Chocolate? What makes Chocolate?

[Groundhighchickenguy]

Out of all the reading and research I've done, I can't find any thing that explains the Chocolate gene in great detail. What does it take to make the chocolate gene? What are the combinations? Did Carefoot take it to his grave?

 

[justuschickens59]

Have you tried Grant Brereton's book, "21st Century Poultry Breeding." If I am not mistaken, there is a section in it on the Chocolate gene. I'll have to dig out my book and check.

 

[Illia]

Far as I remember, chocolate came along the same way Lavender did. It is a gene all on its own, no other genes make it up but itself, and it of course is recessive as well as sex-linked.

 

[Groundhighchickenguy]

Sweet! Let me know and I'll go grab the book. Does it go into great detail from what you remember?

 

[Groundhighchickenguy]

Quote:
What fascinates me is how did he figure this out. How did alot of new colors come about. Is it mostly accident? Its mind blowing. GUHHHH I wish I had hundreds of years to live to create new breeds and colors.

 

[justuschickens59]

Quote:
I can't really remember much about it because I've not been all that interested in the Chocolates, but it seems like I remember seeing it in his book. If I am not mistaken, Grant Brereton and Rob Boyd were the ones that took over the Chocolate gene from Carefoot before he passed? I'm not sure about that, so somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

I'll dig out my book and let you know what it says.

 

[F50myster]

to get chocolate colored chickens you need a chicken that has white feathering and you feed it cocoa beans thats how i did it

 

[justuschickens59]

Groundhigh - I typed up what was in the book. I'm not sure if there is more in the book on Chocolate. I will look more thoroughly tomorrow and let you know.

The sex-linked recessive gene named “Chocolate” by the late Dr. Carefoot in 1995 is another dilution of Black pigment. The Chocolate gene is one of the few known sex-linked recessive genes in poultry. It may seem difficult to grasp at first, but if a female carries Chocolate, than she will be visually Chocolate. However, males require two copies of the gene for them to appear as Chocolate. Black males can carry a copy of Chocolate without it being at all identifiable. The only way to tell is to test mate. However, if the mother of the Black male in question was Chocolate herself, it is a certainty that all her sons will carry a single dose of the Chocolate gene.

Chocolate to Chocolate gives: 100% Chocolate offspring.

A Chocolate male to a Black female gives: 50% Chocolate females, 50% Black males (the males will all carry Chocolate).

A Black male to Chocolate females gives: 50% Black males (Chocolate carriers) and 50% Black females (normal Black).

A Chocolate carrying male to a Black female gives: 25% Chocolate females, 25% Black females, 25% Chocolate carrying males, 25% Black males – though it will be impossible to tell which males carry Chocolate.

A Chocolate carrying male bred to a Chocolate female gives: 25% Black females, 25% Chocolate females, 25% Chocolate males, 25% Chocolate carrying males (Black).

 

[tgrlily]

If I remember correctly, I read that chocolate is a spontaneous genetic mutation from black. Before Dr Clive Carefoot started working with it, those chicks would have been culls. Before he died Grant Bereton and Rob Boyd got the one choc orp hen & bred her to black to produce the line that has people all up in arms & drooling now.

Please, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[catwalk]

Many many many Seramas here carry the gene. It doesn't dilute red pigment, so it may be difficult to detect and sort out. Find yourself an oversized chocolate Serama male, and start crossbreeding. It will work better in bantams.