Color genetics thread.

[junebuggena]

Fascinating. So they're both little cockerels. Does that mean silver is dominant over gold-based? What color hen do you think I should cross one of these little guys with next year to get silver colored female offspring?

Silver is dominant over red/gold. These guys aren't pure for silver genetics though. They are carrying a red/gold gene, so about 50% of their chicks will be silver base color, regardless of the hen they are paired with. About half of those silver chicks will be female.

 

[Chicken5555]

One more question... how can you tell if a hen is silver based before breeding her?

 

[junebuggena]

One more question... how can you tell if a hen is silver based before breeding her?

Usually, a silver hen is distinguished by having white neck feathers, with black patterning. It's a bit tricky to tell that your hens are silver because they don't have black patterning. They have Blue/Splash genes diluting the black patterning. It also appears that they have Mahogany, a different gene that causes red to show up in places that are usually silver and removes black/blue patterning from some areas. While visually, it's difficult to determine if your hens are silver, the feathering on the chicks doesn't lie. The black and white wing feathering means silver base color. The hens are silver.
Here are some examples of silver and gold hens in my flock. Notice how the patterning is pretty much the same, the big difference is the base color.



Silver hens/pullets



Gold/red hens.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

 
Hello there color experts! Does anyone know what would happen if a Spangled rooster were bred to a Mille Fleur hen? I've been guessing on some kind of half-spangling.

Mille Fleur is caused by a recessive mottling gene, so all chicks would be carrying the gene but not express. Spangling is a complex pattern similar to lacing. It requires 3 different genes to be present for expression. Leave out just one, and you can get penciling or double lacing instead. 

if you mean spangling as on a hamburg, correct, but if the spangling is on old english, it is not. Old english spangling is mottle on bbr.

 

[Wappoke]

(1) Is there a way to guess which female is the chick's mother by looking at the pictures? both of them lay nearly identical pale blue-green eggs.
(2) genetically, how did I get two chicks this color from these birds?
(3) how likely is it that I would get more chicks this color from these birds?
Thanks

The dad (wheaten Ameraucana)


One of these two is the mom...
white one was mostly yellow as a chick
blue one was classic easter egger chipmunk as a chick


two chicks just like this

You have easter eggers and they are the most hybridized bird one can purchase from a hatchery, feed store, etc.. They will produce all kinds of chick down colors and adult plumage colors. I had a lavender bird segregate from my easter eggers.

The chick down color is heterozygous wheaten. As i said, because the birds are hybrids it is difficult to determine if you will get the same colors repeatedly. You may and then again you will most likely get a variation. If you hatch 30 chicks, then you will get an idea of the down color possibilities.

 

[Chicken5555]

You have easter eggers and they are the most hybridized bird one can purchase from a hatchery, feed store, etc.. They will produce all kinds of chick down colors and adult plumage colors. I had a lavender bird segregate from my easter eggers.

The chick down color is heterozygous wheaten. As i said, because the birds are hybrids it is difficult to determine if you will get the same colors repeatedly. You may and then again you will most likely get a variation. If you hatch 30 chicks, then you will get an idea of the down color possibilities.

My rooster is not an easter egger. I bought him from a reputable breeder of Wheaten Ameraucanas. He is from show stock but has a speck of white on his earlobes and is therefore not showable. He is a pure breed bird, nonetheless. The mothers are BBS Ameraucana X Marans.

Junebuggena said that the chicks wing feathers indicate that they are silver based. Since silver is dominant, it disguises the wheaten (red base) that they carry from their father. She said that because of the way chicks inherit their color from parents, they are both males. I suppose that means all chicks from this rooster and these hens would be sex linked and therefore somewhat predictable?

 

[Wappoke]

My rooster is not an easter egger. I bought him from a reputable breeder of Wheaten Ameraucanas. He is from show stock but has a speck of white on his earlobes and is therefore not showable. He is a pure breed bird, nonetheless. The mothers are BBS Ameraucana X Marans.

Junebuggena said that the chicks wing feathers indicate that they are silver based. Since silver is dominant, it disguises the wheaten (red base) that they carry from their father. She said that because of the way chicks inherit their color from parents, they are both males. I suppose that means all chicks from this rooster and these hens would be sex linked and therefore somewhat predictable?

I assumed the two females were easter eggers because no description concerning lineage was posted. I understand the inheritance of sex-linked genes but the presence of white in the wings does not always mean a bird is silver. I am not saying they are not silver but I would rather see them in adult plumage to determine some characteristics especially when lineage is in question. I have had lavender and mottling segregate from my crosses- so unexpected stuff does happen.

Knowing the father is purebred wheaten indicates that every chick will be a wheaten heterozygote.

What was the variety of the BBS ameraucana and what was variety of the marans?

 

[Chicken5555]

I assumed the two females were easter eggers because no description concerning lineage was posted. I understand the inheritance of sex-linked genes but the presence of white in the wings does not always mean a bird is silver. I am not saying they are not silver but I would rather see them in adult plumage to determine some characteristics especially when lineage is in question. I have had lavender and mottling segregate from my crosses- so unexpected stuff does happen.

Knowing the father is purebred wheaten indicates that every chick will be a wheaten heterozygote.

What was the variety of the BBS ameraucana and what was variety of the marans?

Oh, so white in the wing means it may or may not be silver based. I see. That means they could still be females then?
The BBS Ameraucana was a splash and the Marans in the pen were splash, black copper and birchen.

 

[Chicken5555]

Hey all. I'm thinking about breeding some barred easter eggers. I'm not interested in sexlinks, just pretty barred bearded green layers. A Barred Rock rooster would work for that, right? What would a barred rock rooster over a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana look like? Would she be barred? Not black and white of course, but would the barring gene from the Barred Rock cause the same interruption in pigmentation one would expect from a chicken with extended black at the E locus? Thanks.

 

[morbius18]

Hey all. I'm thinking about breeding some barred easter eggers. I'm not interested in sexlinks, just pretty barred bearded green layers. A Barred Rock rooster would work for that, right? What would a barred rock rooster over a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana look like? Would she be barred? Not black and white of course, but would the barring gene from the Barred Rock cause the same interruption in pigmentation one would expect from a chicken with extended black at the E locus? Thanks.

I do cuckoo olive eggers. The mother appeared to be some wheaten colored easter egger. The father was a Golden cuckoo marans. Mine are ER based, so the offspring are ER/EWh and look cuckoo. If you have blue, you should be split for blue barred and black barred. They don't really look barred, just lightly when the blue is in the mix.

ER/Ewh hen:

I'm also playing around with blue golden cuckoos, this a a cockeral. The barring is vague, but seems inhibited by the blue gene.

Blue golden cuckoo marans: