Color Genetics

[Morelias]

I've been diving into the genetics of colors recently. I think I correctly grasp the concept of complete and incomplete dominant genes. For example, blue is a co-dom and can be shown as Bb and when the two small bb's are shown it will create a totally new look aka the splash. Complete doms are shown as CC and will always look the same if you breed the 2 and will always show over recessive genes.

Lemon blue in particular is what started this thread. What is the gene that makes a blue a "lemon" blue? Is it just blue over the shade of red instead of black?

My second question is what is silver blue? I understand it's purpose is to make a bold contrast. To make a white colored bird without taking away dark patterns. What are the genes involved?

Lastly out of curiosity, is there a color that is dominant above all? Like if a chicken has this color/gene it will always show no matter what other genes are present?

Any genetic info for basic colors you would like to provide or good links to such are welcome too! I'd love to understand the basic foundation even more.

Thanks!

 

[The Moonshiner]

I've been diving into the genetics of colors recently. I think I correctly grasp the concept of complete and incomplete dominant genes. For example, blue is a co-dom and can be shown as Bb and when the two small bb's are shown it will create a totally new look aka the splash. Complete doms are shown as CC and will always look the same if you breed the 2 and will always show over recessive genes.

Lemon blue in particular is what started this thread. What is the gene that makes a blue a "lemon" blue? Is it just blue over the shade of red instead of black?

My second question is what is silver blue? I understand it's purpose is to make a bold contrast. To make a white colored bird without taking away dark patterns. What are the genes involved?

Lastly out of curiosity, is there a color that is dominant above all? Like if a chicken has this color/gene it will always show no matter what other genes are present?

Any genetic info for basic colors you would like to provide or good links to such are welcome too! I'd love to understand the basic foundation even more.

Thanks!

Lemon blue is blue added to a gold birchen (AKA brown red) pattern.
Silver blue is blue added to a silver duckwing pattern.
Color that is dominate over all..... Just off the top of my head I'm thinking recessive white. Its recessive so takes two copies to be expressed but I can't think of anything it wouldn't cover and make a completely white bird.

 

[nicalandia]

Lemon blue is blue added to a gold birchen (AKA brown red) pattern.
Silver blue is blue added to a silver duckwing pattern.
Color that is dominate over all..... Just off the top of my head I'm thinking recessive white. Its recessive so takes two copies to be expressed but I can't think of anything it wouldn't cover and make a completely white bird.

That is a pretty good post, thanks

 

[JacinLarkwell]

@Pyxis
@ColtHandorf
@Overo Mare
@The Moonshiner

 

[Amer]

Lemon blue in particular is what started this thread. What is the gene that makes a blue a "lemon" blue? Is it just blue over the shade of red instead of black?
Yeah, it’s brown red (also known as gold birchen) but while blue very much dilutes black, blue dilutes the gold a little as well, giving you “lemon.”

My second question is what is silver blue? I understand it's purpose is to make a bold contrast. To make a white colored bird without taking away dark patterns. What are the genes involved?
Silver blue is silver birchen with a blue gene.
There are two types of pigment that chickens have: eumelanin and phaeomelanin, black and gold respectively.
They can be controlled separately. The silver gene “turns off” the gold pigment, so the feathers are white wherever the gold was. It doesn’t affect the eumelanin at all, so the blue remains. Does that make sense?

Lastly out of curiosity, is there a color that is dominant above all? Like if a chicken has this color/gene it will always show no matter what other genes are present?
Like Moonshiner said, recessive white is “recessive” above all, and hides all pigment.