PBA(Parrot Beak Asil/Aseel) USA, Project(And Discussion Thread)

[MysteryChicken]

There'll be a total of 18 chicks hatching. So a larger batch then I usually do.

 

[Chocoboko]

That's an interesting experiment! I've never heard of temperature affecting the gender of birds, but I know temperature dependant sex determination is a factor for certain reptiles like crocodilians and some species of lizards and turtles. I believe certain species of fish have this trait as well.

 

[MysteryChicken]

That's an interesting experiment! I've never heard of temperature affecting the gender of birds, but I know temperature dependant sex determination is a factor for certain reptiles like crocodilians and some species of lizards and turtles. I believe certain species of fish have this trait as well.

Very interesting indeed.

I'll updating on genders as well as growth.

 

[NatJ]

That's an interesting experiment! I've never heard of temperature affecting the gender of birds, but I know temperature dependant sex determination is a factor for certain reptiles like crocodilians and some species of lizards and turtles. I believe certain species of fish have this trait as well.

Yes for those animals, but chickens definitely have genetically determined sexes. Males have ZZ sex chromosomes, females have ZW. We know the chromosomes determine sexes because of all the sexlinks that people are breeding: it ONLY works if the chickens inherit certain genes (Z chromosome) different from the father than from the mother. Genes on other chromosomes cannot be used to make color-sexable chicks in this way (examples: blue feather color, lavender, mottling, lacing, Dominant White, recessive white, silkie feathering, frizzling, foot feathers.)

If temperature could EASILY make chicken eggs grow up with a different sex than what their genes say, then those common sexlinks would have too many wrong-colored chicks to be useful. Autosexing breeds of chicken are also based on males having two Z chromosomes and females having ZW. If they could grow up with either sex for either set of genes, the whole system would not work reliably. (I include breeds like Barred Rock as autosexing for this purpose: males are lighter in color because they have two Z chromosomes, with the barring gene on each one. Females have just one barring gene because they have just one Z sex chromosome.)

I think there was a group of scientists that said they did manage to have genetically-male chicks grow up as function females (including laying eggs), so I'll say it is rare or difficult, definitely not easy enough or common enough to mess up most breeding projects.

I found some wikipedia articles quite interesting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex-determination_system
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature-dependent_sex_determination
^This one says that there are some animals with gene-based sex determination systems, but certain temperatures can override that and cause them to develop one way or the other. That would presumably be what is happening (rarely) in chickens.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Anyhow. Back on what this project is truly about.
My main focuses are on body type, Weight, Tail shape, Tail Feather type, Face/beak shape, comb type, Eye color, & muscularity.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Gave the eggs a candling, & 2 of the Teal eggs are alittle questionable. But I'll give them longer before knowing for sure they have indeed quit.

 

[MysteryChicken]

4, days left on the broody eggs, & 7 days left on the incubator eggs.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hatch day is approaching fast for these. Can't wait to see what they look like.

 

[MysteryChicken]

 

[MysteryChicken]

Day #15 for incubator eggs. They're starting to wobble. Some are already in hatching position. 2, of which look like they may start shadowing early.
Also looks like grabbed alot of eggs from my Red Wheaten Malay Pullet by mistake, & only 1 from my Dun Partridge.
I can fix that next round.