Throw Back in Cornish Cross Meat Birds

[MorganC]

Hey All,

Wanted to show this with you. I have been raising Cornish Cross birds for the past five years and have never had this appear before in my flock. I know it's a throw back from something, what, I don't know exactly what. But, here's some pics. You can see the rust kinda coloring. It's not from anything in their pen, and it's only on this one cockerel, one out of 84. Fascinating.

 

[1muttsfan]

That is called red leakage, and can occur in white birds. The genes for white mask whatever color genes the bird carries, as opposed to replacing them. So they are actually a colored bird that usually does not exhibit their color.

 

[Wappoke]

Hey All,

Wanted to show this with you. I have been raising Cornish Cross birds for the past five years and have never had this appear before in my flock. I know it's a throw back from something, what, I don't know exactly what. But, here's some pics. You can see the rust kinda coloring. It's not from anything in their pen, and it's only on this one cockerel, one out of 84. Fascinating.

Meat type birds in the USA carry dominant white. In order to produce a self white bird, the bird must be a genetically black bird (completely black is best). If I could magically remove the dominant white genes from a cornish cross, the bird would be black. the dominant white gene only works to stop the feathers from being black and does not work on red feathers. Cornish cross also normally carry the sex linked silver allele, and not the sex linked gold allele. Black birds can carry gold and still be black so that may not be the case. It is possible he carries the sex linked gold allele. If that is not the situation, he is carrying autosomal red. Normally, the chicken carries genes that add black to the feather and the red pigments are not expressed. Black pigment genes hijack the biochemical process so that red pigments are not made and the black pigments are produced. I would say he carries autosomal red and he is not purebred for the genes that produce a black chicken. Males will show the red pigments more easily because they lack female hormones- males extended red more readily than females because of they are genetically programmed to produce a black breasted red primary color pattern.