Colors classifications

[kfacres]

Anyone know any good color classification websites to learn the different color patterns? The Ameraucana association was great, but I know there are more colors out there.

Also, what kind of color combo's work out great together, like white on black makes blue?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
As in what colours of parents produce what colours of offspring?

Well, in general it's best to breed like to like: buff to buff, silver laced to slver laced, birchen to birchen. There are some colours that can be bred together because their genotpes are compatible. Best place to start understanding is http://kippenjungle.nl/basisEN.htm#basisEN

White on black does not create blue. White is an off switch, not a dilution.

 

[kfacres]

sorry, but I could not get that link to work, even by copy/ paste..

Isn't white differing between breeds, sometimes dominate, sometimes recessive? wouldn't it matter b/w breeds more so than colors..

Got any other good sites to start?

What about the chicken color calculator that I have read about on here?


TY

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Not sure why it wouldn't work for you. I just tried it and it works fine. There are two entirely separate white genes. One is dominant, the other is recessive. However they are both OFF stitches; they do work differently. Recessive white prevents cells from making pigment; dominant white prevents cells from placing pigment into the feather follicles.

Dilution genes work but either chemically altering the pigment and/or by limiting the amount. I've heard the chemical alteration referred to as oxidizing, but I'm stepping into water over my head here and am not sure if the term is used as an actuallity or figuratively.

Here is one of the chicken calculator links (there are several, and I am not sure which is the latest and greatest). http://kippenjungle.nl/kruising.html

 

[kfacres]

I still can't get the link to work, maybe I'll try a different computor tonight when I get home.

So let me get this right, the white works to remove color on the feather- and make solid color pattern-- black, blue, white, buff, etc..

so take a white and breed it a partridge, and result in a black, or whatever the basal color of the partridge was.

 

[kfacres]

hey while doing a google search, I've helped answer my own question

http://www.bantychicken.com/OEGBCA/varitiemain.html

is a good place to start looking at colors

 

[sabella]

You're thinking of splash.. Splash + black = blue. A splash bird is one who got two copies of the dillute gene. It's the similar to cremello / perlino in horses.

White negates other colors. So if you breed white to black you should get 50/50 black and white. White doesn't alter other colors, it covers them up.

 

[sabella]

At the bottom of the link that Sonoran posted there is a chart that I couldn't paste here.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
No. White turns OFF te appearance of all colours or patterns genetically present in the bird. Think of it as being like a can of food that has had the label removed. No telling what is hidden inside that can once the label is gone, but if you open the can, it still contains the same things as before the label was removed.

With recessive white, the bird must carry two copies to activate the OFF switch. That means it must inherit a copy from Mama and also from Papa. If it inherits only one copy, there is no way, based upon appearance, to tell if it is present in the bird.

With dominant white, a single copy prevents black pigment from entering the feathers, but will allow red pigment through. A second copy prevents red pigment as well as black. Dominant white is leaky--think of it like an electric switch that is slightly frayed/shorted. Sometimes the wire lets a bit of electricity through, but other times not at all. Breeds that that are typically dominant white usually have additional genes to help create a uniformly white bird: silver & barring.

ANyways,breed a recessive white to a partridge and there is no way to predict what colour the offspring will be--it is like adding that unlabeled can to a stew. Might be great if it is a can of carrots or peas, but might be really bad if it is a can of blueberry pie filling. You are adding in a set of unknown genes that may or may not mesh well.

Breeding a dominant white is similarly unpredictable.

 

[t/m]

Quote:
No. White turns OFF te appearance of all colours or patterns genetically present in the bird. Think of it as being like a can of food that has had the label removed. No telling what is hidden inside that can once the label is gone, but if you open the can, it still contains the same things as before the label was removed.

With recessive white, the bird must carry two copies to activate the OFF switch. That means it must inherit a copy from Mama and also from Papa. If it inherits only one copy, there is no way, based upon appearance, to tell if it is present in the bird.

With dominant white, a single copy prevents black pigment from entering the feathers, but will allow red pigment through. A second copy prevents red pigment as well as black. Dominant white is leaky--think of it like an electric switch that is slightly frayed/shorted. Sometimes the wire lets a bit of electricity through, but other times not at all. Breeds that that are typically dominant white usually have additional genes to help create a uniformly white bird: silver & barring.

ANyways,breed a recessive white to a partridge and there is no way to predict what colour the offspring will be--it is like adding that unlabeled can to a stew. Might be great if it is a can of carrots or peas, but might be really bad if it is a can of blueberry pie filling. You are adding in a set of unknown genes that may or may not mesh well.

Breeding a dominant white is similarly unpredictable.

I can see why you got a BYC Educator award. I don't know much about all this stuff but read them anyway... maybe someday it will all come to me!! Anyway your explanation and examples (can/label) were very good. Thank you!