Could dominant white cause dark skin to lighten in newbornn chicks?

[Cloverr39]

Question about a silkie chick. I'm trying to figure out if dominant white could be making the dark skin look light for a newly hatched chick? I hatched one from the same parents a couple months ago (also white) and it hatched with light skin which darkened over a week or two. Now that chick has dark skin just like the rest of my silkies. Could dominant white be causing them to hatch light skinned or is it something else?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

It certainly could be! This post was about a skin color sexlink cross I did a few years back, but the pullet's shanks show the effect dominant white can have on skin color between hatch and later on:

It's worth noting that dominant white often fades the skin color especially right at hatch, so give them a couple weeks if it looks like you have all males based on their skin color at hatch.

These are two skin color sexlinks I hatched out of a dominant white Silkie male crossed to a Cochin bantam female. You can see there's a tinge of color to the skin on the female (purple leg band), but it was not very apparent in person and I didn't realize she was a pullet until much later.

A few weeks later, the skin color difference was more apparent (but they were also quite fluffy, so their feet don't show much in their pictures, sorry about that!) :

 

[Cloverr39]

It certainly could be! This post was about a skin color sexlink cross I did a few years back, but the pullet's shanks show the effect dominant white can have on skin color between hatch and later on:

Ah yes, now I remember. Thank you! I was kind of starting to doubt my ability to tell apart silkie eggs from my other hens eggs, but once again it was just the dominant white tricking me.
This wouldn't happen in recessive whites, would it? I know my hens carry recessive white. I doubt my rooster does though. I'm trying to breed it out. Would it be safe to assume the chicks are definitely dominant white if skin is light when they hatch?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I'm not honestly sure on that. I have considerably less experience with recessive white; the only recessive white chicken I've ever owned was a Cochin, so had light shanks all her life.

@Amer or @nicalandia might know, though.

 

[phasianidae]

Yes, dominant white can lighten the skin, beak, and legs of chicks.

 

[nicalandia]

Homozygous dominant white can lighten the skin

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

What about recessive white, though? Can it have the same effect?

 

[nicalandia]

What about recessive white, though? Can it have the same effect?

Depends on the Recessive white mutation, there are currently two documented and genetically sequenced Recessive white mutations. But the one based on the c allele does not affect dermal/epidermal pigment deposition. The other is based on the mo allele and will affect dermal/epidermal deposition.