Color genetics thread.

[morbius18]

Got an interesting genetic question. I have a double barred Golden Cuckoo Marans. I wanted some olive eggers. I crossed him with the 3 hens pictured below. I didn't keep track of which eggs are from which hens. All the chicks but one were the 'standard' barred/cuckoo look. The one is yellow/white. No hint of color. And only 1 out of the bunch. I'm thinking the mother is the whitish hen, that maybe she carries silver, but I don't know much about it. I have no other mature roosters with them, some 3-4 month cockerals from a previous hatch. None are crowing and are about 1/3 the sizefrom full grown. Any Ideas?

Below, 'Standard' barred look chick

Below, white chick

Below, rooster

Below, hens

 

[Kev]

The whitish hen has dominant white. It turns black areas to white... so if you breed her to a black or mostly black rooster(which is what your golden cuckoo is).. you are bound to get what are essentially black chicks.. which dominant white turned to white. Presto, white downed chick.

if she is not pure for dominant white, half of her chicks will come like the colored ones and half white/cream colored.

 

[morbius18]

The whitish hen has dominant white.   It turns black areas to white...  so if you breed her to a black or mostly black rooster(which is what your golden cuckoo is).. you are bound to get what are essentially black chicks.. which dominant white turned to white.  Presto, white downed chick.

if she is not pure for dominant white, half of her chicks will come like the colored ones and half white/cream colored.

I guess that explains why I only got one, probably not pure white. About 1/3 the eggs were hers. She's the only one with green legs too. I spotted 2 chicks with green legs as well, would that also be why?

 

[Kev]

I guess that explains why I only got one, probably not dominant. About 1/3 the eggs were hers.

That matches the result of a dominant white though(basically, if it shows up in a cross, it is a dominant), especially if she is not pure for it- in that case, only half of her chicks by chance would get dominant white and if you hatched less than 6 eggs from her it is very easy to get only one white chick by pure chance.

It is the same as getting 5 cockerels/pullets and only one pullet/cockerel... the ratio is 50/50 for either sex but it only really shows it in larger numbers.. much smaller numbers can give skewed result.

 

[morbius18]

That matches the result of a dominant white though(basically, if it shows up in a cross, it is a dominant), especially if she is not pure for it- in that case, only half of her chicks by chance would get dominant white and if you hatched less than 6 eggs from her it is very easy to get only one white chick by pure chance.

It is the same as getting 5 cockerels/pullets and only one pullet/cockerel...  the ratio is 50/50  for either sex but it only really shows it in larger numbers.. much smaller numbers can give skewed result.

I mistyped dominant. I meant to say pure. My last hatch had 8 cockerals and 2 pullets, so I understand the average 50/50. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Wappoke]

Got an interesting genetic question. I have a double barred Golden Cuckoo Marans. I wanted some olive eggers. I crossed him with the 3 hens pictured below. I didn't keep track of which eggs are from which hens. All the chicks but one were the 'standard' barred/cuckoo look. The one is yellow/white. No hint of color. And only 1 out of the bunch. I'm thinking the mother is the whitish hen, that maybe she carries silver, but I don't know much about it. I have no other mature roosters with them, some 3-4 month cockerals from a previous hatch. None are crowing and are about 1/3 the sizefrom full grown. Any Ideas?

Below, rooster

I agree with Kev concerning his answers to your question. I have a question. The rooster in the picture appears to carry sex-linked barring, birchen at the E locus and sex-linked silver. So my question is why do chicken fanciers call the rooster golden. If he was gold at the sex-linked silver locus he would be some shade of red/gold where he is white. (Not including the white barring , in other words, he would express some form of white bars on red/gold in his pyle region (hackles etc.)

 

[jerryse]

I agree with Kev concerning his answers to your question. I have a question. The rooster in the picture appears to carry sex-linked barring, birchen at the E locus and sex-linked silver. So my question is why do chicken fanciers call the rooster golden. If he was gold at the sex-linked silver locus he would be some shade of red/gold where he is white. (Not including the white barring , in other words, he would express some form of white bars on red/gold in his pyle region (hackles etc.)

Golden is used for a rooster carrying silver and gold . Entered as golden duckwing in shows . Looks like a cream Legbar . Cream is said to be like a true breeding golden duckwing . The Legbar breeders seem to prefer a silver look . There is varation in the expression of cream .

 

[morbius18]

Golden is used for a rooster carrying silver and gold . Entered as golden duckwing in shows . Looks like a cream Legbar . Cream is said to be like a true breeding golden duckwing . The Legbar breeders seem to prefer a silver look . There is varation in the expression of cream .

The rooster is a Golden Cuckoo, and I'm pretty sure birchen based, no wing bar. I've discovered are e+ based and some are birchen based. Since there isn't really a APA standard for the Goldens, I guess both show up.

Pic of the rooster below:

Some of his sons that are black copper crosses below. Only single barring gene though:

 

[jerryse]

Better pictures different answer . Barring is causing the golden look . Dosage effect will lighten double barred roosters more . Look at lemon cuckoo Orpington . This is what barring does to buff / golden .

 

[morbius18]

The hens show differences more than the roosters when you compare the e+ duckwings to the E^R Birchen crow wing based birds, all things equal. I prefer the ER hen look, thus limiting me to the birchen males.