Chicken feather type/texture?

[Hinotori]

The blue gene is an incomplete dominate modifier of black. One copy gives blue. Two gives splash. It's one of the easier genes to understand. I believe only silkies allow splash at shows, which I still maintain is stupid. Andalusian chickens first had the gene and it's sometimes still called andalusian blue.

ETA: breeding splash to splash can result in birds that are too light with few markings on their feathers. It doesn't always effect the first breeding, but continuous breeding of only splash is detrimental.

 

[Trying2keepitReal]

Not to steal your thread @tortoise but looking for your thoughts since you did alot of research....is this lady a blue then? Or is she grey (if that is even a color)

 

[Hinotori]

I'd say blue.

Grey does exist as a named color, at least in silkies. It's a silver, instead of gold, based partridge basically.

 

[tortoise]

I'd say blue.

Grey does exist as a named color, at least in silkies. It's a silver, instead of gold, based partridge basically.

View attachment 20963

What a stunning bird! is it yours?

 

[tortoise]

I defer to @Hinotori all things chicken related! I'm just starting to learn about colors and breeding outcomes.

I'm relieved Hinotori said blue, because that was my guess!

 

[Hinotori]

What a stunning bird! is it yours?

Not my bird. I picked a good example off the search. All my birds are gold based. Which now my brain thinks I need to change and get the lavender gene into some grey silkies for a ghostly white with silver highlights. Bad brain, bad. Birds would probably just look dirty white.

I'm good with some colors and with silkies and ameraucana.

I've been learning a bit about paint color from someone on the byc silkie thread who does paints. I'm still a little confused on them. Crele and pyle genetics are beyond me still. Haven't understood how they work yet.

Feather genetics is best learned in bits for me. I pick up more over time.

I have raised blue, black, splash silkies in the past. Unfortunately someone decided to breed cuckoo into them. Splash cuckoo is a light colored splash with bad pigment holes. It took forever to figure out why the hen had mottled black and white skin. Then on breeding to a black rooster I got barred blue cockerels.

 

[Trying2keepitReal]

Cool thanks @Hinotori and @tortoise

 

[FarmerJamie]

Enjoying the edumakation, folks!

 

[Hinotori]

Oh and on the blue gene. It's a modifier of black which means it works on wheaten and partridge on just the black parts.

Pullet on left is a blue partridge and the other two are normal, but the right one has the moorhead gene that gives a black head. I'd post new picture but it's raining out so I can't take any good ones.

I finally have a good blue partridge cockerel. I'd thought I'd lost the blue partridge color but one of my hens I thought was regular partridge was obviously a dark blue. I got two blue partridge pullets and a cockerel this year.

And this is what lavender does to partridge.

I've been trying to figure out who carries it. So I can attempt to eliminate it. One of my first birds brought it into the flock. As it's recessive, it didn't show up until years later.

Blue and lavender shouldn't ever be mixed as it makes it confusing.

Lavender is also called self blue.

 

[Finnie]

Lavender is also called self blue.

Yes, which I think was a bad move. Why make it so much harder for new people to learn, by having two different genes with the name blue? People were used to lavender for crying out loud!