an ignorance question, ? over ?

[Kaede]

hey you all, in reading the forums, i read about ? over ?. i assume that means the rooster over the hen. Is this assumption correct? Why does it matter?

 

[sylviethecochin]

As in "RIR over Sussex?"

(Accidentally hit post)

If so, it matters because of sexlinked genes and egg size. Gold and silver are sexlinked genes. If the rooster is gold, then the pullet chicks will be gold. If the rooster is silver, then the pullet chicks will be silver. If the rooster is barred, he will pass the characteristic down to both sexes of his offspring, but a barred hen will only pass barring to the cockerel chicks.

Secondly: a bantam rooster over a giant hen will result in bigger eggs and bigger chicks than a giant rooster over a bantam hen. (bantam egg = bantam-sized chicks)

 

[Kaede]

Yes, exactly that. I was reading about breeding for egg color and things like a Welsummer rooster over a cream leg bar. I think they were trying for green eggs with speckles. Not sure. It wasn't on BYC, but a Facebook group. If one is just breeding for egg color does it matter?

 

[3riverschick]

Yes it does Katie, because the rooster carries more genes for dark egg.
the the way the genetics is set up in poultry the rooster gives his get more influence for dark egg than the hen
does.
so you want to use a sire rooster from a dam that lay very dark eggs .
You want the dam of your sire cock sired by a rooster whose dam laid very dark eggs, okay?
The " dark egg cock whose dam laid very dark eggs" thing should stretch far back into the pedigree to help concentrate dark egg genes in the strain.
So if you want to concentrate genes for dark eggs, you continually use cocks whose dams who laid dark eggs and hens whose sires came from hens who laid dark eggs.
Best,
Karen

 

[Kaede]

Yes it does Katie, because the rooster carries more genes for dark egg...

Thanks, I admit I was baffled. I believe in horse color genetics it doesn't matter if the stallion or the mare gives the color gene. I know it does in cats, orange toms and calico queens. No sure how that works either.