If you have feather pluckers you should still be able to see what's left of the beard.
If they are slow to feather to beards, most breeders should not use birds that have that trait unless there is no other option.
Heterozygous birds(birds that only carry one gene for beards and muffs) can produce birds without beards and muffs. You would have a one chance in four of producing a non bearded or muffed bird.
If you have had some experience with homo and hetero chicks and could see the trait in then(homo chicks have fuller faces/bigger beards), probably it doesnt show up noticeably until a test mating produces clean faced birds. Homozygous for beards and muffs is just something else, like green eggs, that can pop up and has to be selected for in breeding.
Beards and muffs is an incompletely dominant trait. Muffs and Beards are inherited on a single dominant gene basis. Two copies of Mb (one from each parent) give full muffs and beard. One copy of Mb will result in muffed birds, but the muffs and beard will be somewhat smaller. No copies of Mb, no muffs and beard (symbolized as small mb). The following are average long run results of the matings you might make.
MbMb X mbmb = 100% Mbmb (all with smaller muffs)
Mbmb X mbmb = 50% Mbmb, 50% mbmb (50% no muffs)
MbMb X Mbmb = 50% MbMb, 50% Mbmb
Mbmb X Mbmb = 25% MbMb, 50%Mbmb, and 25% mbmb
MbMb X MbMb = 100% MbMb
If you mate mbmb with mbmb, all the chicks will be clean faced, without muffs and beard.
Quote:
HBuehler & I are having the same problem- but not sure if it's picking or what. It's very frustrating, and I have yet to get a solid answer. I tried to join the ABC forum to ask, but it keeps giving me an error code
Sorry!
If they are slow to feather to beards, most breeders should not use birds that have that trait unless there is no other option.
Heterozygous birds(birds that only carry one gene for beards and muffs) can produce birds without beards and muffs. You would have a one chance in four of producing a non bearded or muffed bird.
If you have had some experience with homo and hetero chicks and could see the trait in then(homo chicks have fuller faces/bigger beards), probably it doesnt show up noticeably until a test mating produces clean faced birds. Homozygous for beards and muffs is just something else, like green eggs, that can pop up and has to be selected for in breeding.
Beards and muffs is an incompletely dominant trait. Muffs and Beards are inherited on a single dominant gene basis. Two copies of Mb (one from each parent) give full muffs and beard. One copy of Mb will result in muffed birds, but the muffs and beard will be somewhat smaller. No copies of Mb, no muffs and beard (symbolized as small mb). The following are average long run results of the matings you might make.
MbMb X mbmb = 100% Mbmb (all with smaller muffs)
Mbmb X mbmb = 50% Mbmb, 50% mbmb (50% no muffs)
MbMb X Mbmb = 50% MbMb, 50% Mbmb
Mbmb X Mbmb = 25% MbMb, 50%Mbmb, and 25% mbmb
MbMb X MbMb = 100% MbMb
If you mate mbmb with mbmb, all the chicks will be clean faced, without muffs and beard.
Quote:
HBuehler & I are having the same problem- but not sure if it's picking or what. It's very frustrating, and I have yet to get a solid answer. I tried to join the ABC forum to ask, but it keeps giving me an error code
