There are a few different programs available out there that allow you to take two birds you have paired and the software will predict the offspring you should get from that pair. Some of these work better than others. Then, there are individuals who just have a specific goal in mind, and they want to know - what two birds do I need to pair together in order to get my goal bird? This is where reverse genetics comes in. Obviously, reverse genetics is far more complicated because there are a lot more variables at stake. Imagine - what if I wanted to know all of the two number combinations there were in order to get the result of "275"! In equations, we usually have at least ONE part of the puzzle (e.g., A + 23 = 275; solve for A. 275-23 = A = 252). But what if both A and B were missing, and you were just left with 275? You are left with a LOT of possibilities!

That being said, I will leave this to discussing Body Color. So you'll still have a little work to do on your own if you wish to know an exact bird (e.g., OH, Lilac Breast, Silver Male) - but for specific inquiries, you can always email me!

I'll start with the more exotic mutations, since that is what most people seem to be interested in. If there is anything else you'd like me to add, you can simply click on the email link in the paragraph above and I will happily add it to the site!

REMEMBER: The pairings below will not necessarily only produce the specified bird. There are many other possibilities each pairing could produce. These are merely examples of what pairings are capable of producing said bird. Statistics are a funny thing, and their accuracy is usually dependent upon large numbers of results. So if you have one pair producing 4 babies each clutch, there is a possibility that the first clutch will not contain the baby you are looking for! Check out "Body Color Pairings" if you would like to know all of the potential offspring a particular pairing below could produce.

Silver Body Color:

Silver Males
Silver males can occur in two ways. The first, is to have a genetically double factor yellow, genetically blue bodied male. This bird will appear visually silver regardless of his breast color. The second option is by having a Lilac or White Breasted, single factor yellow, blue bodied male.
The following pairings can produce Silver Males [DF Yellow]: Silver Male x Silver Hen* Silver Male x Yellow/Blue Hen Pastel Male x Silver Hen* Pastel Male x Yellow/Blue Hen Dilute/Blue Male x Silver Hen Dilute/Blue Male x Yellow/Blue Hen *These pairings are not recommended!
The following pairings can produce Silver Males [SF Yellow]: "P/-" means a Purple/White or Purple/Lilac Bird. P/-, LB or WB SF Y/B Male x P/-, LB or WB N/B Hen P/-, LB or WB SF Y/B Male x P/-, LB or WB Blue Hen P/-, LB or WB SF Y/B Male x P/-, LB or WB Y/B Hen P/-, LB or WB SF Y/B Male x P/-, LB or WB Silver Hen P/-, LB or WB Blue Male x P/-, LB or WB Y/B Hen P/-, LB or WB Blue Male x P/-, LB or WB Silver Hen

Silver Hens
Silver hens are a bit less complex than silver males. Due to yellow being sex-linked, hens only need one copy to express the yellow body color [which they inherit from their father, not their mother]. This means that there is no requirement for them to be DF Yellow + Blue bodied to express the silver color. It also means that the only pertinent genetic information they receive from their mother revolves around the blue body mutation. In short: All you need for a Silver hen is a genetically yellow blue bodied bird
The following pairings can produce Silver hens: Silver Male x Silver Hen* Silver Male x Blue Hen* Silver Male x Yellow/Blue Hen Silver Male x Normal/Blue Hen Pastel Male x Silver Hen* Pastel Male x Blue Hen* Pastel Male x Yellow/Blue Hen Pastel Male x Normal/Blue Hen DF Y/B Male x Silver Hen DF Y/B Male x Blue Hen DF Y/B Male x Y/B Hen DF Y/B Male x N/B Hen SF Y/B Male x Silver Hen SF Y/B Male x Blue Hen SF Y/B Male x Y/B Hen SF Y/B Male x N/B Hen *These pairings are not recommended!

Pastel Males
Pastel males are the result of combining a genetically SF Yellow, Genetically blue bodied male with a purple breast. They do not occur with any other breast color. Because they only need to be SF Yellow + Blue Bodied, there are quite a few pairings out there capable of producing this mutation. Likewise, I find this mutation particularly pleasing because it can produce a large variety of offspring when paired with certain hens.
The following pairings can produce Pastel Males: Silver Male x Blue Hen* Silver Male x N/B Hen Silver [only if he is SF Yellow] Male x Silver Hen* Silver [only if he is SF Yellow] Male x Y/B Hen Pastel Male x Silver Hen* Pastel Male x Blue Hen* Pastel Male x Y/B Hen Pastel Male x N/B Hen DF Y/B Male x Blue Hen [!Best Choice! - 50% Pastel Males, 50% Dilute/Blue Males] DF Y/B Male x N/B Hen Dilute [SF Y]/Blue Male x Silver Hen Dilute [SF Y]/Blue Male x Blue Hen Dilute [SF Y]/Blue Male x Y/B Hen Dilute [SF Y]/Blue Male x N/B Hen *These pairings are not recommended!

