Color genetics thread.

[Berryblue]

Assuming the Black or Blue is not carrying a copy of recessive white  . 

hi,
Still new to the genetics and trying to figure out my chickens.
If black x white = black
Then when my white rooster and black hen have white, kind of silver and black does that mean rooster has recessive white? Or is he not actually white?
Thanks for anyone who can help explain : )

 

[Berryblue]

I know my questions sound stupid at the moment but trying to work out how it all works. It's all new to me at the moment.

 

[Chicken5555]

Quote:
Not sure if I entirely understand specifically what you're asking, but here goes....

There are two types of white and there are other gene combinations that make the chicken look white.
(1) Dominant white (covers black but allows some red leakage) - one copy will produce yellow chicks with or without black spots that will grow up to be white with black spots. Two copies will give you solid white chickens.
(2) recessive white - one copy will give you anything except white, depending on the other genes involved.
(3) Splash (NOT actually white, but the chicken has a lot of white on it) - this is a gene that modifies black. One copy changes black to blue and 2 copies changes black to splash.

 

[Chicken5555]

Quote:
Not sure if I entirely understand specifically what you're asking, but here goes....

There are two types of white and there are other gene combinations that make the chicken look white.
(1) Dominant white (covers black but allows some red leakage) - one copy will produce yellow chicks with or without black spots that will grow up to be white with black spots. Two copies will give you solid white chickens.
(2) recessive white - one copy will give you anything except white, depending on the other genes involved.
(3) Splash (NOT actually white, but the chicken has a lot of white on it) - this is a gene that modifies black. One copy changes black to blue and 2 copies changes black to splash.

newly hatched dominant white chicks, one coy of gene
(two on the bottom of the picture)


young dominant white chicken, one copy of gene


2 splash pullets


Splash birds often have grey on the head. Splash to splash breedings can dilute the markings, producing a chicken more like the second splash. Blue to splash breedings creates 50% blue and 50% splash, and they tend to have better distribution of markings.

 

[Berryblue]

Think I understand the splash part. This is splash silkie
So the rooster will have at least one dominant white cause it looks white. But produced yellow chickens and possibly buff. Or just variations of buff? Does the yellow colour dominate over the blue if the silkie gives only blue gene?

 

[Chicken5555]

Think I understand the splash part. This is splash silkie
So the rooster will have at least one dominant white cause it looks white. But produced yellow chickens and possibly buff. Or just variations of buff? Does the yellow colour dominate over the blue if the silkie gives only blue gene?

Dominant white and splash are totally unrelated.

This bird is a splash *only* if this bird crossed with a black creates 100% blue chicks.
IF it is a splash, then crossed with buff you should only get blue chicks because this bird would pass on one black and one splash to every chick. Those two genes together creates blue (a variation of black), and buff is recessive to black.

If you are getting yellow chicks from a cross with a black or a buff bird, then your chicken here has dominant white and is not a splash.

 

[The Moonshiner]

This cockerel is from a dominate white (2 copies) rooster bred to a brown leghorn (no dominate white genes)
All offspring will get a dominate white gene from father and no dominate white from mother. So he carries one dominate white gene.
As others said one white gene does cover most black. He does have specks here and there of black. But one gene lets a lot of the red/ gold color to show through as you see with him.

Blue/ splash only affects the black color. The "yellow" color doesnt dominate blue. Because blue has nothing to do with colors other than black. You can change any black feathers on any pattern to blue or splash but everything else stays the same.

I believe you say your rooster is white with some leakage which leads you to believe he has one dominate white gene? That also means he has one gene there that isnt dominate white. His offspring has two choices which gene they get from him. Dominate white like himself or no white gene so depending on their mom his chicks could be many different possibilities.

 

[junebuggena]

I have 3 coops. I am keeping buff in 1 coop. Light in another coop and platinum, coronation, and silver in the other. I am keep the platinum, coronation, and silver hens with silver roosters to keep the colour in the hens.

Platinum and Silver are the same pattern, but platinum has Lavender added. Coronation is the same pattern as Light, but with Lavender. You should not have the Coronation in with the Platinum and Silver. That will produce mixed birds.

 

[Wappoke]

hi,
Still new to the genetics and trying to figure out my chickens.
If black x white = black
Then when my white rooster and black hen have white, kind of silver and black does that mean rooster has recessive white? Or is he not actually white?
Thanks for anyone who can help explain : )

Everyone did a good job of explaining things. I would like to add some additional thoughts.

You have to understand there is a difference in birds that are partially white and completely white.

The following assumes the completely black male has not had any completely white birds in his lineage

a completely black rooster x a completely white (recessive white) hen will normally produce completely black chicks

a completely black rooster x a completely white (dominant white) hen will normally produce some completely white and some that are predominantly white chicks (a few black spots or black feathers)

three examples of partially white birds are silver duck wing, silver-gray or columbian varieties- these are white because of the silver gene. Do a google search of the three variaties and you will see the difference between completely white and partially white. Google silver duck wing, columbian chicken and silver-gray dorking. The columbian variety has a lot of white but it is still partially white.

 

[Wappoke]

Think I understand the splash part. This is splash silkie
So the rooster will have at least one dominant white cause it looks white. But produced yellow chickens and possibly buff. Or just variations of buff? Does the yellow colour dominate over the blue if the silkie gives only blue gene?

yellow was the down color of the chicks not an adult plumage color. Forget the concept of a yellow chicken in this thread.

A completely white rooster (one copy of dominant white) x what is the variety of the hen= ?????????

A completely white rooster (one copy of dominant white x blue silkie = some white/predominantly white chicks, some black chicks and some blue chicks

all the chicks will be genetically black- the chicks that inherit a dominant white will be white/predominantly white, the black chicks do not inherit a blue or dominant white gene, the blue chicks inherit one blue gene

the dominant white gene cancels the black in the chick, the blue gene dilutes the black to blue