesting to see how genetics play out in your flock!

 

[StefneyRSA]

1. How did the white chicks happen?The appearance of white chicks in your hatch can be attributed to the genetics of the birds involved. In Bantam Orpingtons, the white color can occur due to the presence of the recessive white gene (often denoted as "wh" for white). If any of the hens you have carry this recessive gene, it can combine with the other colors during breeding, resulting in white chicks. Since you have a mix of colors, it's possible that one of the hens (likely the black cuckoo or another) carried the white gene, leading to the unexpected white offspring.
2. What causes the black chick to have white faults?The presence of white leakage in a black chick can indicate that the chick is not a true solid black but may carry a gene for white. This is often referred to as "white leakage." In Orpingtons, this can occur due to the influence of the dominant white gene or other modifiers that affect color expression. The white specks and tips on the wings suggest that the chick may carry a recessive gene that affects color distribution, which is not uncommon in black birds that carry the white gene.
3. What will I get if I breed my white pullets back to their blue dad?When you breed the white pullets back to the blue rooster, the offspring will depend on the genetic makeup of the white pullets. If they are homozygous for the white gene (meaning they carry two copies), all offspring will be white. If they are heterozygous (one white gene and one non-white gene), you can expect a mix of colors. The potential outcomes could include blue, splash, black, and possibly white chicks, depending on the genetic contributions from the blue father. The blue rooster will pass on the blue gene, which could result in various combinations with the white gene from the pullets.

Overall, breeding can yield a fascinating variety of colors, and it's always interesting to see how genetics play out in your flock!

This is very helpful and thorough thank you so much!

 

[arianna7]

This is very helpful and thorough thank you so much!

No problem, let me know if any more problems occur!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I could be wrong about this but I’m pretty sure breeding blue to blue can give you blue, black, white, or splash

It's not supposed to. You only get white from a Blue to Blue if both happen to have a recessive white gene they pass down. But most people that breed BxB don't want that in their flocks

 

[Auntiejessi3]

The one black pullet has some white leakage it seems (her head around her comb has some white specks and the tip of each wing is white).

This is normal with some breeds, they molt out of it. I had standard size English Orps and all my black chicks had white on their wing tips and sometimes around their face, they all molted out of it.

1. HOW did the white chicks happen? I was expecting only blue/black/splash offspring.

There have to be 2 copies of recessive white to get white chicks, which means your rooster carries 1 copy, and 1 or more of your hens do.

3. And what will I get if I breed my white pullets back to their blue dad?

You will be introducing more white genes which will muddy your breeding even more.

My suggestion is to do test hatches, exclusive to each hen and see who is throwing the white chicks. Or you could keep a cockerel and pullets from your white chicks, separate them from your others, and start breeding white orps also.