Genetics can be wild

[Chikn-Chik]

Back in the winter I bought several eggs from a friend to hatch. Two of those eggs came from the same pair of chickens. A showgirl rooster with a turken hen. I know when you cross those two together there no telling what you could get, and I have proof of that! These two roosters, I call them the twins (different eggs but the same parents lol) came out nothing alike. I haven't named them yet but I should since I'm keeping them both.

Rooster number 1 came out heavily feathered with typical chicken feathers and he's gorgeous! Pictures don't do his coloring justice. He looks more Cochin like to me.

Rooster number 2 came out half feathered with silkie feathers lol but I think he's just a pretty. He is also my first stripper showgirl.

I'm not going to use either in my showgirl program but I am going to keep them for future projects. I just thought I'd share how unpredictable genetics can be!




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[junebuggena]

These birds just reveal that what you thought were 'purebred' birds, were not. The Turken hen is carrying a gene for Silkie feathering (recessive), and neither parent is pure for the naked neck gene(dominant). It also shows that either one parent has a single copy of dominant white, or they both are carrying recessive white. Now that you have a better idea of what is lurking in the gene pool of your showgirl breeding program, you can make better choices.

 

[Chikn-Chik]

I've saw the parents of these birds once, the rooster is a paint showgirl and the turken hen was tan with black wing and tail tips. Since a showgirl is made up of a turken crossed with silkie, cross that back with a turken I had no idea what would come of it. I was kind of surprised to see the silkie feathering in the second rooster.


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[junebuggena]

Turken to Silkie would not produce a showgirl, since showgirls are silkie feathered. You have to breed the naked necked offspring back to a Silkie to get showgirls. It takes at least 2 generations of breeding to consistently produce Showgirls. Turkens are not supposed to be carrying the silkie feathering genes. It indicates that your hen likely has showgirl 'project' blood in her ancestry.
And Paint is caused by a single copy of dominant white, explaining one birchen male and the other being paint.