Color Genetics in Ringnecks

[Kev]

2 questions:

Blue. Not the Blueback, but the all blue/grayish ones.

Alaskan Snow.

Are either of those dominant, recessive, sex linked or..??


Have 2 blue hens, one male one female blues in the Alaskan snow pattern- blue snows? and one male "generic" male ring neck(with all the pretty colors). Deciding what to do with them...

 

[turkaholic]

I don't ever remember any of the color mutations being sex linked, but most are recessive and you need both male and female carrying the color gene. Here is a pheasant color genetics calculator that is somewhat basic and does not cover all color mutations, but it will give you an idea of what to expect. http://kippenjungle.nl/Overzicht.htm#kalkoencalculator

 

[Kev]

Thanks! It doesn't have blue or Alaskan snow- unless it's listed as 'white' on calculator? What does Wheaten ringneck look like or do we have another name for them here?

 

[turkaholic]

Kev
I'm not sure what color they refer to as Wheaten, but my guess is the light buff(Isabelle) or maybe Platinum. I would PM Randy of Spectrumranch on BYC, since he is the one that started all the blue ringneck lines. He would be able to give you much more accurate info on their genetics and crosses there of. Good Luck!

 

[KenJB]

The Wheaten Pheasant was described in an article in the Journal of Heredity several decades ago. They were developed from a single mutated hen in Saskatchewan. The hens of this mutation are very light, wheaten or straw in colour. The males are actually quite dark, but without a neck ring. While raising pheasants as a hobby in Ontario, I obtained them back in the 70s from a Saskatchewan Game farm, bred them readily, and did sell quite a number of them to other fanciers. I found that the lightest coloured hens produced the richest coloured dark males. Since leaving my acreage in 1980, I have not kept in touch with the breeders who bought them so I do now know what has happened to these beauties.

There is also a sex-linked "dilute" that was raised commercially in some north east states for several years. I am not sure whether they are still doing that. The females are light buff in colour whereas the males look normal coloured.