Breeding different colors of polish

[tanyacobb]

I have a white polish rooster I want to know if I breed him with my girls (buff polish,silver laced polish and gold laced polish) what the outcome will be with the chicks
I hear if you use a black or white rooster the colors will remain true is this right?

 

[QueenMisha]

"What will White bird X (other bird) produce?" is a question we get around here quite frequently. Unfortunately it's impossible to say - the white genes, both recessive and dominant, act as an "off switch" for other color genes. Another way to think of it is as a coat of paint. A bird might be black, or silver laced, or buff, but if you throw a white gene into the mix, you're got a layer of white paint on top of all that. Problem is, the bird is still genetically any of those colors, it's just hidden. Either knowing the parentage or test breeding is the only way to know what is hidden under that white.

Beyond that, you have the issue of whether it's dominant or recessive white that the bird is carrying, which will affect the outcomes of crossbreedings as well. Dominant white means that you need only one copy of the gene to express the color (or rather, lack thereof). Recessive white means you need two copies. In this particular case I can't find any references regarding whether White Polish is dom. or rec. white, or potentially even Silver (which is a whole other gene entirely, but less commonly seen being used to make pure white birds).

Here's a quick generalization to what kind of offspring you might get:

If your roo is dominant white:

Dom. white X Buff: White, but with a lot of red-gold leakage. Very possibly more red than white.
Dom. white X Silver laced: White with plenty of black leakage, lots of it probably closer to the tip of the feather.
Dom. white X Golden laced: Some white, but tons of gold leakage and some black.

If you roo is recessive white:

No way to tell. All the offspring will look like whatever color he is hiding X the hen's color. They will all carry white, and so can produce white offspring if mated to another white or white carrier.

 

[tanyacobb]

Thank you so much this explains things way better than what I've read
My white polish I didn't hatch myself but he does have a strip of reddish throughout 1 large feather on his side and black on the other assuming then he has a gold lace underneath him is this right? Would that mean recessive?

 

[QueenMisha]

Thank you so much this explains things way better than what I've read
My white polish I didn't hatch myself but he does have a strip of reddish throughout 1 large feather on his side and black on the other assuming then he has a gold lace underneath him is this right? Would that mean recessive?

Honestly, it's impossible to be sure, but it would mean that whatever coloration he is genetically may well contain those colors. Unfortunately those colors show in a lot of varieties - BBR, Golden, Golden Laced, Wheaten. So there are a good few possibilities for it.

Dominant white tends to be leakier and far more permissive for red than recessive white. I'd tend to think recessive white, since dom white wouldn't do near so good a job blocking red, and the rec. is more effective as a white gene. But again, whites are tricky so it's impossible to be sure until he's bred.

 

[tanyacobb]

Thank you I'm buying a laced back up rooster in case haha! But I'm going to try him out since he is very pretty and I've raised him from a chick waiting on a few hens to lay anytime now

 

[tanyacobb]

 

[tanyacobb]

 

[Western North Carolina]

Wouldn't large hatcheries who sell white polish know whether they have dominant or recessive white genes? Woulnd't most white polish being sold wholesale and retail have the same gene (recessive or dominant)? Or is it up in the air, could be either and nobody knows

 

[ronkonkoma]

I'd only like to have one rooster, and the one I am getting is pure white. I also have a tolbunt hen, white hen and a Silver Laced hen.

I'm told if I breed him with the pure White Hen all Offspring will be white. I'm wondering what would happen if I bred him with the tolbunt hen?.