Black leakage on recessive white Ameraucanas?

Nicks_Chicks

Songster
May 15, 2024
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The Cornhusker State
I've always known that recessive white birds can exhibit no other feather colors, or so I thought. My friend has a pair of recessive white Ameraucanas, but they both have little bits of black leakage. I was thinking they were dominant instead, but she said that if they were dominant white, they would have light legs, not slate. So just wondering if they really are recessives. @NatJ
 
I've always known that recessive white birds can exhibit no other feather colors, or so I thought. My friend has a pair of recessive white Ameraucanas, but they both have little bits of black leakage. I was thinking they were dominant instead
That would match what I have read about recessive white and Dominant White.

I was thinking they were dominant instead, but she said that if they were dominant white, they would have light legs, not slate. So just wondering if they really are recessives. @NatJ
Hmm, let me look up a few things...
I think it is possible to have slate legs in a chicken with Dominant White.
Here are the breeds/colors I checked while I was thinking about it:

Buff Laced Polish (really, white lacing on gold) have slate legs. The white lacing is definitely caused by Dominant White. So they are able to have both Dominant White and also slate legs.
Example: https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/buff_laced_polish.html

White Polish have slate legs. I don't know whether they have recessive white or Dominant White, but they definitely have white feathers and slate legs.
Example: https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/white-polish-chickens/

White Bresse have slate legs, and I've read that they are supposed to have Dominant White but sometimes do have recessive white (blue legs required in either case.)
Example photos: https://greenfirefarms.com/american_bresse.html
Discussion of white genes: https://www.ambresse.com/white-genes-in-american-bresse.html

So I don't think the slate legs are useful for telling recessive white from Dominant White. Test-mating to some other color of chicken might make it clear, if you or she care enough. Or there is now a genetic test for recessive white, which might be faster than hatching chicks: https://iqbirdtesting.com/chickenbreeders
 
So I don't think the slate legs are useful for telling recessive white from Dominant White. Test-mating to some other color of chicken might make it clear, if you or she care enough. Or there is now a genetic test for recessive white, which might be faster than hatching chicks:
Okay, thank you
 

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