Black To White Experiment

[MysteryChicken]

It could also be that since the barring results from various mutations working together (that article) your original cuckoo EE has some sort of other mutation that is interfering, or possibly extreme altering the gene.
Introducing the fact that her daughter changed to a lighter color for winter brings up some VERY interesting thoughts. Was this the first year she did that? How old was she this winter? Many species change fur/feather color to a lighter shade in winter. In general a mutation doesn't introduce New information, just alters or reveals old or allows new combinations of what was already there. So if she is changing color for winter it seems very possible an ancient coloring that had previously been over ridden by more dominant genes was unlocked! Which makes me very excited.

Second year technically, but first year she looked like a penguin. I believe there's pictures of her, then she transitioned to a splotchy black near spring.

 

[Rillowen]

On the other hand, if it isn't expressly winter related, it could be that her "white coat" reacted with a more complete expression of the barring protein (resulting in more pigment supression) and when she had her "black coat" she had lesser expression.
it could even be diet related.. if she didnt have the correct amino acids for the specific color suppressing protein caused by the barring gene she could have ended up black because she couldn't produce as much!
Normally diet has little to no effect on color. Barring could be an exception though. The barring gene is actually a gene that was meant to produce a UV resistant protien periodically through the coat, which then mutated and lost some vital info and became a "nonsense" gene, but still caused a protien to be produced throughout the feather layer. That protien is now close enough in size ect to the normal "stop" code for melanin/pigment that it started messing with the pigmentation, mostly with melanin. Since the resulting color is dependent upon a continuously produced protien instead of the genetic code is is subject to outside influence.... which is honestly very cool.
Maybe one of the 4 mutations responsible has a stabilizing effect normally, making the protien amounts limited and evenly produced through the year, or it could even be a 5th mutation on the gene responsible for that!

I would probably be looking up the amino acids necessary for that protien and super charging her diet (within safety) to see if i could get her to get lighter, or dropping those less necessary ones to a lower amount and seeing if she got darker! It would probably only work during a molt, but would be so fun to test!!!

Of course, most of this is alot of maybes based off of loose genetics we as a species dont really know that much about.... so you know, grain of salt.

 

[Rillowen]

Second year technically, but first year she looked like a penguin. I believe there's pictures of her, then she transitioned to a splotchy black near spring.
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Oooh!!! So it is winter related! That's so much cooler! I love it when ancient genes are uncovered.

 

[Rillowen]

Oooh!!! So it is winter related! That's so much cooler! I love it when ancient genes are uncovered.

As a matter of fact some animals color change is triggered by food source (which would change per season) not temperature... meaning it could BOTH be diet and winter related.

 

[Rillowen]

I'm getting way to excited about this for the limited amount of chicken genetics I know... I should stop throwing stuff out lol.

 

[MysteryChicken]

As a matter of fact some animals color change is triggered by food source (which would change per season) not temperature... meaning it could BOTH be diet and winter related.

I have theorized both possibilities.

 

[Rillowen]

Time to start studying chicken nutrition again lol

 

[Rillowen]

OOOOHHHHHH.... I THINK I FOUND IT. At least partially.
The feather pattern autosomal barring in chicken is strongly associated with segregation at the MC1R locus - PMC https://share.google/DV2E2AtwMcyskDBPG
Your roo Domino has Autosomal barring-NOT sex linked. You can see he has gold stripes, not white.
Your Hen Momma has sex linked... but since it's sex linked she cant pass it on to her daughter's, and her son's wouldnt express it very strongly if their daddy didnt also have it, which Domino doesnt.
Daughter color changer didnt get ANY sex linked because she couldn't get it from mom, and dad doesnt have it. So she got mom's undercoat. So we actually need to be looking into how the autosomal barring works, because thats the only thing she could have.