Genetics of Chocolate

Chocolate is a black diluter gene that causes black to appear brown. When chocolate genetics meets blue genetics, it creates Mauve and Mauve Splash. Blue is also another black diluter gene.

Our Focus

While both are beautiful colors, Her Chickies does not prioritize Chocolate. We strive to breed Chocolates as close to the Standard as possible, but they are not our primary focus. Currently, we are focusing on improving our Chocolate line by strengthening type and breeding toward a more compact bird.

Sex-Linked Breeding

Chocolate is sex-linked, meaning it follows a pattern similar to barred genetics. Males inherit two copies of the gene (one from each parent), while females inherit only one (from the father). Chocolate for males is recessive and for females, it is dominant.

When a Chocolate male is bred to a non-Chocolate female, all female offspring will be Chocolate, while males will be "split" to Chocolate—carrying one Chocolate gene but not expressing it. However, when a Chocolate male is bred to a Chocolate female, all offspring will be Chocolate—male and female.

Occasionally, we will have a sex-linked breeding pen with our Chocolate rooster over our Black, Paint and Dominant White hens. This is typically the fastest way to improve type as all three varieties have a much stronger type than Chocolate does.

Slow Feathering Gene

Chocolate Silkies and their respective variants are well known for having a slow feathering gene that causes them to take months to fully feather out. Our line takes up to 14 weeks to fully feather out! 

Recessive White

Our pen has been extensively tested for recessive white and lavender. All of our breeders have either tested clean for both genes or are derived from our clean breeders.

Recessive white and lavender frequently turn up in varieties where they don’t belong, so making sure our birds are genuinely clean is a top priority at Her Chickies.

However, like many other breeders, we are still working to eliminate any traces of the slow feathering gene associated with sex-linked chocolate.

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