Color Genetics question???

[jcatblum]

If you keep your guineas caged together by color do you end up hatching all keets of that color? I know most let theirs run together. Been working to add any different color i could find to our farm Considering seperating mine by colors for next spring. Wouldn't separate them all just the "fancy" colors that are harder to find.

 

[PeepsCA]

Quote:
For the most part your hatches should be the color of the parent birds, but since most Guineas almost always carry hidden recessive genes, a few other colors will pop up here and there in each hatch... this of course can be bred out of your flock, but it takes years and a lot of effort (not to mention penned up frustrated Guineas during the whole process, lol). Some hatcheries and professional breeders do sell birds that are as genetically pure as possible, but you don't usually find true pure breds from your typical backyard breeders.

 

[jcatblum]

I am not into trying to breed traits out, just want to be sure to get mostly the colors I like the most. Doing 7 or 8 pens of guineas sounds like lots of work! Is there any colors that any of you have none mixed & what were the results?

 

[PeepsCA]

When one of my flocks consisted of only Pearl Greys, they hatched out several Royal Purple and Buff Dundotte keets (the majority of the keets were Pearl Greys tho) each year. Since then I've always integrated new keets of all 3 colors from their hatches into the flock every year, and always had a decent number of Royal Purple keets in each new hatch, but only a few Buff Dundottes (the majority of the keets always being Pearl Grey tho, since that is the dominant color and pearling). Last year I surprisingly got 2 Lavender keets out of that flock, but no Buff Dundottes that time (out of 300 keets, lol). This year I've mostly collected their eggs for consumption... but the few batches of eggs that I did incubate from them were Pearl Grey and Royal Purple keets only this time (even tho there were 2 Buff Dundotte males in the flock).

It's kind of a crap-shoot sometimes

, but the dominant color of the 2 parents usually contributes to the majority of the keets being that color. But as I mentioned before, if both parents are carrying hidden recessive genes, an occasional random color or 2 can show up in each hatch.

I'd love to have a few breeding pens, specifically for selective color breeding... but considering how much room Guineas need to be comfortable enough to breed... the construction costs are extremely costly, sigh. Some day...

 

[jcatblum]

One of the men I purchased some keets from keeps his in separate pens. However, he doesn't keep them penned all day. He separated the colors & kept them penned individually for several months. He said before he starts letting all of them free range together all the guineas have already paired up & the same colors usually stick together. Think I might have read that on here before too.

If you only needed coop space & not run space housing would not be too bad. But even a small coop can easily cost several hundred, so I do understand cost is an issue...... Could imagine me telling DH I wanted a few more thousand dollars in poultry supplies, he might just loose it!

 

[MuranoFarms]

I had quite a surprise earlier this year when some of my pied guinea produced pied, pearl and pure white keets. Now suddenly I'm getting lavender and lav pied....and all I have in the breeding group is pearl and pied. As long as I sell keets and can identify the colors it's ok. lol