Brown reds

[Vidal Chavez]

 I decided a while ago to try to keep only one color variety of any of my favotire breeds.  ( I have to admit Im a 31 flavors kinda guy and just one flavor is a hard thing for me to do) 
I choose the brown red variety of ameraucana for two reasons. 
1)  I like the color patter. 
2)  there are not too many of them out there. 
My intent is to create a flock of brown reds and lemon blues.  I have  2 batches of pure amaraucans this spring.  one from Will M. and another from John B.  I have had birds from both farms and I have always been pleased with them.
some of the chicks im raising now are of the silver variety. Did i mention my lack of self control?  lol  and they will need to be kept separate. The rest are either blue/black (Will M)  or lavender (john B)  I would like to keep all the blue/black/lavender/brown reds in a large laying flock.  Am I correct in assuming that these colors can be mixed and eventually produce a combination of
brown reds/lemon blue.
the hens that are pure for black/blue and the laverder hens I end up with from these 2 orders will be used for the first cross after that the will be removed from the flock so to only breed birds that carry the brown red gene.  any thought from the group?

[Cesar Villegas]

You can mix black with lavender because they are both based of the black extension gene "E" but you would have to keep track which Blacks carry the lavender gene. Since its recessive it can pop up back again.

Mike Gilbert once told me about crossing black with Brown Red and quote, "I did outcross to black at one point, and it really set me back.   I would not do it again."

Im not saying it can be done, but It can prob cause more bad than good.


Is Lemon Blue based off the same foundations as Brown Red? e.g. at the extension gene etc..

[John W Blehm]

I would like to keep all the blue/black/lavender/brown reds in a large laying flock.  Am I correct in assuming that these colors can be mixed and eventually produce a combination of brown reds/lemon blue.

Brown red to brown red will give you brown reds.  I've never bred lemon blue, but some claim it is the same genotype as brown red with blue added (Bl/bl).  I would try a brown red cock over a blue pullet to start with.  Remember when you deal with blue you have a lot of wasters, like lemon splash and lemon black...unless lemon black (if the orange feathers aren't turned to lemon, what should be a lemon black would be a brown red).
Personally I think you would also need to introduce Ig (Inhibitor of gold aka lemon) to lighten the orange areas of the brown red to lemon.  I don't know of an outcross, to another variety of Ameraucana, that will bring it in and you may have to cross to another breed with it.  Lavender would dilute the orange, but also the blue and that wouldn't be the color you are after.  Maybe forget the blue and go for a lemon lavender. 
 

[Vidal Chavez]

At this point my main goal is to have a good number of birds that are pure for ER or carry ER in their background.  Since there are so few being shown and even fewer availiable for purchase I want to be able to increase those numbers.  I hear it so oftern in the pheasant world.  "Specialize" in just a few species or even just one species.  I have a lot to learn about the ER gene.  i think ER with the added Lv and Bl is a good place to start.  Im also trying to transition from the "trade" names to the genetic symbols.  hard to do.. 
So my flock will possibly be
ER/Lv/Bl  is this correct? 
it would read Brown red  lavender/red blue/red  possibly lemon/blue/lavender