Buff genetics

[Bossroo]

Thank you Tim for your great Explanation and Angie for the link. I am on the road and will be doing a more detailed study on this information that you so kindly provided. Tim, you mentioned that the recessive white restricts growth... what gene enhanses growth or is it known yet?

 

[SusanJoM]

Short side-bar here, please...

I keep seeing the phrase "at the E locus".

Can you help me with that? I'm guessing it is a specific location along the DNA strand? but I can't quite get a clear picture....

Any help (definition, link, explanation) would be lovely.

Thanks
Susan

 

[tadkerson]

Quote:
There are a number of genes that determine the size of the chicken. Many of the factors that control growth are actually small sections of DNA that are not genes. Almost all of the work with broilers has been carried out by private companies so they keep that imformation to them selves. I do know some of them are recessive and one is sex linked and some are dominant. Some make a chicken grow fast in the first couple of weeks and others extend the time of growth.

I have been doing some work with broilers and that is how I know what I have written. I am working on a broiler for the organic market similar to the French Label Rouge or the Breese. I have used commercial birds to breed with but it is not easy to get them to lay eggs. You can not get the breeders that the companies like Tyson etc. use so I figured out how to get the broilers to lay eggs. Some of my male birds have been clunkers so I am working out some of the problems. The birds I have bred are great layers, I have some problems with incubation. I will work it out. The body type on the red label is different than the commercial breeds in the USA- I have some birds that are close but grow too slow. This fall I will be doing some breeding to take care of that problem. All in all I am happy with the birds I have produced.



Tim

 

[tadkerson]

Quote:
Susan you are correct. A locus is a place on a chromosome where certain genes can be found. The E locus only has E type alleles( genes) located at its location. Alleles are different genes that occupy a specific locus or place on a chromosome. The common alleles that are found at the E locus are extended black (E), birchin (E^R), brown e^b, dominant wheaten e^Wh and wild type e^+. You notice that the gene symbols start with an e. The ^ thing means the letters after the e are superscript. I am also using the classical form of writing the genotype or gene symbols. People in the scientific world write them differently but the classical method is ok to use. The E locus is a good place to start learning chicken genetics. Every chicken has a basic color plan or primary color pattern that is determined by the E locus. Learn those first then start working on the rest of the genetics. All the varieties of chickens are build upon certain E locus genes.

An example would be the columbian pattern which is built upon the brown E locus allele and so is the buff columbian pattern. The only difference between the two is the columbian is sex linked silver and the buff columbian is sex linked gold. Add a blue gene to the columbian and you get a blue columbian. Add the cream gene to the buff columbian and you get citron columbian ( would be cool looking). Add a blue gene to the citron columbian and you will have blue citron columbian.

Tim

 

[SusanJoM]

Quote:
Yahoo....thanks. I'm guessing that when you say the "letters after the ^ are superscript", you mean that they would be written like the notations of powers like ab^4 would read out as "ab to the fourth power"? Or ab^2 would read out as "ab squared"?

If so, that makes a whole lot of stuff I've read before make sense that it just didn't mean at all.
Not that it changes meaning, but I can more easily visualize what it "should" look like.

By the way, I ran across this today, is it familiar to you
http://home.hetnet.nl/~h.meijers69/kruising.html

Susan

 

[tadkerson]

Yes, you have it. Yes a gentleman, I know him as Henk, from the Netherlands put together the web page. It is a very good source. He did a great job.

Tim

 

[SusanJoM]

Quote:
Now if I could just get my VCR to tape from my DVR........