All about Amberlinks!

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
WOW!! They got their spots early!! None of mine even come close that having that many and their 13 weeks now!!

Missi

 

[nuttyredhead]

Quote:
WOW!! They got their spots early!! None of mine even come close that having that many and their 13 weeks now!!

Missi

Hmmm rechecked my math... they are 9 weeks! All my girls are starting to get there light spots now. I thought only the roo's got the dark spots though?

So do we know what Amberlinks are a cross of? I was confused with the info earlier in the post!

 

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
Nope, just as confused as you!!

Missi

 

[RAREROO]

Quote:
Nope, just as confused as you!!

Missi

They should be a cross of a White Leghorn roo on RIR white hens. They CANT be a from a light Sussex on RIRs. They would get the dominant white and the rapid feathering gene needed to create feather sexing chicks from the White leghorn breed.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
Nope, just as confused as you!!

Missi

They should be a cross of a White Leghorn roo on RIR white hens. They CANT be a from a light Sussex on RIRs. They would get the dominant white and the rapid feathering gene needed to create feather sexing chicks from the White leghorn breed.

Well I have no clue since I don't know anything about genetics only what someone that deals with these birds told me. She deals directly with the hatchery. Here's another comment in a later email "Some of the Amberlinks are pure white, and like you've seen with your own pullets, some are different shades of beige, and some have the really dark brown. They won't breed true because they are hybrids, There's a lot of genetics involved, but basically the Amberlink was developed from a Light Sussex Cockerel and a Rhode Island Red hen, with genes from other strains in there too. Did I tell you they are feather sexed when hatched? But if you do the cross the other way round, i.e. Rhode island Red Cockerel with a Light Sussex hen, the pullets will take the cockerels colouring, which is where they get their brown markings from. Like the ISA Browns, Warrens etc.

Missi

 

[RAREROO]

Well based simply on genetics, what she was saying cant be right. However it would be possible that the red hens used were from a RIR roo on Light Sussex hens instead of pure RIRs as the mother breed if that is what she was refering too, since she said some genes come from other breeds too.

 

[Chris09]

I'm just going to throw this in also.

Information from Exhibition Poultry Keeping by David Scrivener

2005

White plumage can be caused by three genes:
S, c and I. S is the sex-linked gene silver, as seen on Light Sussex.
The opposite gene to it is gold (s). This gene only changes the "red" or "gold" parts of an E locus plumage pattern, not black parts of those patterns.
Those reader old enough to remember the famous Rhode Island Red x Light Sussex sex-linked crosses that were once the mainstay of
poultry farms before the age of hybrids will know that the silver gene is basically,
but not completely dominate to gold, and that there are often genes affecting the shade of "golds".
The crossbred cockerels are essentilly the same color as there light Sussex mothers,
but have some gold on there shoulders, and the crossbred pullets are gold, but a few shades lighter than their Rhode Island Red father.

So in reading that I know that the op's bird are not out of a R.I.Red rooster over a Light Sussex hen.

Now if you cross a Light sussex rooster over a R.I. Red hen. The roosters would be a cream color with Black tails and the hens should be the Columbian pattern with some red in the shoulders.

So I would say that the Light Sussex was not a parent to the op's birds.....

Chris

 

[Chris09]

I would like to also add that I also believe that a Dominant white gene (I) bird would have had to be added to "cover up" the Black in the Columbian pattern has.
Both the light Sussex and the R.I. Red are a Columbian pattern. The R.I. Red just has Red where the White would be in a "Silver" Columbian. (In the R.I. Red the Black is still in the tail and in the wings of both roosters and hens, with the hackles Red and in the hens there is some Black ticking at the tips of the feathering of there hackles)

The Dominant white gene (I) (like what is in the Leghorn and some gamefowl) is what is used to breed to a Black Breasted Red to create the Red Pyle pattern.


Chris

 

[RAREROO]

Thanks for adding the extra info Chris which does help back up what I was explaining.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
I thought it might...

Chris