Red chick with blue legs ?

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Okay, let me preface this post by saying… I have posted here before about a black comb, about unexpected green legs, about lacing, about leakage, about unexpected feathered legs, and earlier today again about the mysterious black combs.

I do not post here because I’m lazy, but I find literally nothing else online about mix breed chicks and genetics amongst mix breeds.

So now… where do “blue” legs come from? I have chickens with black legs and slate colored legs. I even have a lavender Wyandotte with yellow legs that appear to have been lightly spray painted with metallic silver paint. but this chick is different.

Triscuit is still young- only 6 weeks, and maybe her leg color will change. But her legs are about as blue or blue-grey as they can get. But she’s feathering in as red.

I’ve hatched multiple chicks from this hen, and Triscuit is the only one whose legs have been this color.

Triscuit’s mom is a speckled Sussex with flesh tone legs. Triscuit’s dad is a mix- Charcoal. Charcoal’s dad was a Red Orpington w/ flesh-tone colored legs. Charcoal’s mom was a Rhode Island Blue w/ slate legs.

I’ve hatched at least 7 eggs from this hen. 4 were by the red Orp roo and feathered out red with flesh tone legs. 3 were fathered by charcoal and weren’t kept or aren’t old enough to know certainly but seem like they’re going to feather out red and 2/3 have flesh tone legs. Only triscuit has blue legs. They are pronounced because they are on a red chick, I think. But none of my blue or lavender chickens have legs like this. Is this color typical?

 

[NatJ]

So now… where do “blue” legs come from? I have chickens with black legs and slate colored legs. I even have a lavender Wyandotte with yellow legs that appear to have been lightly spray painted with metallic silver paint. but this chick is different.

Triscuit is still young- only 6 weeks, and maybe her leg color will change. But her legs are about as blue or blue-grey as they can get. But she’s feathering in as red.

There are two main leg color genes:

white vs. yellow (white is dominant)
light vs. dark (light is dominant, and this gene is on the Z sex chromosome)

They match up in these four ways:
white/light = white legs
yellow/light = yellow legs
white/dark = slate ("blue") legs
yellow/dark = willow ("green") legs

All of those can be modified a bit by the some of the genes that control feather color. For example, the genes that can make a chicken have black feathers all over, can also make the legs have black. The gene that dilutes black to blue can make black legs lighter. The barring gene that adds white bars to the feathers can also make black legs lighter.

I don't see any mention of yellow or green legs in your account, so I think you are just dealing with the light/dark leg genes here.

In the case of your chick Triscuit, I think those are probably slate legs (dark/white), and the genes affecting the feather color are causing a shade you haven't seen before.

Triscuit’s mom is a speckled Sussex with flesh tone legs.

There is one source for "white" part of the slate/blue legs on Triscuit (=not yellow.)

Triscuit’s dad is a mix- Charcoal. Charcoal’s dad was a Red Orpington w/ flesh-tone colored legs. Charcoal’s mom was a Rhode Island Blue w/ slate legs.

And there is the "dark" part of the slate/blue legs. The Rhode Island Blue passed dark legs to her son Charcoal. Charcoal may have light legs (inherited from his father), but he definitely carries the gene for dark legs from his mother, and he gave it to his daughter Triscuit.

And because of how sex-linked genes work, Triscuit must be female.

If Charcoal does have light legs, he can give either the light or the dark leg gene to his chicks, statistically about half each way.

For daughters, they will show whichever leg color gene they inherit from their father.
For sons, if they inherit light legs from their father or from their mother, they will show light legs. They will only show dark legs if they inherit it from both parents.

Are you familiar with how the chicken sex chromosomes work?
Roosters have ZZ. Hens have ZW.
A rooster inherits Z from each parent, and gives Z to each chick he sires.
A hen inherits Z from her father and W from her mother. She gives Z to her sons and W to her daughters.
All the sex-linked genes that we know of in chickens are on the Z sex chromosome. So each rooster has two of them and each hen has just one. For roosters, with two Z chromosomes, they can show a dominant gene and hide a recessive gene. For hens, with only one Z chromosome, they have to show whatever genes are on it, and dominant/recessive does not matter.

I’ve hatched at least 7 eggs from this hen. 4 were by the red Orp roo and feathered out red with flesh tone legs.

Light legs, white skin in both parents, all chicks inherited those traits, that is working the way we would expect.

3 were fathered by charcoal and weren’t kept or aren’t old enough to know certainly but seem like they’re going to feather out red and 2/3 have flesh tone legs.

Those two might be males (inherited light legs from the mother, and either light or dark from the father), or they might be females who inherited light legs from the father (and a W chromosome from the mother, but that has no effect on leg color.) Or they might be one of each.

Only triscuit has blue legs. They are pronounced because they are on a red chick, I think. But none of my blue or lavender chickens have legs like this. Is this color typical?

I don't know how common or typical it is, but I have seen chicks with that color legs, and with red or gold or buff feathers. So it is not completely weird.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

There are two main leg color genes:

They match up in these four ways:
white/light = white legs
yellow/light = yellow legs
white/dark = slate ("blue") legs
yellow/dark = willow ("green") legs

So is what I’m calling flesh-tone legs considered the white/light legs?

All of those can be modified a bit by the some of the genes that control feather color. For example, the genes that can make a chicken have black feathers all over, can also make the legs have black. The gene that dilutes black to blue can make black legs lighter. The barring gene that adds white bars to the feathers can also make black legs lighter.

