Do I want to learn about genetics? Yes. Is it very intimidating and scary? Yes.

[ChickForLife]

How do you know which to use say on a white leghorn? You have to use E/E S/S I/I, how do you know which ones to use? Like say S/S, what does silver do? It looks the same without it.

 

[NatJ]

How do you know which to use say on a white leghorn? You have to use E/E S/S I/I, how do you know which ones to use? Like say S/S, what does silver do? It looks the same without it.

For which to use, you guess, or you read about what is common for that breed, or if you have the actual chicken you can cross it to other breeds and figure out part of the genetics by looking at its chicks.

If White Leghorns are E/E and I/I, then you won't see any effect from them having S/S.
And you won't see it in their chicks, either, even if you cross to a different breed.
But when you get to grandchicks from a crossbreeding project, you can get chicks where they look different if they got S or s+ from the Leghorn.

 

[ChickForLife]

For which to use, you guess, or you read about what is common for that breed, or if you have the actual chicken you can cross it to other breeds and figure out part of the genetics by looking at its chicks.

If White Leghorns are E/E and I/I, then you won't see any effect from them having S/S.
And you won't see it in their chicks, either, even if you cross to a different breed.
But when you get to grandchicks from a crossbreeding project, you can get chicks where they look different if they got S or s+ from the Leghorn.

So you just guess if they have say S/S or not?

 

[NatJ]

So you just guess if they have say S/S or not?

Sometimes, yes.

 

[ChickForLife]

Sometimes, yes.

Alright, but if I want to get it correct I have to memorize most of what each breed has?

 

[NatJ]

Alright, but if I want to get it correct I have to memorize most of what each breed has?

You can memorize it. I have memorized a few of the ones I find most interesting.

Or you can look it up each time you need it, which is what I do for most breeds.

And for any gene that makes no visible difference, there might be some members of the breed that have a different gene there anyway. There is a long history of breeding chickens that look right, long before any of the genes were understood, so you may never know what's actually there genetically (unless you take a particular real bird and do some test mating, in which case you will be able to learn for that bird.)

 

[ChickForLife]

You can memorize it. I have memorized a few of the ones I find most interesting.

Or you can look it up each time you need it, which is what I do for most breeds.

And for any gene that makes no visible difference, there might be some members of the breed that have a different gene there anyway. There is a long history of breeding chickens that look right, long before any of the genes were understood, so you may never know what's actually there genetically (unless you take a particular real bird and do some test mating, in which case you will be able to learn for that bird.)

Thank you, that was helpful! Where do I look it up, just on the internet?

 

[NatJ]

Thank you, that was helpful! Where do I look it up, just on the internet?

Yes, sometimes just a google search, but I've found a few specific places that are often helpful.

There's a thread with genotypes for some breeds:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/genetics-calculator-pure-breed-dictionary.1433690/
And an article, with links to that thread to save scrolling through it all:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-calculator-pure-breed-dictionary-2-0.76203/

This article on a different site has tables listing genes for a few breeds/colors:
http://sellers.kippenjungle.nl/page2.html
(The tables are quite a ways down, near the bottom. And I remember there being some breed that's listed in two tables but with different genes, so probably one of those two is wrong.)

And the genetics calculator (one form) has the option to pick certain breeds/colors that have already been programmed in:
http://kippenjungle.nl/breeds/crossbreeds.html
The very top has a dropdown list of breeds--not all colors and not all breeds, but certainly some.

 

[ChickForLife]

Yes, sometimes just a google search, but I've found a few specific places that are often helpful.

There's a thread with genotypes for some breeds:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/genetics-calculator-pure-breed-dictionary.1433690/
And an article, with links to that thread to save scrolling through it all:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-calculator-pure-breed-dictionary-2-0.76203/

This article on a different site has tables listing genes for a few breeds/colors:
http://sellers.kippenjungle.nl/page2.html
(The tables are quite a ways down, near the bottom. And I remember there being some breed that's listed in two tables but with different genes, so probably one of those two is wrong.)

And the genetics calculator (one form) has the option to pick certain breeds/colors that have already been programmed in:
http://kippenjungle.nl/breeds/crossbreeds.html
The very top has a dropdown list of breeds--not all colors and not all breeds, but certainly some.

Okay, thanks!

 

[altballard]

Question.... (Sorry if this has been asked) If I cross a Wheaten Marans Roo to a Blue Copper Marans Hen can I work toward Blue Wheaten?

I was told the project should look like this...
F1 Wheaten Marans Roo to a Blue Copper Marans Hen
BC1 Leaky Blue Hen Back to Dad
BC2 Blue Wheaten Hen Back to Dad
BC3 Blue Wheaten Hen Back to Dad for clean up

I do have access to a Splash Marans Hen if that would be better. And I'm assuming I select the best Hen for APA and Egg Color.
TIA