How is the cuckoo color "made"?

[Trish1974]

I have seen online where a few araucana club members and breeder Ann Charles are working on a cuckoo project. Ann sent out an email a few months back of a drop dead gorgeous cuckoo rumpless araucana rooster she was selling. I don't understand how a new color or pattern is introduced into a breed that doesn't come in that color naturally without introducing a different breed of that color into the mix. Is that how it is done? If so, how does it not interfere with the breed standard (such as egg color, tufts and rumplessness)? Or is there another way of "making" a color/pattern?

 

[Pyxis]

Generally you pick a breed that's as close in standard to the one you're working with as possible, cross them, and then start breeding back to the standard of the breed you're working with to get the proper type back. It takes quite awhile sometimes.

Sometimes you might have all you need color-wise in the breed already to make the new color. I've got a brahma color project going on like that right now. Brahmas already came in the colors I needed to use to make the new color I'm shooting for. That's the easiest way to get a new color.

 

[Trish1974]

Generally you pick a breed that's as close in standard to the one you're working with as possible, cross them, and then start breeding back to the standard of the breed you're working with to get the proper type back. It takes quite awhile sometimes

That sounds like it would take forever, especially with rumpless araucanas since there is no other comparable breed. I wouldn't have the patience for that, lol!

 

[Sneebsey]

That's the way to do it; all you need from the second breed is the barring gene, which is fairly easy to breed in as it is incomplete-dominant (therefore visible in the offspring). Just the slog of breeding year after year, retaining the offspring closest to the standard and breeding them back to nice black Araucanas .

It's also plausible that she could have gotten hold of some Cuckoo stock from the UK, as we have Cuckoo Rumpless Araucana here.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

That sounds like it would take forever...

The barring gene would need to be introduced from another breed as mentioned

I don't know enough about araucanas and some of the traits such as tufts and rumpless, and blue eggs, etc, and the dominance or recessiveness of those traits, but if they are recessive that is where it would get trickier.

But ignoring all that for a bit, this is how it might be done to get cuckoo into the araucana.

*** warning rookie at work ***
The genetics experts might see a mistake in what I've written here, and if so please feel free to point it out... but I think this illustrates the general approach

1st cross
Black araucana roo x barred Easter Egger hen

results:
all Barred F1 roos (1/2 araucana)
all black F1 hens (1/2 araucana)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2nd cross
Barred F1 roo x Black pure araucana hen

results:
half the F2 roos are barred, half are black (3/4 araucana)
half the F2 hens are barred, half are black (3/4 araucana)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
3rd cross
Barred F2 roo x Barred F2 hen

results:
all F3 roos are barred, but half are double barred, half are single barred (3/4 araucana)
half the F3 hens are barred, half are black (3/4 araucana)

The F3 Double barred roo has 2 copies of the barring gene and is 3/4 araucana, so this is what you've been working for, so now that you have it you cross it back to a pure araucana
-----------------------------------------------------------------
4th cross
Double Barred F3 roo x Black pure araucana hen

results:
all F4 roos are single barred (7/8 araucana)
all F4 hens are barred (7/8 araucana)

So now you might keeping crossing back to the parent stock of black aruacanas to get more pure araucana traits, or just crossing the F4 offspring together, and selecting the ones that are most true to type (have tufts, blue eggs, rumpless)

Again, this is just my simple example, I'm certain there is more to it due to some of the unique traits of the araucana, but this should give some idea of the process.

 

[Sneebsey]

That works, but I would be inclined to do it a little differently; I would avoid making the first cross sex-linked, and then run two pens to encourage the genetic diversity; once we get down a few generations, we'll want to start breeding cuckoo to cuckoo, so that variation in the family tree needs to be introduced.

The things we need to retain from the Araucana include the tufts and rumplessness, though those are both dominant traits (with the ear tufts, a double dose is lethal, too, so breeding tufted to tufted needs to be avoided). Also a factor is leg-colour, and indeed, egg colour. Leg colour should be slate, however cuckoo birds can't have slate legs; the UK standard calls for white legs in Cuckoo Rumpless Araucana, though I am unsure of the American standard. If a barred EE is not available (remember too, that an EE may not be pure for blue eggs) avoid using a bird with pigment genes to keep the eggs blue rather than green; go for a white or tinted egg layer.

Year 1:
Barred Cockerel x Black Araucana hens
Result: single-barred cockerels, and barred pullets.

Year 2/3/4:
Pen 1:
Single-barred Cockerel x Black Araucana hens
Result: Single-barred cockerels, barred pullets, black cockerels and pullets.
Pen 2:
Black Araucana Cockerel x Barred hens
Result: Single-barred cockerels, unbarred pullets.

Eventually, you can then breed your single barred cockerels from 'Pen 2' with your barred pullets from 'Pen 1', resulting in single and double barred males and barred females. Of course, to ensure that you will be able to establish them as a sustainable population, there will need to be more than two pens from the get-go to allow for as much genetic diversity as possible.

 

[Trish1974]

the UK standard calls for white legs in Cuckoo Rumpless Araucana, though I am unsure of the American standard.

Ann's had yellow legs. I don't know if that is still a work in progress or if that is what the club is going for.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

... run two pens to encourage the genetic diversity

Thanks Sneebsey!

In the scenario I imagined I was implementing this breeding program in an apartment in New York City, and didn't have the room for 2 pens

But seriously, I had a hunch there was probably a better way, but it was useful for me to think through this as a thought experiment, and then check it with the chicken calculator. And it's useful to see your better approach as well.

Anyway, it's all just theory to me at this point... I just enjoy the learning part of it, not sure I'll ever put any of it into practice.

By the way, I see cockerel in italics above and I've read somewhere on here (I think) that typing "roo" is the trademark of the rookie in genetics discussion, but I am what I am at this point, and didn't want to give anyone the impression that I was an expert on this stuff.

 

[Sneebsey]

By the way, I see cockerel in italics above and I've read somewhere on here (I think) that typing "roo" is the trademark of the rookie in genetics discussion, but I am what I am at this point, and didn't want to give anyone the impression that I was an expert on this stuff.

Not at all! I meant it to emphasise that I was putting the male barred bird over the black female. We don't tend to use Rooster in the UK.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I've read somewhere on here (I think) that typing "roo" is the trademark of the rookie in genetics discussion,

"Roo" is the trademark of a rookie in the chicken world not just the genetics disscusions.