So, if I understand correctly, a chicken that shows the yellow & dark genes has slate colored legs, but these slate colored legs can vary in shade? So a chicken with legs that appear very black, are really a dark shade of slate, and Triscuit’s legs would be a light slate?

 

[NatJ]

So is what I’m calling flesh-tone legs considered the white/light legs?

Yes.

So, if I understand correctly, a chicken that shows the yellow & dark genes has slate colored legs, but these slate colored legs can vary in shade?

Almost but not quite. White & dark give slate-colored. Yellow & dark would give willow (green).

So a chicken with legs that appear very black, are really a dark shade of slate, and Triscuit’s legs would be a light slate?

Probably.
Sometimes black legs are a side effect of the genes that cause black feathers, rather than being from the dark-leg gene. And legs that look black can actually go with yellow or white skin (that's why people check the soles of the feet to distinguish between Black Australorps and Black Jersey Giants. The Australorps have white soles, the Jersey Giants have yellow soles, but both have legs that look black.)

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

And there is the "dark" part of the slate/blue legs. The Rhode Island Blue passed dark legs to her son Charcoal. Charcoal may have light legs (inherited from his father), but he definitely carries the gene for dark legs from his mother, and he gave it to his daughter Triscuit.

Sorry for the double post. We’re having hurricane remnants and lost power briefly.

Charcoal has dark legs. I realize I didn’t include that in my post.

And because of how sex-linked genes work, Triscuit must be female.

I seem to hatch an unnaturally large percentage of males, so this is exciting. It also may partially account for why I haven’t seen this color of legs before.

Are you familiar with how the chicken sex chromosomes work?

I am not, so this is such great information and really fascinating! Thanks so much for all this great info!!

 

[I Love Feather Babies]

Her are a couple of pictures of one of my pullets. She was born near the end of April. Her legs were green when she was young and are blue now.

 

[NatJ]

Sorry for the double post. We’re having hurricane remnants and lost power briefly.

That is frustrating, but I'm glad it is just briefly!

Charcoal has dark legs. I realize I didn’t include that in my post.

If he has dark legs, then Charcoal x light-leg hen would produce sex-linked chicks. Sons will have light legs, daughters will have dark legs.

(This is assuming that Charcoal's dark legs are actually caused by the gene for dark legs. Because if he has one of the feather-color genes that also makes legs dark, he could have legs that look dark but behave differently in breeding.)

I seem to hatch an unnaturally large percentage of males, so this is exciting. It also may partially account for why I haven’t seen this color of legs before.

Have you ever gotten a light-legged daughter from Charcoal? Or a light-legged son from a hen with dark legs?

Either of those could tell something useful about the leg color genes that Charcoal has.

I am not, so this is such great information and really fascinating! Thanks so much for all this great info!!

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Her are a couple of pictures of one of my pullets. She was born near the end of April. Her legs were green when she was young and are blue now.

She is really cool looking! I’m not used to seeing that combo at all. What breed or breeds is your pullet?

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Have you ever gotten a light-legged daughter from Charcoal? Or a light-legged son from a hen with dark legs?

Either of those could tell something useful about the leg color genes that Charcoal has.

My first group from Charcoal was born end of May of this year, and I only kept 3 chicks from that group, so gender was not determined on the other chicks.

I do have a white cockerel with yellow legs out of a dark legged hen. His mom is the same Rhode Island Blue that is Charcoal’s mom, so he’s my little inbred baby. He’s beautiful (patriotic- he’s red, white, & blue) and sweet but I worry about about him being inbred, so he is unfortunately a freezer camp candidate.

Does this mean Charcoal’s chicks will not have sex-linked leg color?

 

[NatJ]

My first group from Charcoal was born end of May of this year, and I only kept 3 chicks from that group, so gender was not determined on the other chicks.

Are those the ones we've already talked about, Triscuit and the two with light legs?

I do have a white cockerel with yellow legs out of a dark legged hen. His mom is the same Rhode Island Blue that is Charcoal’s mom, so he’s my little inbred baby. He’s beautiful (patriotic- he’s red, white, & blue) and sweet but I worry about about him being inbred, so he is unfortunately a freezer camp candidate.

Does this mean Charcoal’s chicks will not have sex-linked leg color?

Is Charcoal the father of that cockerel?

If yes, then it means:

Charcoal's chicks will not be 100% sex links for leg color.

When the mother has light legs, any chick with dark legs must be a female. When the mother has dark legs, a dark-legged chick can be either gender.

A chick with light legs can be male or female, no matter what color legs the mother has, because it looks like Charcoal has one gene for light legs and one for dark legs.

Charcoal's own dark legs must be caused partly by whatever genes are causing his feather color, not by being pure for the dark legs gene.

In case you are trying to make sense of the chicken calculator or pages that talk about genes by name: the gene for light legs is Id, for "Inhibitor of dermal melanin." That means it blocks (inhibits) black pigment (melanin) in the skin (dermal). So Id is the dominant gene, that blocks dark pigment and causes light legs. id+ is the recessive gene, that allows dark pigment in the legs. The + marks it as the wild-type gene, found in the original wild ancestors of chickens. Personally, I could not remember that abbreviation going with that effect until I worked through the whole name of the gene and realized it was just big words for the actual effect