Blue Bodied Birds
Blue is an autosomal recessive mutation. To put it in every day terms: to be visually Blue, a bird must inherit one copy of the blue body gene from both parents. Thus, at the very least, both parents must be split for blue body in order to produce blue bodied chicks.
The following pairings can produce Blue Males: Silver [only if he is SF Y] Male x Blue Hen* Silver [only if he is SF Y] Male x N/B Hen Blue Male x Blue Hen* Blue Male x N/B Hen Pastel Male x Blue Hen* Pastel Male x N/B Hen Dilute [SF Y]/Blue Male x Blue Hen Dilute [SF Y]/Blue Male x N/B Hen N/B Male x N/B Hen N/B Male x Blue Hen *These pairings are not recommended!
The following pairings can produce Blue Hens: Silver [only if he is SF Y] Male x Silver Hen* Silver [only if he is SF Y] Male x Blue Hen* Silver [only if he is SF Y] Male x Y/B Hen Silver [only if he is SF Y] Male x N/B Hen Blue Male x Silver Hen* Blue Male x Blue Hen* Blue Male x Y/B Hen Blue Male x N/B Hen Pastel Male x Silver Hen* Pastel Male x Blue Hen* Pastel Male x Y/B Hen Pastel Male x N/B Hen Dilute [SF Y]/Blue Male x Silver Hen Dilute [SF Y]/Blue Male x Blue Hen Dilute [SF Y]/Blue Male x Y/B Hen Dilute [SF Y]/Blue Male x N/B Hen N/B Male x Silver Hen N/B Male x Blue Hen N/B Male x Y/B Hen N/B Male x N/B Hen *These pairings are not recommended!

Yellow Females
Yellow is a sex-linked gene, so therefore females need only inherit one copy [again, which they inherit from their father] to visually appear yellow. The body color of the mother therefore does not particulary matter, so it is not necessary to list out the various combinations of hens to pair to the males below. Just understand that "Any Hen" literally means any hen.
The following pairings can produce Yellow Hens: Silver [DF or SF] Male x Any Hen Pastel Male x Any Hen DF Yellow Male x Any Hen [!Best Choice! - All hens produced will be Yellow] Dilute [SF Y] Male x Any Hen

DF Yellow Males
In order to produce DF Yellow Males, the bird needs to inherit one copy of the yellow gene from its mother, and one from its father. This means at the very least you need a SF Yellow male x Yellow hen.
The following pairings can produce DF Yellow Males: Silver [DF or SF] Male x Silver Hen* Silver [DF or SF] Male x Yellow Hen Pastel Male x Silver Hen* Pastel Male x Yellow Hen DF Yellow Male x Silver Hen DF Yellow Male x Yellow Hen [!Best Choice! - All males produced will be DF Yellow] Dilute [SF Y] Male x Silver Hen Dilute [SF Y] Male x Yellow Hen *These pairings are not recommended!

SF Yellow Males
SF Yellow males exist in two varieties. The first are the "Dilutes" as they are called, which are genetically SF Yellow birds that are also purple breasted. The second are what I call "SF Yellow Males". These are genetically SF Yellow, with a Lilac or White Breast, thus appearing visually yellow like their DF counterparts.
The following pairings can produce Dilute [SF Yellow, PB] Males: Silver [SF Y only] x Yellow Hen Silver [SF or DF Y] x Normal Hen Pastel x Yellow Hen Pastel x Normal Hen Blue Male x Yellow Hen DF Yellow x Blue Hen DF Yellow x Normal Hen [!Good Choice! - All males produced will be Dilute] SF Yellow x Silver Hen SF Yellow x Blue Hen SF Yellow x Yellow Hen SF Yellow x Normal Hen Normal Male x Silver Hen[!Good Choice! - All males produced will be Dilute/Blue] Normal Male x Yellow Hen[!Good Choice! - All males produced will be Dilute] It is necessary to explain that the above pairings assume both birds are not Lilac or WB. If one is Purple/White or Purple/Lilac, you will still get visual Dilutes. If pairing two splits together, you will get some visual Dilutes, and some SF Yellow, non PB, visually yellow males. The above pairings would not work to produce visual Dilutes if both parents are visually Lilac or White Breast. That is what the following section is for!
The following pairings can produce SF Yellow [Visually Yellow, Lilac or WB] Males: "P/-" means a Purple/White or Purple/Lilac Bird. P/-, LB or WB Silver [SF Y only] x P/-, LB or WB Yellow Hen P/-, LB or WB Silver [SF or DF Y] x P/-, LB or WB Normal Hen P/- Pastel x P/-, LB or WB Yellow Hen P/- Pastel x P/-, LB or WB Normal Hen P/-, LB or WB Blue Male x P/-, LB or WB Yellow Hen P/-, LB or WB DF Yellow x P/-, LB or WB Blue Hen P/-, LB or WB DF Yellow x P/-, LB or WB Normal Hen P/-, LB or WB SF Yellow x P/-, LB or WB Silver Hen P/-, LB or WB SF Yellow x P/-, LB or WB Blue Hen P/-, LB or WB SF Yellow x P/-, LB or WB Yellow Hen P/-, LB or WB SF Yellow x P/-, LB or WB Normal Hen P/-, LB or WB Normal Male x P/-, LB or WB Silver Hen P/-, LB or WB Normal Male x P/-, LB or WB Yellow Hen

Split for Blue [/Blue] Males & Females
Producing birds that are guaranteed Split for Blue [/Blue] is as simple as pairing a genetically Blue bodied bird to any other bird that is not visually blue. Realize that by any male or female written below, we obviously mean any bird other than a genetically blue bodied one, as we do not recommend pairing Blue to Blue!
The following pairings can produce /Blue birds: Silver [SF or DF Y] Male x Any Hen Pastel Male x Any Hen Blue Male x Any Hen Any Male x Silver Hen Any Male x Blue Hen

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