Golden Comets

[Krys109uk]

Presuming the brown leghorn would also "pure" for the sex linked rapid feathering gene, then, no, it wouldn't make any difference whether the male leghorn was a white or brown. This is because the sex linked rate of feather growth gene being used is not affected by colour.

But I don't think that cross is similar to what they call a golden comet....I imagine "golden comets" are gold/silver type sex links.

I expect a leghorn X RIR would be a good layer though.

 

[HobbyChickener]

I gold comet is a white leghorn x rir cross. I am just wondered if / how the outcome changed if it was a brown instead of white or if that made a totally different breed/cross/sex link.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

OK, now I am confused. I thought the Golden Comet = RIR Roo X White Leghorn Hen produces what is called a
Cinnamon Queen. So are these two birds one and the same ?

Is a Golden Comet just a different name for a CQ ?

They also have cherry eggers, red stars and red sex links. What are these bird in comparison ?

rim

 

[Krys109uk]

I think those sound like gold/silver based sex links made by commercial companies.
A pure RIR with a pure white leghorn either way round would not give a gold sex link.
It is most probable that RIR & white leghorns are in the make up of these commercial hybrids but they are not a simple first cross any more than one of the meat birds called Cornish Rocks are a simple first cross between an Indian Game (Cornish) & a Plymouth Rock.

 

[HobbyChickener]

I am not sure I understand the whole gold/silver sexlinked thing. Can you explain it dumb guy terms?

 

[sherrydeanne]

The sexlink is made up because the roo is carrying one color gene and the hen is carrying another, in laymans terms. You need two different dominant colors, so some mixes won't work to make a sexlink. There are tons of possible sexlinks out there, you can do a search.
'
Here are some common mixes:

Gold breed roosters mated to silver and penciled breed hens produce buff or red females and cream, white or smoky males. Either sex may or may not show narrow striping.

Gold breed roosters include Rhode Island Reds and the buff varieties of the following breeds: Leghorn, Minorca, Wyandotte, Plymouth Rock and Cochin.

Silver and penciled hens include; White Wyandotte, Columbian Wyandotte, Silver-laced Wyandotte, Silver-penciled Wyandotte, Columbian Plymouth Rock, Silver-penciled Plymouth Rock, Light Sussex, Light Brahma and Dark Brahma.

 

[HobbyChickener]

Search here? or just the internet? I would think in that case you would not be able to do the brown leghorn to make a sexlinked bird then because they colors are to close.

 

[Krys109uk]

I am not sure I understand the whole gold/silver sexlinked thing.

In mammals the males have different sex chromosomes i.e. XY & the females the same i.e. XX. In aves it is the other way round & they have different names. The male has two Z chromosomes, the same i.e. ZZ & the female two different sex chromosomes Zw. Thus in aves the female determines the sex of the offspring. The genes known as "sex linked" genes are to be found on the Z chromosome. The sex linked thing depends upon dominant & recessive genes on the Z chromosome. Sex linked gold & its allele (alternative) silver are on the Z chromosome. Silver is dominant (incompletely dominant but isn't terribly important for this explanation).
If a female has the silver gene on her single Z chromosome & a male has a gold gene on each of his two Z chromosomes. The male offspring will inherit a silver gene from the mother's Z chromosome & a gold gene from the father's Z chromosome & having inherited a Z chromosome from each parent will be a male. The silver gene is dominant over the gold gene & the offspring will be lighter at hatch. All of the female offspring will inherit a w chromosome from the mother (& this has neither gold not silver) & it will inherit a gold gene from the father. Thus the female offspring can only be gold & are darker at hatch than the males.

Many white leghorns do carry silver but in a pure white leghorn the black under the white & the dominant white itself would show & whether it carried silver or not would be irrelevant. Theoretically all of the offspring would be white with leakage.​

 

[Krys109uk]

I would think in that case you would not be able to do the brown leghorn to make a sexlinked bird then because they colors are to close.

No a brown leghorn would not work with a RIR for a gold/silver sex link because both birds are genetically gold.......... but gold & silver are not the only sex linked traits. Rapid & slow feathering are also on the Z chromosome & are used for sex links. For that, presuming brown leghorns are rapid feathering then they could be used with RIR as a sex links because RIR are slow feathering.

Nothing to do with the colour of the birds.​

 

[HobbyChickener]

How do you know what is genetically gold or silver? What about the feather speed?

Maybe I should just stick to my mutt eggs, they are just as tasty