Guinea Genetics Question... Lavender pops up after hundreds of keets?

[mississippifarmboy]

Just curious if anyone knows why this is happening now.

I started years ago with a pair of pearl guineas. Never had any other color on the farm, ever. From that original pair I hatched a few dozen and every year have been hatching from the previous year's birds. In the past 6 years or so I've probably hatched out close to a thousand keets. All are descended from that original pair.

This spring, I sat eggs as normal and last week had a blueish, silvery looking keet hatch out. Now, this morning, I have another. I'm assuming it's lavender although I have no experience with any color other than the regular old everyday, run-of-the-mill pearls.

My question is this.... Why now? What would cause what is obviously a very recessive gene to pop up after all these years? I think they look cool, just puzzled as to why I've never had it happen before now.

 

[PeepsCA]

Small percentages of hidden recessive colors eventually pop up in the hatches of a closed flock. Sometimes it takes a few generations since not all eggs hatch in each clutch, and that most likely helped narrow the chances of a Lavender keet showing up over the years. The color genes need to pair up to show up in the hatches (they need one Lavender gene from each parent).

It's also possible only 1 of your Pearl Greys carried the recessive Lavender gene somewhere in it's background, and has been passing it off to it's offspring, and now finally this season 2 of birds that are carrying that hidden gene (either 2 of the offspring or 1 offspring and the parent carrying the gene) bred and successfully produced a couple of Lavender keets (assuming both keets were from the same pair of birds... but there could be more birds carrying the Lavender gene).


Close to the same thing happened in my closed flock of Pearl Greys, Royal Purples & Buff Dundottes that only hatched keets in those 3 colors for years and years... (but predators and weather had only let my Hens successcully hatch a clutch or 2 each year, and I never saw one single Lavender keet). Finally when I incubated and hatched 300+ keets from their eggs, 2 of them turned out to be Lavenders.

Post a pic of your keets, I'll be able to tell you if they are Lavenders.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Thanks! I'll try and upload a picture... not sure if I can. I've been lurking on the new forum because I haven't really figured out how to do much here yet, but I'll attempt it I guess. I had to take the picture with my phone because I lost my card for the camera, so not a great picture. If it posts, I'll try and take a better one later if needed.
This is the one in the brooder, about a week old I guess. The other is still in the hatcher and won't come out until tomorrow.

 

[PeepsCA]

Yep, that's a Lavender. Too Cute!

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Yep, that's a Lavender. Too Cute!

Thanks PeepsCA. Just checked, 20 have hatched so far today and now there's a THIRD one... jeez. Wish now I'd kept the flock.

 

[PeepsCA]

Lol oh no, you got rid of your flock? Well keep these Lavenders and a few of the other keets from that flock (that are hopefully carrying the Lavender gene), you'll probably hatch lots more Lavenders next year!

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Yeah, most years I keep a pair or two, but since I had around a hundred eggs in the Sportsmans I just sold all of the adults, figured I'd just keep a few of the little ones when they hatched out. We only keep a dozen or so guineas each years for tick and bug control, never really tried to raise them to sell. We just hatch out a few, keep what we want, sell enough to help on the feed bill to local folks and eat the rest.

Sorta cool to see these pop up though.