Cuckoo Silkies- Updated Pics Page 4

[3ChickensinNC]

I haven't found an answer how to tell the difference yet. If they are like my double cuckoo Polish then it would be lighter in coloring. I doubt anyone is sellingchicks with the weather being hot. Also many breeders of this color hold onto their chicks. Keep your eye out on the buy, sell, trade forum. I have a few emails sent out,but nothing yet. Plus those emails are old.

 

[earlybird69]

cool. once i get a few more, i plan on breading them and selling them.

 

[Theresa sla]

Anyone working with cuckoo's with a little bit more color?? Creole? Lemons? Lavenders? And if so once you have cuckoo is it all a matter of just mixing with partridge or other silkies??

 

[sweetmsmisty98]

Ok I am new to the cuckoo thing also. I bought 3 chicks all are about 2 months old now. 2 have the barred and one is black. The lady said the black one is split to cuckoo. I am 85% sure the black is female. But the barred ones I'm not so sure. One has a definate red comb.the black one and other barred one have dark skin. Would that mean I have a roo and two girls? And if I used the black girl with a blackboy wwould I get cuckoo babies ?

 

[Theresa sla]

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will correct me but.... Girls have one gene responsible for cuckoo and boys have two responsible for cuckoo pattern. You can gett non cuckoo patterned birds out of cuckoo pairing. (as long as your rooster isn't double barred) but if they don't show markings they don't carry the genes for it. Even if one gene is there it will show the pattern, and double barred trumps all, if you have a double barred rooster all of the chicks will hatch out cuckoo.
I'm not a genetics pro, but there is something in the genes for cuckoo that also restricts the black skin pigment. And everyone is working hard to get rid of this pigment color restriction.
It IS harder to get rid of the skin pigment problem in roosters than hens. But it happens in both sexes. I hatched out eggs last year from a breeder, some roosters ended up with fairly dark skin or at lest patches of black here and there. And my only cuckoo hen i got has bubble gum pink skin and comb. So it is not a sure way to sex them. Hope that helps

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Ok I am new to the cuckoo thing also. I bought 3 chicks all are about 2 months old now. 2 have the barred and one is black. The lady said the black one is split to cuckoo. I am 85% sure the black is female. But the barred ones I'm not so sure. One has a definate red comb.the black one and other barred one have dark skin. Would that mean I have a roo and two girls? And if I used the black girl with a blackboy wwould I get cuckoo babies ?

You cannot split to cuckoo. Cuckoo comes from the barring gene, which is incompletely dominant. If it is present, it WILL show (unless all pigment is prevented by white). A solid black bird cannot and does not carry the barring gene. No way, no how. The black pullet might have come from a cuckoo mother bred to a black. This is a sex-linked cross, and all the cuckoo chicks wll be males carrying one copy of the gene. Black chicks will all be female. A cuckoo cock (two copies of barring) bred to a black female will give 100% chicks with one copy of the gene. (The males will be heterozyous for barring, the females hemizygous.)

Breed a male with one copy of the gene with a cuckoo female and you will get males with one and two copies of the gene and both cuckoo and black females. Breed a male with one copy with a black female and you will get cuckoo (one copy) and black of both genders.

Breed a cuckoo male (2 copies of barring) to a cuckoo female and you have autosexing birds: the male chicks will have a larger white head spot; the females will hve a very small headspot. As they mature, the males will be much lighter in colouring than the females. All will have problems with lighter skin and redder combs: the barring gene itself lightens skin. Much of this is not obvious until puberty when the birds hormones increase. With two copies of the barring gene, males will have more of an issue with too light skin/red comb than will the girls with only one copy.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will correct me but.... Girls have one gene responsible for cuckoo and boys have two responsible for cuckoo pattern. You can gett non cuckoo patterned birds out of cuckoo pairing. (as long as your rooster isn't double barred) but if they don't show markings they don't carry the genes for it. Even if one gene is there it will show the pattern, and double barred trumps all, if you have a double barred rooster all of the chicks will hatch out cuckoo.
I'm not a genetics pro, but there is something in the genes for cuckoo that also restricts the black skin pigment. And everyone is working hard to get rid of this pigment color restriction.
It IS harder to get rid of the skin pigment problem in roosters than hens. But it happens in both sexes. I hatched out eggs last year from a breeder, some roosters ended up with fairly dark skin or at lest patches of black here and there. And my only cuckoo hen i got has bubble gum pink skin and comb. So it is not a sure way to sex them. Hope that helps

Just to clarify, there is only one gene involved: barring. It is a sex-linked gene, meaning that girls are capable of only having one copy, while boys can have two.

Adding melanizers that darken skin MIGHT help with lighter skin, but it is also likely to mess with the barring; what is needed is a melanizer that works well on skin, but has little or no afect on the feathers. I wonder what would happen if someone tried breeding in a cemani?

 

[Theresa sla]

Excellent info!!
Glad to have people out there to help us all understand how it all boils down. I never heard that you couldn't ever have the double copy barring gene and dark skin, just thought it was still in the beginning stages of being breed out. Good to know:/
Excellent idea to breed in a cemani. If I'm remembering my chickens correctly. They're the lovely shiney black on black on black beauties. Stunning birds but pricey and hard to come by, right?

 

[Theresa sla]

Just did some looking about the cemani someone reported 8 eggs just sold on eBay for a little over $400 ouch!!! Think my hubby would cancel my credit cards after a purchase like that!
just wanted to share

 

[sweetmsmisty98]

You cannot split to cuckoo.  Cuckoo comes from the barring gene, which is incompletely dominant.  If it is present, it WILL show (unless all pigment is prevented by white).  A solid black bird cannot and does not carry the barring gene.  No way, no how.  The black pullet might have come from a cuckoo mother bred to a black.  This is a sex-linked cross, and all the cuckoo chicks wll be males carrying one copy of the gene.  Black chicks will all be female.  A cuckoo cock (two copies of barring) bred to a black female will give 100% chicks with one copy of the gene.  (The males will be heterozyous for barring, the females hemizygous.)

Breed a male with one copy of the gene with a cuckoo female and you will get males with one and two copies of the gene and both cuckoo and black females.  Breed a male with one copy with a black female and you will get cuckoo (one copy) and black of both genders.

Breed a cuckoo male (2 copies of barring) to a cuckoo female and you have autosexing birds: the male chicks will have a larger white head spot; the females will hve a very small headspot.  As they mature, the males will be much lighter in colouring than the females.  All will have problems with lighter skin and redder combs: the barring gene itself lightens skin.  Much of this is not obvious until puberty when the birds hormones increase.  With two copies of the barring gene, males will have more of an issue with too light skin/red comb than will the girls with only one copy.

Ok. So now I am curious. The lady I got them fom said that she only had a cuckoo roo. Hmmm or maybe just one cuckoo roo in general. So it could be safe tosay that I can use that black pullet in my black pen with no worries of cuckoo showing up in her offspring