Breeders - How do you choose which chicks to keep?

[Madie'sOddFlock]

If you're breeding for color and rose comb would you keep a chick who's the perfect color but has a single comb?
I've run into an issue where I have 2 single comb BLRs but they both have perfect dark blue and mahogany feathers... I was originally just going to sell them but now I'm not so sure because they are the only ones showing those colors right now and it would be a good addition to the flock... Or it could make single combs show more in the future...

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Single Comb is a recessive trait, shown typically as "rr". Meaning it will be easy to get the rose comb back into the breeding pool - though based on my readings, the rose comb gene (written "R") will appear slightly different in birds genetically "Rr" rather than "RR". SO getting the single comb recessive completely out of the flock could take a little effort, but not more than two or three generations most likely. Visually, it will be gone after the first crossing with a dominant comb bird, but to get a great rose comb, you need it completely gone.

You may find this useful. I have.

Now color and pattern?? Those are complicated. I can't help you there.

 

[NatJ]

based on my readings, the rose comb gene (written "R") will appear slightly different in birds genetically "Rr" rather than "RR". SO getting the single comb recessive completely out of the flock could take a little effort, but not more than two or three generations most likely. Visually, it will be gone after the first crossing with a dominant comb bird, but to get a great rose comb, you need it completely gone.

I've read that rose comb is completely dominant, so you cannot tell RR from Rr except by test-mating. That would be part of why it keeps popping up in commercial flocks. If someone has learned a way to tell RR from Rr, that would be very useful!

Pea comb is fairly easy to tell-- PP has a small, usually tidy-looking comb, while Pp has a larger comb that often looks weird. PP also causes small wattles, while Pp has normal sized wattles. So pea comb breeds usually do not produce unexpected single comb chicks.

If you're breeding for color and rose comb would you keep a chick who's the perfect color but has a single comb?

Rose comb is caused by a single gene. The color & pattern are caused by many genes.
So you could keep the single comb birds, because they have so many other genes correct (as long as you have a rose comb bird of the other gender that you can breed them to.)

Or you could decide to get the combs right first, and then focus on color. In that case, you would probably cull both the single comb birds and their parents, given that the parents obviously carry the not-rose gene.

they are the only ones showing those colors right now and it would be a good addition to the flock... Or it could make single combs show more in the future...

Yes, keeping them will make single combs more likely in the future.

You could keep them for now, but hatch more chicks from the same set of parents, and try to get some with equally good color AND rose combs. (Chicks from those parents might carry the not-rose gene, even if they show a proper rose comb, so that is something to be aware of.)

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I've read that rose comb is completely dominant, so you cannot tell RR from Rr except by test-mating. That would be part of why it keeps popping up in commercial flocks. If someone has learned a way to tell RR from Rr, that would be very useful!

Pea comb is fairly easy to tell-- PP has a small, usually tidy-looking comb, while Pp has a larger comb that often looks weird. PP also causes small wattles, while Pp has normal sized wattles. So pea comb breeds usually do not produce unexpected single comb chicks.

^^^^ THAT. I got it backwards. THANK YOU for double checking me. With my Brahma in my breeding project, I have Pea Combs on the mind.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You could keep them for now, but hatch more chicks from the same set of parents, and try to get some with equally good color AND rose combs. (Chicks from those parents might carry the not-rose gene, even if they show a proper rose comb, so that is something to be aware of.)

I like this option as long as you have the parents and at least one has the rose comb. The more chicks you hatch the better your chances of getting one you like.

I have a story I think is related. I had a broody hen hatch four chicks. Two of the four were red barred, really pretty chicks. The father was split for barred and split for gold/silver. I don't know who the mother was.

I later hatched 17 chicks from the flock, eggs from various hens, at least half that were split for red and with the same father. About half were barred, which was as the odds said should happen. 5 of the 17 were red, again in agreement with the odds. But none of them were both red and barred. By the odds two or three of them should have been. The moral of the story is that it's only odds, you never know for sure what you will get.

Another option is called line breeding. If one parent has both good color and a rose comb and the sexes align, you can breed a parent to an offspring. This increases your odds of passing on the traits you want. You may be planning on doing this anyway, I don't know how your breeding program is set up.

It is fairly easy to breed out a dominant gene. If the chick has it you know it so don't breed that chick. But it is a lot harder to eliminate a recessive gene. You can't tell if the chick has it or not by looking. Recessive genes can lurk in the background for several generations before they show up.

Since there are a lot of different gene pairs that affect color and pattern and only one gene pair that affect the basic comb, I'd keep the chicks with the right color with the thought of adding the Rose comb in later, especially if you are line breeding with a rose comb. Once you mess up the color/pattern it can be challenging to get it back.

 

[3KillerBs]

This is purely theoretical information, but I have read that rose combed birds have lower fertility and thus breeders often keep a few single-combed birds to breed in periodically to keep the fertility up.

No experience, so make of it what you will.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

This is purely theoretical information, but I have read that rose combed birds have lower fertility and thus breeders often keep a few single-combed birds to breed in periodically to keep the fertility up.

No experience, so make of it what you will.

This will help those wanting to research further

Indirect PDF Download

etc.

There appears to be something scientifically measurable to the claim, but lacking in my readings is a mathematical expression of how much less fertile rose comb birds are. I suspect, in the typical backyard flock size, that its only noticed because people expect to find it, though the sample size is too small to draw any such conclusion.

 

[Madie'sOddFlock]

Thank you for everyone's input. I think I will keep the hen at least for now(one is definitely a roo, but I think the other is a hen). I should have specified a little more because all the other birds still have good lacing and overall coloration but they're leaning more towards the undesirable brassy orange than the perfect mahogany red.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I let mine grow out, then I decide whether, or not to cull. Some I can tell with in a few weeks. I still let them grow out for eaters, or try to sell them. But if I can't sell, they'll be in the freezer at 6-8 months.

What I look for is color, body type/shape, tail shape/angle, leg color, comb type, & skin color.