Guinea Fowl Genetics

[ejluzar]

If we breed a pearl pied with a pearl, is the pied trait dominant or recessive?

 

[PeepsCA]

I wouldn't exactly call it dominant, but if the entire clutch of eggs hatches (100% hatch rate isn't all that common), you could end up with 50% Pied keets, 50% non-Pied keets

 

[User105877]

I'm wondering about crossing lavenders with chocolate and whites, will I get different pied colors? I know lavenders with pied chest but what about chocolate with say a lavender?

 

[rollyard]

If you breed a Pearl Grey with a Pied Pearl Grey then you will breed both colourforms (in some cases only if numbers bred), but you may also breed other colours/patterns!

Your factor for pied pattern is as I understand an incompletely dominant acting gene, ie, one dose will express but won't have full effect, so one dose = a pied bird, & two doses = a white bird (as I understand remember)! In one dose I believe from past reading your pied gene to express quite variably with some birds only having a couple of white feathers, while others have considerably moreso, & everything in between.

If you cross Lavender with Chocolate then you will only get Lavender progeny if the Choc bird also carries the auto recessive! And what is Chocolate genetically anyway? The Lavender may also carry hidden recessives, so unexpected colour outcomes always possible when genetics of stock birds in question, so you could get some different colours/patterns, including pied (assuming you are talking about Chocolate Pied birds).

I do wonder about your gene/s for white markings!

 

[melroseladi]

I have been trying to figure out guinea genetics and wonder how I got a male buff dundotte since it is my understanding that a male would need 2 genes, 1 from the mother and 1 from the father. My adults are 2 gray males and 2 gray females with 1 female having white flight feathers.

 

[rollyard]

According to several resources, the factor for buff (d) is an autosomal recessive, so yes, that is correct, a bird (both males & females) needs two buff genes (homozygous) for the colour to express. At least one of your wild-type males & one of your wild-type females carry hidden (one dose) of the recessive factor for buff, ie, D+/d x D+/d equals approx (according to probability):-

25% D+/D+ (Pearl Grey)
50% D+/d (Pearl Grey with hidden hetero buff dilution) &
25% d/d (Buff)

White flight feathers are likely catered for by some other factor similar to that in other species!

 

[melroseladi]

Quote:
It is my understanding that for brown background colors (brown, buff, chocolate) that the females only need one gene from either parent but that the males need 2 genes, one from each parent. Is that not correct? If it is correct then I should be able to put my buff dundotte over a gray and any buff dundottes that hatch out should all be females since they would only have one gene.

I so can't wait for breeding season to start again, lol.

 

[rollyard]

Some sources suggest that the factor/s for Buff/Brown/Choc/Dun are believed to be sex-linked while others say autosomal? It would be interesting to hear of any outcomes where a "Brown-ish" male mated to Grey female & only "Brown-ish" female progeny produced (with some numbers bred). If the factor for Buff/etc on the Z chromosome & recessive, then yes, a Buff male (d/d) x to Grey female (D+/-) without hidden influencing factors @ other loci should produce female Buff/etc progeny (assuming only one factor for Brown @ work). If the Buff gene on an autosomal chromosome & recessive, then both male & female progeny need to inherit one dose each from each parent making them pure (homozygous) for the gene.

It could well be that there is only one major factor for "brown" with additional enhancers &/or diluters modifying tone?

 

[jcatblum]

This is so over my head!!!

 

[PeepsCA]

Mine too, lol