EE’s puffs abd beards

[Aggiedusty]

Please Can somebody tell me if beards and puffs on EEs are from a dominant gene or a recessive gene. I have many types of chickens on the ranch and sell eggs and chickens to locals but have become most interested in Ameraucanas but for now have EEs. I have hatched many eggs of other varieties with brooding hen and incubator but have noticed interesting but confusing results with EEs. EE hens crossed with any other breed I have yields beautiful hens and roosters all with puffs and beards even more handsome than parents. Ordered a year ago 3 EE roosters from hatchery called Ameraucanas of course and 2 were a normal color for that rooster and bearded but one was white with black tails and streaked neck feathers but no beard. Used him on my 10 hens all same brown w/black markings and most have Ps and Bs. Set eggs under brood buff Orpington hen and hatched 7. Lucky me 5 hens, 3 being brown/black blend but no Bs and no Ps. 2 more pullets were what I actually was looking for a match to rooster with white and black markings almost yielding a grey look at distance , both w/complete beautiful Bs and Ps.. Same colored sibling rooster smaller pea comb than dad and no Ps and Bs like dad. Other rooster normal browns and blacks and golden neck and beautiful P and B. Of 5 hens 4 lay beautiful robin blue eggs and 1 lays white. Do not know who white egg layer is yet. Originally I thought beards and puffs held fatal gene but now have read it’s Araucana rumpless gene. Correct??? But why do some EEs have beards and puffs and some not and how can they be assured to be passed on. Example summarized, my EE white/black rooster beardless and no puffs on top EE brown hens w/B&P resulted in brown pullets no B&P same color as mothers and white/black hens matching dad actually do have Most beautiful B&Ps.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Originally I thought beards and puffs held fatal gene but now have read it’s Araucana rumpless gene. Correct?

Aye.

But why do some EEs have beards and puffs and some not

Because some populations are bred to have the muffs, and some are not.

my EE white/black rooster beardless and no puffs on top EE brown hens w/B&P resulted in brown pullets no B&P same color as mothers and white/black hens matching dad actually do have Most beautiful B&Ps.

That's because Dad isn't an Ameraucana. An Ameraucana would have a beard and muffs. Since he doesn't, he's not.

Muffs and beards are caused by the same gene, which I think is called Mb (don't quote me on the genetic shorthand). If he doesn't have either, then he has mb, which is a lack of Muff/Beard.

So he's a diploid organism (aren't we all?) and carries two copies of every gene, one inherited from each parent. So, since he's beardless, you know he's mb/mb (beardless/beardless)

Mum, on the other hand, is bearded. That means she's Mb/? (the question mark is to represent that we don't know whether that gene is Mb or mb)

So we cross
Dad (mb/mb) with
Mum (Mb/?).

We get (Mb/mb) and (?/mb) chicks.

Since only half of the chicks are bearded, we know that the unbearded chicks are mb/mb, and that, therefore, ? = mb.

Colour has pretty much nothing to do with the muff gene, and the colour of the chickens that have beards is coincidental.

and how can they be assured to be passed on.

If you want to hatch bearded chickens only, you'll have to eliminate the unbearded gene. The simplest way to do this, of course, is to find parent birds that already are Mb/Mb.

If you can't do this, keep your mb/mb rooster, and an mb/mb hen, and cross both of them with bearded chickens.

If the bearded chickens have unbearded offspring with the unbearded chickens, then you know that the bearded chickens are Mb/mb and can produce beardless offspring. Those chickens would have to be culled.

If the chicks were all bearded, then the parent was Mb/Mb, and will only ever produce bearded offspring. Keeping only the chickens that produced 100% bearded chicks, keep breeding.

 

[Aggiedusty]

Aye.


Because some populations are bred to have the muffs, and some are not.


That's because Dad isn't an Ameraucana. An Ameraucana would have a beard and muffs. Since he doesn't, he's not.

Muffs and beards are caused by the same gene, which I think is called Mb (don't quote me on the genetic shorthand). If he doesn't have either, then he has mb, which is a lack of Muff/Beard.

So he's a diploid organism (aren't we all?) and carries two copies of every gene, one inherited from each parent. So, since he's beardless, you know he's mb/mb (beardless/beardless)

Mum, on the other hand, is bearded. That means she's Mb/? (the question mark is to represent that we don't know whether that gene is Mb or mb)

So we cross
Dad (mb/mb) with
Mum (Mb/?).

We get (Mb/mb) and (?/mb) chicks.

Since only half of the chicks are bearded, we know that the unbearded chicks are mb/mb, and that, therefore, ? = mb.

Colour has pretty much nothing to do with the muff gene, and the colour of the chickens that have beards is coincidental.


If you want to hatch bearded chickens only, you'll have to eliminate the unbearded gene. The simplest way to do this, of course, is to find parent birds that already are Mb/Mb.

If you can't do this, keep your mb/mb rooster, and an mb/mb hen, and cross both of them with bearded chickens.

If the bearded chickens have unbearded offspring with the unbearded chickens, then you know that the bearded chickens are Mb/mb and can produce beardless offspring. Those chickens would have to be culled.

If the chicks were all bearded, then the parent was Mb/Mb, and will only ever produce bearded offspring. Keeping only the chickens that produced 100% bearded chicks, keep breeding.

That all makes perfect sense and relatively easy to put into practice. Now just need more smaller coups for pairings of these birds. You are very well versed in genetic makeups of. EEs and Ameraucanas. Thank you for sharing in such detail. Really helps to paint the picture for me.