Blue and Lavender. Is there a difference?

First off, is this what is called blue in orpingintons?
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Because I LIKE it and I want MORE. And what is the difference between a lavender and a blue orpington anyhow?

I believe that is a lavender Orp, though could be a very light blue too. And no, they are not the same. Here’s a really good link that explains the differences far better than I ever could. (Thanks coopslave ) And there’s pretty pictures too!

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It's hard to say from photos. Did you buy the orp from someone who breeds blue orps or lav orps? Lavender orps can not come from blue orps, BUT, there can be poorly colored blue orps that can look similar to lavs, if that makes any sense. I have a splash orp that is muddy and looks almost lav, but I know she is splash. She's in the laying-for-eating-eggs pen

my splash orp hen looked like that to...where di yuo get them from?

VERY interesting link. Answered some stuff I've been wondering about for a while now.

Thanks for the link Flicker Chick. This is what I understand from it: If she is blue and I breed her with a blue roo (which I have) I should get Black, Blue and Splash chicks. If she is Lavender I would get no lavender chicks like her?

I got her in an egg swap, but can't remember what she had I THINK blue and black ( I did also get a Blue and Black from that hatch)

Lavender can be a bit complicated because it is recessive it can 'lurk' in other colours.

I did have a blue bird that carried lav and when her offspring were mated together it popped up. So basically any colour bird can carry it, but it is not until it is mated to another carrier that there is a chance that it will show itself.

You need two copies of lav to have a lavender bird. Lavender dilutes black and red. Lavender bred to lavender always gives you lavender, unlike blue, which as you know will give you black, blue and splash.

I tried to not make it to complicated. These things can be as technical or as simple as you want them to be, depends on what you really want to know. I hope this helped a little.

Lavender is called Lilac (I think- never had one) in rabbits. It would be lovely if the genetics were as simple for hens as in rabbits. Rabbits have a dilution gene. Blue is diluted black and Lavender is diluted brown.

Sue

Blue and Self Blue (Lavender) can sometimes look similar, but they are very different.

If your bird in questions flock mates are Blacks, Blues, Splashes then I would guess she is a very light colored Blue from Blue/Black breeding.

Most often birds that are Light Blue color are from BLUE breeding. So unless the breeder you got the birds from sold them as Lavender or Self Blue, they would just be a light blue bird. The Blue color varies widely from birds so dark they almost look black to birds that are white with black flecks or spots ( Splashed) to everything in-between...

Self Blue (Lavender) birds will only produce Lavender colored chicks ( Self Blue). Also Self Blue birds often have slight barring in their coloring. It is more noticeable when the bird is wet. The self blue gene also causes slow feather growth.

Also the Lavender ( Self Blue) gene in Canada is a quite new color for most of Canada and often Rarer than the Blue/Black colors. So often birds that contain the Lavender (Self Blue) gene are more expensive.