Lavender

A few words about lavender or, as it is labelled by the American Poultry Association, Self Blue. Lavender and Self Blue refer to a feather colour pattern in chickens characterized by a uniform, pale, bluish grey colour across all feathers. Lavender, designated as lav, is an autosomal recessive genetic mutation affecting the neural crest derived melanocytes. The lav gene reduces the expression of black (eumelanin) and red/brown (phaeomelanin) so that black areas of the plumage appear pale grey and red areas appear a pale buff. On an extended black genetic background this condition causes the entire body to express an even shade of light slaty grey feathers which is the typical phenotype known as Self Blue, a very distinctive colour, kind of like pewter.

Many people are confused and frustrated because the governing bodies in the poultry world insist on using the label "Self Blue" to describe the action of the lav gene but it makes sense if you know the history. Grey feathers, ideally edged with black, are referred to as "Blue" (the gene designated as Bl) in chickens and "self" when referring to colour in chickens means "a single, uniform colour as in black or white", thus, the uniform colour grey is labelled "Self Blue" by both the American Bantam Association and the American Poultry Association.

The lavender gene is a relatively recent discovery. It was first identified in the Porcelain variety of Belgian Bearded d'Uccle bantams in 1972 and verified in 1980 although self blue was approved as a variety in Old English Game chickens by the American Poultry Association in 1965. Porcelain coloured d'Uccle bantams were around as early as 1909 though the Porcelain variety was not recognized by the American Poultry Association until 1964. Whether from the Porcelain d'Uccle or other unknown sources, the lavender gene has been introduced to a number of chicken breeds over the years, including Belgian Bearded d’Anvers, Booted Bantams, Silkies, Ameraucanas, Cochins, and Orpingtons.

I was part of the team that worked hard for many years to get Self Blue Ameraucanas accepted as a new variety by the American Poultry Association in 2020. The same year I was the second of only three people to have received Master Breeder status in Self Blue Bearded Silkies from the American Silkie Bantam Club. Both goals that took many years to achieve. I am currently crossing my Self Blue Ameraucanas with Black Copper Marans to produce self blue olive eggers. My goal is to make Self Blue Marans. In a few generations they will look more like Marans than Ameraucanas but I will never likely get the egg colour needed to truly define the variety as Marans.

Self Blue is not for the faint of heart. The gene does not come without challenges. There are feather quality issues and issues with reproduction and hardiness attached to the gene that seem to be consistent throughout all the breeds. These issues are tackled by constantly breeding back to solid black birds but that means generations simply to maintain quality standards without expression of the beautiful colour and twice the amount of space required to house the black and lavender birds. However, when lavender is done right it really is a beautiful sight.

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