A Riddle for Ya'll--What is Doofus??

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Silkies don't have a rose comb, they have a walnut comb. Comb type in chickens basically is controlled by two different genes on two different chromosomes. One is the rose comb gene (represented by the letter R),and the other is the pea comb gene (represented by the letter P). A presence of the gene is represented by the uppercase letter; an absence of the gene is represented by the lowercase letter. Both the rose comb gene and the pea comb gene can express themselves in the heterozygous state. That is,only one copy of the rose comb gene or the pea comb gene is sufficient for that type of comb to occur. Therefore,both genes can be thought of as dominant genes. When at least one copy of the rose comb gene is present and the pea comb gene is absent,the result is a rose comb. In other words,a chicken with a rose comb has one of two possible gene combinations: RRpp or Rrpp. When at least one copy of the pea comb gene is present and the rose comb gene is absent,the result is a pea comb. A chicken with a pea comb has one of two possible gene combinations: rrPP or rrPp. When at least one copy of each gene is present,the result is a walnut comb. A chicken with a walnut comb has one of four possible gene combinations: RRPP, RrPP,RRPp,or RrPp. When both genes are absent,the result is a single comb. A chicken with a single comb has the only possible gene combination: rrpp. So, when you cross a bird with a rose comb and one with a straight comb, the offspring should always have a rose comb since the genes aren't present on a straight combed bird. The walnut would have different gene combinations which could result in both walnut and straight combs when you mix them together. Alright, my ears are smoking now so I'm gonna stop. I'm just now getting into genetics so it still confuses me. I had to look all of this up, Sheew!

 

[debid]

Except that it's more complicated than that since there are differences in how the comb types express. For example, both a Leghorn and a barred Rock have straight combs yet they look quite different. And then there are the EEs where a pea comb is often crossed with something else yielding oddly "in between" looks.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Yea, I figured as much. There are always those curve balls in genetics, but that was the best I could do (as a self professed genetics dummy) to try to give the roundabout answer I as hoping might make a little sense

 

[ellymayRans]

Silkies don't have a rose comb, they have a walnut comb. Comb type in chickens basically is controlled by two different genes on two different chromosomes. One is the rose comb gene (represented by the letter R),and the other is the pea comb gene (represented by the letter P). A presence of the gene is represented by the uppercase letter; an absence of the gene is represented by the lowercase letter. Both the rose comb gene and the pea comb gene can express themselves in the heterozygous state. That is,only one copy of the rose comb gene or the pea comb gene is sufficient for that type of comb to occur. Therefore,both genes can be thought of as dominant genes. When at least one copy of the rose comb gene is present and the pea comb gene is absent,the result is a rose comb. In other words,a chicken with a rose comb has one of two possible gene combinations: RRpp or Rrpp. When at least one copy of the pea comb gene is present and the rose comb gene is absent,the result is a pea comb. A chicken with a pea comb has one of two possible gene combinations: rrPP or rrPp. When at least one copy of each gene is present,the result is a walnut comb. A chicken with a walnut comb has one of four possible gene combinations: RRPP, RrPP,RRPp,or RrPp. When both genes are absent,the result is a single comb. A chicken with a single comb has the only possible gene combination: rrpp. So, when you cross a bird with a rose comb and one with a straight comb, the offspring should always have a rose comb since the genes aren't present on a straight combed bird. The walnut would have different gene combinations which could result in both walnut and straight combs when you mix them together. Alright, my ears are smoking now so I'm gonna stop. I'm just now getting into genetics so it still confuses me. I had to look all of this up, Sheew!

I did mean to say walnut, knew what I was thinking lol but thanks for the much more in depth explination. I wouldnt go so far to say i am any where near getting into genetics but i have been trying to learn! Thanks again!

 

[Brandi Leigh]

Doofus sounds really special to you. I hope the other hens stop picking on the poor girl!

 

[Baymule]

Doofus is a roo!!!

I have gotten really attached to this bird, but he has to go. I butchered his 9 hatch mates that were roos, but I can't do that to him.

I pick him up and he snuggles and cuddles to me.

He hides his head when he is scared or when the older hens pick on him-he is terrified of them. We got 4 3/4" of rain earlier this week and I put wood shavings in the run to sop up some of the water. It scared the chickens, but especially Doofus. He hid from that bad ol' shavings!




He also has the big curved tail feathers now, of at least he had them. This afternoon, our Great Dane/Lab dog used him as a toy. I rescued Doofus, he was missing a few feathers and had one tear wound by his wing. No bite or puncture woulds. I brought him in the house and turned him on his back in my lap to examine him. He let me look him over good and them he got lots of petting. i doctored his one wound and put him in a cage so the other chickens wouldn't pick at him. Parker (our dog) got in LOTS of trouble. He dived under the deck, I yelled at him BAD BAD BAD, hit the deck with a rolled up newspaper and he stayed there for 3 hours. When my DH came home, he got Parker by the collar while I offered Doofus to him and worked him over with the newspaper. Back under the deck for another 45 minutes until DH and I went in the back yard to forgive him. I offered him one of Doofus feathers I found in the yard. He sniffed it and turned his head away. That's the reaction I wanted. Parker is brilliant smart and I don't think he will be a problem and if he is, i will work with him on it. I have a Great Pyrenees that was a chicken killer and 2 1/2 years later, my girls even pull her fur and she just gets up and moves away from them!

And this happened after I got Doofus a home! Four of my pullets will go with him to seal the deal, but Doofus will have a good home. I just have to get him well and ready to go to his new home.

I will miss him, silly one eyed rooster.