What kind of comb does her mother have?

[janiedoe]

Backyard mix, Pullet is 5 mo old. It's really hard to get a picture, she is always moving.

Father is a blue partridge brahma/Easter egger mix with a pea comb.

I can go back 3 generations with the fathers family
(all parents had pea combs, all grandparents had pea combs except one, who had a single comb)

I'm curious if the pullet could have come from my only orloff hen (cushion comb)
All the other hens have pea combs or single combs.

 

[JedJackson]

Genetics are a funny thing. Any hen could be the mother, because the pea comb gene is dominant over the single comb gene. It's possible that an Orloff is the mother, but I would expect to see some brown/red color leakage if that was the case. But you really never know.

 

[janiedoe]

Genetics are a funny thing. Any hen could be the mother, because the pea comb gene is dominant over the single comb gene. It's possible that an Orloff is the mother, but I would expect to see some brown/red color leakage if that was the case. But you really never know.

Thanks for the reply. From the egg color (that she hatched from) I wasn't sure if she came from an orloff or a langshan. She doesn't have a muff, so I guess it was probably one of my langshan hens.

 

[JedJackson]

Thanks for the reply. From the egg color (that she hatched from) I wasn't sure if she came from an orloff or a langshan. She doesn't have a muff, so I guess it was probably one of my langshan hens.

If a Langshan was the mother, there is a strong possibility that she would also have white skin. The easiest way to check is by picking the bird up and looking at the undersides of the feet. If they are white or pinkish white, then Langshan is a strong possibility. If they are yellow, then probably another hen was the mother.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Since pea comb is dominant, the one grandparent had 2 copies of a straight comb gene…which means one parent had one pea comb and one straight comb gene (but showed only the pea comb), and the rooster could have received the straight comb gene from them as well. But it wouldn’t show up since it is recessive - but it is possible he could pass it to kids if he got it from a parent.

Just as an FYI.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

This hen has a rose comb gene based on the shape and broadness of her comb, so if the father doesn't have any rose comb genes, the mother must. Cushion combs I believe are a combination of rose and pea plus another gene to smooth it out further (otherwise it would be a walnut comb), so the Orloff is a possibility because of that... But there are traits I would expect to see in an Orloff mix that are missing here, namely the color leaking as was mentioned and a beard which should be dominant.

Any pictures of the father and suspected mother?

 

[janiedoe]

If a Langshan was the mother, there is a strong possibility that she would also have white skin. The easiest way to check is by picking the bird up and looking at the undersides of the feet. If they are white or pinkish white, then Langshan is a strong possibility. If they are yellow, then probably another hen was the mother.

She has yellow skin. Her father does also, though. Does that make a difference?

 

[janiedoe]

This hen has a rose comb gene based on the shape and broadness of her comb, so if the father doesn't have any rose comb genes, the mother must. Cushion combs I believe are a combination of rose and pea plus another gene to smooth it out further (otherwise it would be a walnut comb), so the Orloff is a possibility because of that... But there are traits I would expect to see in an Orloff mix that are missing here, namely the color leaking as was mentioned and a beard which should be dominant.

Any pictures of the father and suspected mother?

Father

I'll look for some pictures of the orloff, she is always hiding behind other hens or the rooster.
It also occurred to me that the mother could be one of my naked necks. The egg color would be right.

 

[janiedoe]

The orloff is in the center of this pic, standing by herself

There are a couple of my naked necks in the picture too. They are all this color (buff and red) most have bibs and yellow skin.
Another possibility, that I hadn't thought of, is the gold partridge girl on the left. She is a backyard mix, has yellow skin, and lays light brown eggs.

 

[NatJ]

This hen has a rose comb gene based on the shape and broadness of her comb, so if the father doesn't have any rose comb genes, the mother must.

That's what I was thinking too, that it looks like she has the rose comb gene.

So I would expect the mother to have either a normal rose comb, or a walnut comb (genetically speaking, walnut is rose + pea. In breed descriptions, it is more likely to be called "cushion" or "strawberry.")