Breeding mottled and Self Wyandottes from the same pen
Page topics: Starting with Black Mottled | Chocolate Wyandottes | Mottled Mottled Genetics | Other Mottled varieties
Black Mottled
Initially I bought a long legged German Mottled pullet to breed the mottling gene into my project to make Millefleur Wyandottes. I quickly fell in love with her and the stunning simple colours of the black mottled; black with beetle green sheen, snow white spots, yellow legs and red comb. So I kept a few black mottled.
Mottled Breeding
Mottling caused by a recessive gene; it needs two copies of the gene one from each parent to be expressed. Birds that are the offspring of a single mottled will inherit only one copy and appear normal coloured and called carriers.
This applies to other characteristics caused by a single simple recessive gene
When mated to a bird that likewise is a carrier and has one copy of the gene to a bird which carries two copies of the and is mottled some of the offspring will, statistically, be mottled.
Breeding Mottled Chickens
The genetics of breeding all mottled poultry including all colours of mottled, millefleur, spangled OEG, porcelain and speckled. See Poultry genetics and breeding page.
Chocolate Wyandottes
Dr Clive Carefoot, a well known poultry breeder and exhibitor and bred found a chocolate “sport” in his flock of black Orpingtons. Clive was incredibly kind and helpful to me when I first started out with an interest in breeding. We kept in touch by letter and email, he was very generous with sharing his knowledge. Unfortunately Clive died but another friend who had managed to keep his chocolate strain going and I was given a chocolate descendant of the original chocolate Orpington. From that I have developed chocolate mottled Wyandottes, which I still keep as something to remember him by.
Other Varieties of Mottled
Chocolate, black, black mottled, chocolate mottled, blue, blue mottled, lavender and lavender mottled all can be bred from the same pen as well as all the smudgy mauve, beige, taupe intermediates solid and mottled. I am only on the first four colours so far and that provides entertaining variety at hatching time.
