Color genetics thread.

[Wappoke]

I'm desperately hunting for an answer so I'm hijacking this post! Sorry!! Last year I acquired a splash Orpington pullet. This year I went out and found a super nice blue cockerel. I have had them in a breeding pen by themselves for over 2 months with another splash pullet. In the last couple days, one of my hens has hatched out 5 babies. Now here is the question. Out of her eggs, she has 2 splash, 1 blue, and 2 BLACK. How did this happen? I can't find an answer anywhere since blue and splash are suppose to be 50% blue/50% splash. PS My girls had ZERO contact with any other rooster than the blue. The eggs she is hatching out are hers and her sister's only.

the two blacks are actually blue- wait and see if the adult plumage is blue.

The blue cockerel can not be lavender because you hatched some splash chicks. And even if he was lavender, all the chicks should be blue.and that is not eh case.

If one of the hens was heterozygous/ split for dominant white then ( as was mentioned in the previous post) crossing a bird that is I*I/I/i with a blue male could produce black chicks.

another possibility is that the male is carrying a recessive gene that is epistatic to the blue gene and one of the females is also a carrier. This recessive gene pair would prevent the expression of the blue color. The recessive gene would allow for the normal production of melanosomes, therefore, you have black chickens.

pics of the hens would be great

 

[tao chick]

I haven't read back to find the answer:
I have a Wheaten Ameraucana roo that has cream hackles and wing tips.

I now call him an Easter Egger because he didn't color correctly. What genetic possibilities may have caused this? I've heard a couple theories: silver instead of gold and cream modifying gold.
He is over a Lavender Split Ameraucana (black). What possible coloring will come from their offspring? Yellow or black chicks?

 

[junebuggena]

I haven't read back to find the answer:
I have a Wheaten Ameraucana roo that has cream hackles and wing tips.

I now call him an Easter Egger because he didn't color correctly. What genetic possibilities may have caused this? I've heard a couple theories: silver instead of gold and cream modifying gold.
He is over a Lavender Split Ameraucana (black). What possible coloring will come from their offspring? Yellow or black chicks?

A cream dilute is more likely, since it's a recessive gene. You will not get any Lavender chicks if that's what you are asking. Most of the chicks will be solid black with varying amounts of leakage. If the rooster has a silver gene, then a few chicks will have silver leakage. If it's a cream dilute, any chicks with leakage should be red/gold.

 

[Kindercare]

Hope this is the right thread for this question.

What combination of genetics give Bresse their blue feet / white skin combo? I'm especially curious since they start off yellow then turn blue over time

 

[red egghead]

you can certainly engineer by breeding to larger or smaller birds, whichever you want. what you are trying to do is isolate the gene that produces the right sized birds you want. here is where it gets complicated. it is not so much how the birds look. it is what they produce. also to produce this ideal sized poultry. you must start with several lines of the same breed. if you just produce one line. their is nothing to breed to that won't be inbred. several lines from several sources,of the same breed, that are engineered this way will give you a large enough gene pool to sustain this new breed for future generations. Be prepared, this will take years of selective breeding. and you will be doing the same work with several lines. this theory will definitely succeed but it will take an immeasurable amount of time, and resources re; pens, feed, failures, successes,and patience to name only a few. the same theory of selective breeding will also work with feather color, as well as size, and other desirable traits you want to keep in this new breed you have engineered.

 

[red egghead]

look at my answer, it was posted just after yours. maybe this information will help. it is a gene that you must isolate, to complicate matters some genes are found in conjunction with other genes.such as blue feathers linked to white skin. these genes are very difficult to separate or at times to keep together with new engineering, but in most cases they can be separated, (isolated) if you will. i will remind you that these changes to pure bred lines can be very difficult, as to continue this change.you must use several lines to reassure no inbreeding

 

[Kindercare]

Hope this is the right thread for this question.

What combination of genetics give Bresse their blue feet / white skin combo? I'm especially curious since they start off yellow then turn blue over time

I guess I should clarify. Here are the linkages for some leg colors, but I can't find anything for blue. Can blue be represented by known genes?

Black - E/E and/or Fm/Fm
Buff - W+/W+ Id
Slate - e+/e+
Yellow - w/w Id
Green - e+/e+ W+/W+
Brown - ER/ER w/w

Since Bresse have white skin and their feet start yellow, I'd imagine they have to be white skin (w/w) with dermal melanin inhibitor (Id), but then what causes the blue?

 

[red egghead]

i thought blue legs are called slate, not sure

 

[Wappoke]

Hope this is the right thread for this question.

What combination of genetics give Bresse their blue feet / white skin combo? I'm especially curious since they start off yellow then turn blue over time

blue sharks are due a combination of genes

W*W/W*W white skin

ID*id/ID*id (male) ID*id/ W (female) sex-linked dermal melanin

birds can not carry extended black at the E locus and sometimes birchen

breese are most likely recessive white and not dominant white. The only way to determine the gene or genes responsible for the white would be to do crosses to determine the genetics responsible for the white. They could be carrying both genes- both genes can reduce the intensity of the black pigments in the shanks.

slate legs are found on birchen birds- it is my understanding that slate shanks are darker than blue shanks

 

[Kindercare]

Thanks. That's super helpful, so it's a yellow base (white skin with ID) with a hidden non-birchen color that gets diluted somehow. That's a complex one.