How do genes work?

[BubbaBubbles]

So, as a lot of y'all know, Trifle and Truffles had 6 chicks (5 sold off now that they're grown, kept Mable, their daughter.)
All of the chicks, however, came out having Trifle's markings only. I was hoping at least one would have Truffles' beautiful red coloring but none of them did. I couldn't tell any of the cockerels apart when I had them! So, can someone tell me... Is the father's genes just stronger and more likely to be passed on? What are the chances of any future babies possibly having mama Truffles looks?
NOTE: I am not breeding for money or doing anything inhumane. I just like to give my girls chances to raise their own babies whenever I have the spare time and space.

Mable (6 months)

Parents Truffles and Trifle

 

[Perris]

you might find this article useful
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...cs-egg-color-feathering-inbreeding-etc.73285/

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

This is a bit delayed of a response, I apologize, but I wanted to answer a few of your questions. Mainly that, no, the father's genetics are not necessarily stronger in general, it's all about the dominance of the genes that each parent has.

Genes come in pairs, and out of each pair one is inherited from an individual's father and one from its mother. Each gene pair could be matching or mismatched depending on the parents' genetics. If a gene pair is mismatched, the gene in that pair that is more dominant is the one that expresses. All genes have a particular locus (or location) along the DNA strand where they exist, so for example you cannot have a blue gene (Bl) and a dominant white gene (I) paired together because those two genes occupy different loci. However, genes known to occupy the same locus, such as dominant white (I) and dun (I^d) can be paired together. As you can gather from that, each locus has a specific base letter or set of base letters assigned to it so that you know which genes can go at that locus and be paired with one another. Generally, the ones that are capitalized are the dominant genes and the ones that are lowercase are recessive.

In the case of your birds, I see E extended black on the father. That gene extends black plumage across the body, and it's the most dominant of the known e-locus genes. That means that it does not matter what the mother's e-locus genes are or what she passed on to her chicks, if he passes on E extended black then that is what will express over any other e-locus gene. Whatever the mother has at the e-locus will always be hidden by it.

I also see the blue gene, Bl, in your male. This gene is what's known as a partially dominant gene, meaning that one copy of the gene gives a partial effect and a matched pair of two copies gives the full effect of the gene. With the blue gene, black plumage is diluted to blue with one copy, or further to whitish with blue flecks, a coloration known as splash, with two copies. Your male for sure has two copies and is splash colored, and your female must have at least one copy in order for their daughter to be splash colored like her father as she appears to be.

I do see dominant white, I, in your hen. The interesting thing about that gene is that, when only one copy is present, it allows the color underneath to leak through in flecks. So a bird that is solid black genetically but has one copy of dominant white usually ends up mostly white with a few stray black feathers here and there. This is particularly interesting in your cross because combining dominant white with E extended black and a blue gene from the male in this cross would make a mostly white bird with blue feathers here and there. Similar to how your male looks, but genetically different. So it's possible that some of their offspring are genetically this combination instead and still look similar to their father!

So because your male has more dominant pattern genetics overall, and what your hen has that is dominant can make a pattern similar to your male's coloration, that is why the offspring looked mostly like him. You would have the same results if the roles were flipped, if the mother was splash while the father was whitish with red coloring.

As for future babies looking like Truffles, it's hard to predict with crossings such as this that start out with mixed genetics. It's likely that if you bred one of her sons back to her, then you'd get some chicks that feather out similar to her. But since I am not totally sure what her genetics are, I cannot guarantee that, of course. Her pattern resembles Red Pyle, if you wanted to search out more birds similar her, but, based on what I'm seeing in her plumage (darker flecks here and there, and the reddish coloring extending beyond where it would on a pure Red Pyle), I don't think she is pure for that coloration.

 

[BubbaBubbles]

This is a bit delayed of a response, I apologize, but I wanted to answer a few of your questions. Mainly that, no, the father's genetics are not necessarily stronger in general, it's all about the dominance of the genes that each parent has.

Genes come in pairs, and out of each pair one is inherited from an individual's father and one from its mother. Each gene pair could be matching or mismatched depending on the parents' genetics. If a gene pair is mismatched, the gene in that pair that is more dominant is the one that expresses. All genes have a particular locus (or location) along the DNA strand where they exist, so for example you cannot have a blue gene (Bl) and a dominant white gene (I) paired together because those two genes occupy different loci. However, genes known to occupy the same locus, such as dominant white (I) and dun (I^d) can be paired together. As you can gather from that, each locus has a specific base letter or set of base letters assigned to it so that you know which genes can go at that locus and be paired with one another. Generally, the ones that are capitalized are the dominant genes and the ones that are lowercase are recessive.

In the case of your birds, I see E extended black on the father. That gene extends black plumage across the body, and it's the most dominant of the known e-locus genes. That means that it does not matter what the mother's e-locus genes are or what she passed on to her chicks, if he passes on E extended black then that is what will express over any other e-locus gene. Whatever the mother has at the e-locus will always be hidden by it.

I also see the blue gene, Bl, in your male. This gene is what's known as a partially dominant gene, meaning that one copy of the gene gives a partial effect and a matched pair of two copies gives the full effect of the gene. With the blue gene, black plumage is diluted to blue with one copy, or further to whitish with blue flecks, a coloration known as splash, with two copies. Your male for sure has two copies and is splash colored, and your female must have at least one copy in order for their daughter to be splash colored like her father as she appears to be.

I do see dominant white, I, in your hen. The interesting thing about that gene is that, when only one copy is present, it allows the color underneath to leak through in flecks. So a bird that is solid black genetically but has one copy of dominant white usually ends up mostly white with a few stray black feathers here and there. This is particularly interesting in your cross because combining dominant white with E extended black and a blue gene from the male in this cross would make a mostly white bird with blue feathers here and there. Similar to how your male looks, but genetically different. So it's possible that some of their offspring are genetically this combination instead and still look similar to their father!

So because your male has more dominant pattern genetics overall, and what your hen has that is dominant can make a pattern similar to your male's coloration, that is why the offspring looked mostly like him. You would have the same results if the roles were flipped, if the mother was splash while the father was whitish with red coloring.

As for future babies looking like Truffles, it's hard to predict with crossings such as this that start out with mixed genetics. It's likely that if you bred one of her sons back to her, then you'd get some chicks that feather out similar to her. But since I am not totally sure what her genetics are, I cannot guarantee that, of course. Her pattern resembles Red Pyle, if you wanted to search out more birds similar her, but, based on what I'm seeing in her plumage (darker flecks here and there, and the reddish coloring extending beyond where it would on a pure Red Pyle), I don't think she is pure for that coloration.

THANK YOU!!