A mutation! Stripes in a black bird

[WVduckchick]

Adorable d'Uccle!

How old is the chick? I wonder if it might molt out as it grows. I hope you'll add pics later, as the chick grows up.... if your thread didn't get too derailed yet.

 

[Trux]

Well to me the bird in question looks barred, and I don't know s**t about genetics . So if ya wanna argue with me about it, you all win.

 

[nicalandia]

To be honest it looks like silver leakage on the black pullet, I've seen white lacing on Black breast before but it looks much better.

This happens on Birchen and Pseudo birchen pullets(Extended black heterozygotes)

Birchen Modern Game

 

[Cyprus]

 

[nicalandia]

This picture is of a "Black Sussex" hybrid(Sussex/BR cross)

I've read that many decades ago someone was breeding for a solid black Wyandottes with White lacing, the genetics for such patter is not fully understood, the term is called "Flitter"

an example of an extreme bird from http://www.the-coop.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=114596&page=2

Check the White lacing on the back of these Leghorn hens

 

[MokiYoki]

If you wanted a black melanistic bird, why didn't you just breed an AC to a Silkie? Why bring in the d'Uccle blood?

I'm in Australia, there are no AC here. There are only a hundred breeds here I think. Maybe less. But AC are not among them. Also Im developing my own project breed with these and D'uccle match what Im after best.

 

[MokiYoki]

To be honest it looks like silver leakage on the black pullet, I've seen white lacing on Black breast before but it looks much better.

This happens on Birchen and Pseudo birchen pullets(Extended black heterozygotes)
View attachment 1816151


Birchen Modern Game
View attachment 1816152

Its a similar idea but the stripes are horizontal across the breast not vertical and if you look at the feather drawing youll see its a stripe going across the feather below the tip with two dots on the edge a bit lower. So it doesn't match the feathers of these birds at all. Also the shaft of the feather is jet black as well.

 

[nicalandia]

This is mottling leakage as we said. Chickens dont hide mottles perfectly every time..

True, I have seen cases of leaky mottling that should not be there because of recessive nature of mottling, but since you already know what it is you should know it won't breed true and you can't somehow make a new pattern out of it(you call it stripes).. Just mate both parents in hope to recreate such pattern(not much of a pattern to be honest), because the moment you start crossing to either parent you will start getting either a full mottled(if mated to mottled parent) or solid back if you mate it back to non mottled parent, whatever made it that way is due to heterozygosity

 

[MokiYoki]

Adorable d'Uccle!

How old is the chick? I wonder if it might molt out as it grows. I hope you'll add pics later, as the chick grows up.... if your thread didn't get too derailed yet.

Ill probably open a new thread for the update this one is trashed
Stripes is just over 6 weeks old so still very young. And yes I was thinking the same thing! I can't really know if it will continue spreading or if its all going to molt out. My other thought is that since this is likely a heterozygous form it could spread even more if homozygous. But it might just make it into proper looking mottles its anyone's guess.
Once Stripes is grown I'll be breeding either him back to his sister or her to another unrelated d'uccle X silkie. So we will see if its heritable.

 

[MokiYoki]

True, I have seen cases of leaky mottling that should not be there because of recessive nature of mottling, but since you already know what it is you should know it won't breed true and you can't somehow make a new pattern(you call it stripes).

Well there is a good chance I won't see this pattern again. But it could be possible for the stripes to always appear in heterozygotes. Or maybe it will change the mottles in homozygotes. Its hard to say for sure without test crosses. Its not like Id be the first to have a mutation show up. Chocolate was a mutation first seen in Australorps for example. And yeah its not much of a pattern but its exciting for me anyways and maybe it could be developed more or it will grow out to be more as mottles do.

Also the plan is to cross it to a full blooded sibling or and unrelated one. In both cases Ill see 25% homozygous mottles and 25% heterozygous mottles that were inherited from stripes. Also Ill be having more chicks by Wilma and Winslow so if its a mutation of the parent Ill see it in Stripe's siblings.