The + symbol indicates wildtype.
Upper case indicates dominant allele; lowercase indicates recessive allele
- on a female indicates that it is a sex-linked gene (e.g., S- or choc-)
The dun gene is found in US birds and is used to make the varieties named chocolate, khaki & fawn. Chocolate is one copy of I^D, khaki is two and I think fawn is, but am not certain of that.
The choc gene is a sex-linked recessive gene. The chocolate colour it makes is a bit different than...
For some reason, people new to silkies ask the question ALL the time.
My example was to show how very different results could be obtained using the "same" cross. I agree it is a wonderful tool. It helps me understand the affect that changing a single gene can have on the phenotype, and it...
One feature that would be nice to add to the calculator would be to be able to specify the known genes and hte desired phenotype, and have the calculator show you which alleles are needed to create the bird using the known genes.
For example, a pure black bird based upon e+, e^b or E^R.
Here's a good way of seeing why you can get drastically different outcomes from crossing a recessive white to a coloured bird:
Instead of plugging in "Recessive White" as the colour, choose something else: blue laced red, quail, partridge, salmon, buff, whatever. Then go change the individual...
Unless you know the exact genetic makeup of each of your birds, there will be some cases where it misses.
And then there are various genes that are not well documented.
Personally I think it is a wonderful tool.