Black To White Experiment

[MysteryChicken]

Hello, gonna start an interesting experiment next spring. It's an odd one.

I suspect there's a mutation in the Allele of the Barring gene. Results in solid black females that transform into a white, blue, & black bird within their second molt. It may, or may not be sexlinked, meaning I'm not sure if it will effect Males.
The hen in particular had a Barred Brother, but I butchered him in the spring of 2021.


Here's the parents of the bird in question.

The mother has a few almost solid white primary flight feathers.(Had them since she was a youngster)

The father is from my original project of 2018

Here's a couple pictures of their daughter from a year ago.(She's always had a couple solid white flight feathers like her mother)

The daughter hatched out solid black, without headspot, brother was solid black with a headspot.

My theory of the mutation would say no evidence of barring would be present at hatch, or in the adult plumage.


Think of how dominant white has different mutations that don't look like it's supposed to express, such as Dun, or Khaki for examples.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Continuation......

Here's the daughter in the present 1yr later.

I've got tons more pictures that show how extensive the white, & blue color is.


What I'm gonna do next spring is breed her parents again, hatch maybe 4-5 eggs from them. Also I'm gonna breed the black hen(Daughter), to both a Barred, & solid rooster then hatch about 4-5 eggs from them too.
Hopefully the experiment proves my suspicions, if not it was fun trying to replicate.

 

[Amer]

I agree with NatJ. If it is a mutation it is not a mutation of the barring gene because genes do not change locus when they mutate. There are many mutations of the barring gene but all are in the same place, and sex linked. New locus, different mutation. It affects a gene that codes for something else.

 

[NatJ]

She's 2yrs old, not a pullet.

Good point, not a pullet at age 2. I mis-typed.

I'm certain it's the mother's side. But will find out when I do the breeding experiment next spring. It is a theory.

If it is actually an allele of the barring gene, she did NOT inherit it from her mother. Barring is on the Z sex chromosome, which a hen gets from her father but not her mother. Her mother gave her a W chromosome (that's why she's female.)

So if she did inherit this trait from her mother, it is not on the Z chromsome, and it cannot be any allele of Barring.

Or, taking it the other way around: if it is an allele of the barring gene, she inherited it from her father, not her mother.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Updated pictures.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Her complete transformation.

 

[NatJ]

Barring is the only conclusion I can think of based on the almost solid white wing feathers of the mother.

I am just saying it is genetically IMPOSSIBLE for barring to pass from the mother to the daughter.

Like you said in the other thread, that it maybe recessive, meaning it would need two copies. That seems to behave differently then the typical barring gene then. So both parents would have to carry it.

Not with a sex-linked gene. With sexlinked genes, dominant/recessive only applies to male chickens. A female only has one Z chromosome, inherited from her father, so she just displays the genes that are there.

In the other thread, I was pointing out a way the father could carry it without showing it: if it's recessive. That would matter for him, because he has two Z chromosomes, and we only see the effect of the dominant gene in each pair. But when he gives a sexlinked gene to his daughter, she has no other gene to hide it, so she shows it.

For other genes (not on the sex chromsomes), yes a recessive gene must be inherited from both parents to show in their chicks.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Updated pictures of the color changing hen.

Previous Picture.

2021

2020

 

[MysteryChicken]

@NatJ. Believe it or not, she does have barring.

I also love the effect this mutation has on red.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

You keep finding more and more birds with this going on. Have you at all considered that there could actually be an environmental cause rather than a genetic one? How would all of these completely unrelated birds otherwise spontaneously start losing pigment all at around the same time? I would be seriously thinking about testing the soil and water if this was happening in my coop.