Genetics of Indigo/Hazel.

[Midnightman14]

Indigo and hazel are sister mutations and were among the first instances of double recessive mutation expression in the peafowl world. They are a combination of Bronze mutation and Purple mutation and though they genetically are the same appearance wise they are very different. Indigos appeared first in the early 2000's at Roughwood Aviaries as the final result of a project by legendary peafowl breeder Cliff Nicholson. Until then it was not known if two colors could combine or be expressed at the same time without crossover occurring (as was the case of the Peach mutation). Hazel first appeared at Texas Peafowl farm as a Silver Pied bird and was propagated from there. Indigo as a color strongly favors its purple heritage with a deep navy blue neck, muted green saddle, and coco brown coverts on the wings. Tail feathers are a muted green with deep blue ocelli. Indigo hens are light brown with blue iridescence on their necks. Hazel by contrast strongly favors the Bronze side of the equation with a darker train and dark bluish purple neck feathers. When young Hazel roosters very very closely resemble Bronze males and close examination is needed to tell them apart. Hazel hens are a light brown with a bit of iridescence on the neck. If you're not familiar with the color you might say the hens look like cameo hens but the iridescent neck gives it away. Breeding these birds is interesting because of the double gene factor here are some combos.

Indigo/hazel+Indigo/Hazel= 100% Indigo/Hazel
Indigo/Hazel male+ Bronze hen= Bronze split indigo/hazel roosters and 100% Indigo/Hazel Hens
Indigo/Hazel Hen + Bronze Rooster= Bronze hens and Bronze split Indigo/Hazel roosters
Indigo+Hazel (gender is irrelevant)= 50% Indigo 50% Hazel
Indigo split Hazel+ Indigo split Hazel= 75% Indigo 25% Hazel (If the pairing is 2 Hazel split Indigo the ratio is the opposite)
Indigo/Hazel + India blue hen= Purple carrying Bronze hens, India blue carrying Purple and Bronze roosters
India Blue rooster+ Indigo/Hazel hen= India blue split Bronze hens, India blue split bronze and purple roosters.

Hope this was helpful.

 

[Stipenvlerk]

You might want to consider making an article out of this. It's very educational. Thank you for sharing your knowledge

 

[Rosa moschata]

I'm curious about how Hazel and Indigo are claimed to be due to the same mutations without a third mutation present that causes the phenotypic difference. I wonder if perhaps one of the Purple males used was split to Peach -- he had one Z with Purple, and the other Z had Purple and Cameo. Since Clifton also bred the first Peach, maybe one of the "Purple" males he used was also carrying Cameo, and this would explain the two different expressions. Does Hazel pop up in Indigo x Indigo breeding, and vice versa? If so, are the "pop-ups" of both sexes?

There are various ways to test breed this. One is to pair one Peach hen to a Hazel male, and another Peach hen to an Indigo male. If any visual Peach offspring are found, it would confirm that the male had Purple and Cameo (i.e. Peach) on at least one Z. If the male had both on both Zs, then all offspring would be visual Peach -- male and female. If a difference in the percentages is noticed between both pairings, then that would show that the difference between Hazel and Indigo is the presence or absence of Cameo.

Another possibility is that if there is a third mutation involved, it is an autosomal recessive. But as with my comment above, if Indigo pops up in Hazel x Hazel breedings, and Hazel pops up in Indigo x Indigo breedings, then my hypothesis would be nullified. The reason would be that one of the two expressions would be resulting from being homozygous for the proposed third mutation, and two parents homozygous for the third mutation couldn't have offspring without that mutation.

So.....do you have any data from your own breedings about this?

 

[Midnightman14]

I'm curious about how Hazel and Indigo are claimed to be due to the same mutations without a third mutation present that causes the phenotypic difference. I wonder if perhaps one of the Purple males used was split to Peach -- he had one Z with Purple, and the other Z had Purple and Cameo. Since Clifton also bred the first Peach, maybe one of the "Purple" males he used was also carrying Cameo, and this would explain the two different expressions. Does Hazel pop up in Indigo x Indigo breeding, and vice versa? If so, are the "pop-ups" of both sexes?

There are various ways to test breed this. One is to pair one Peach hen to a Hazel male, and another Peach hen to an Indigo male. If any visual Peach offspring are found, it would confirm that the male had Purple and Cameo (i.e. Peach) on at least one Z. If the male had both on both Zs, then all offspring would be visual Peach -- male and female. If a difference in the percentages is noticed between both pairings, then that would show that the difference between Hazel and Indigo is the presence or absence of Cameo.

Another possibility is that if there is a third mutation involved, it is an autosomal recessive. But as with my comment above, if Indigo pops up in Hazel x Hazel breedings, and Hazel pops up in Indigo x Indigo breedings, then my hypothesis would be nullified. The reason would be that one of the two expressions would be resulting from being homozygous for the proposed third mutation, and two parents homozygous for the third mutation couldn't have offspring without that mutation.

So.....do you have any data from your own breedings about this?

In the breedings I have done the combos were as followed for that match.

Indigo male+Hazel hen = 50% Indigo, 50% hazel
Hazel male+ Indigo hen = same ^
Hazel "split Indigo+ Hazel "split" Indigo = 75% Hazel, 25% Indigo
Indigo "Split" Hazel+ Indigo "split" Hazel= 75% Indigo 25% Hazel

This year I will be trying the combos
Bronze carrying hazel male+ Indigo hen=?
Bronze carrying Indigo male + Hazel hen=?

 

[Rosa moschata]

Thanks for that! Among the offspring from those crosses, did you notice if they segregated by sex? For example, in your percentages for each, were they about equal as far as male and female?

If, as I suspect, the difference is due to a third mutation, then a complication in sorting this out is that some individuals for whichever doesn't express the third mutation will be heterozygous for it, while others won't have it at all. It would be like breeding a visual IB to a mutation, and not knowing if the IB is split to a mutation not had by its partner.

Maybe another way to figure it out would be to cross a Hazel with an IB not split to anything, and cross the F1 together -- and do the same with an Indigo. If something other than Purple, Bronze, or Indigo/Hazel pops up, that would be evidence for a third mutation involved.

 

[Midnightman14]

Thanks for that! Among the offspring from those crosses, did you notice if they segregated by sex? For example, in your percentages for each, were they about equal as far as male and female?

If, as I suspect, the difference is due to a third mutation, then a complication in sorting this out is that some individuals for whichever doesn't express the third mutation will be heterozygous for it, while others won't have it at all. It would be like breeding a visual IB to a mutation, and not knowing if the IB is split to a mutation not had by its partner.

Maybe another way to figure it out would be to cross a Hazel with an IB not split to anything, and cross the F1 together -- and do the same with an Indigo. If something other than Purple, Bronze, or Indigo/Hazel pops up, that would be evidence for a third mutation involved.

The sex ratios were about the same. Unfortunately crossing Ib anything with hazel and indigo tends to make a big mess genetically so I think you'd end up with more questions than answers.

 

[Rosa moschata]

Well, I understand that the components of Hazel or Indigo would independently assort in an F1 x F1 cross, and that means a lot of IB possibly split to something else, but it would be a way to find out. If someone out there has the land for free-ranging the excess, it would be an interesting and educational endeavor. Unfortunately, that's not me, but I figured I'd lay it out there in case someone else is game.