Buff Dewlap Toulouse Thread - Page 3

Pete that is great lineage to get ahold of. I am tracing the sebbie ganders this week putting together as much info and photos as I can on each. Will do the same on the dewlaps, even if there isnt much to go on, I can at least document what I know and the future.

8 of the 9 here are pretty mellow. We have one who likes to yank tail feathers of the ducks, and the sebbies. Removed the curlies from the same yard to protect their feathers. The ducks have learned to avoid her. So far thats the only one showing any interest in anything other than eating.

cant say the same for the production greys, they like to start fights, but are raised for the table to begin with so.....

Here are my buff juveniles this afternoon, relaxing on a pretty fall day.

They look lovely Janet and the bird on the right shows very nice depth of body.  A group of Buff Dewlaps is an awesome sight

With the Dewlaps we have always selected for a gentle temperament though have been fortunate with our birds.  However we do tolerate the ganders becoming aggressive in the breeding season and guarding their territory, nests and eggs. This behaviour usually indicates they will be fertile as the levels of testosterone rise in the breeding season.

BUFF DEWLAP TOULOUSE GENETICS

I guess if we're covering the topic of Buff Dewlaps then I think its worth repeating the genetics of this colour mutation for members who are not familiar with it. Excuse the repetition but here's some detail that I have posted in the past.

The Buff gene is called a recessive sex linked genes.  This means that it is carried on the Z sex chromosome.  In order to show visually all the bird’s Z chromosomes must carry a recessive form of this gene.  So in the case of a female whose genotype for sex is ZW then only one recessive gene that is linked to the Z chromosome is required for the effect to show visually.  In the case of a male with two Z chromosomes then both genes must carry the recessive gene for the effect to show visually.  If only one of the Z chromosomes carries a recessive gene then the male will carry (or be ‘split’ for) the recessive gene in its genotype but its phenotype (visual appearence) remains the same.  Using the Buff gene (G) as an example, the genotype can be written and its phenotype interpreted;

Z,Z, G, G (normal male) – visually Grey

Z, Z, G, g (male split for buff) – visual grey but carries the recessive buff gene (g).

Z, Z, g, g (buff male) – visually buff as both Z chromosomes have the recessive gene (g, g).

Z, W, G (normal female) – visually grey.

Z, W, g (buff female) – visual buff as the only Z chromosome has the recessive gene (g).

BUFF GEESE GENETICS AND MATING OUTCOMES.

Thanks, Pete!!  I love having my dewlaps in my front yard and watching them from my office window.  I see people slow down when driving past to watch them too, which I think is cute. 

The one on the right is 6mo old and weighs 20lbs already!  He was vent sexed twice as a girl, but I'm betting she is a he.  He was the one that I thought was crossed with white african as he has stunning blue eyes, but now that I have him mixed in with my adults, I can see now he is most likely purebred.

For us the key to breeding the Buffs is to integrate our Grey line to produce the Split ganders which we've achieved this year.  Some will be paired back to Grey females and others to the Buff females so we can then produce some Buff ganders.  Using line breeding we hope to produce Ganders of the same size and quality as our greys.

Here in the UK we're breeding for a very similar type tothose in North America but the following picture shows the key physical features of the type we'll be selecting for

DEWLUX - THE FOUNDER OF OUR GREY LINE

DEWLUX JUNIOR & USED TO PRODUCE SPLITS TO INTEGRATE OUR DEWLUX LINE.

Thanks for sharing that last picture.  It has a lot of great information!!