Japanese Bantam Thread!

[stoopid]

Just watch her tomorrow, it should have gone down. I think it's just because she over stuffed herself.
She almost has the alka seltzer look in her eyes!

 

[gfletch]

This is so interesting, and I thank everyone for their answers. In the other thread, the same things were mentioned. I'm beginning to believe that Tammy gorged herself on treats today. Before I left for work, I chopped up and left for them a rather large cucumber that had been overlooked in my garden, and was past it's prime for use in a salad. When I got home, I noticed it was completely gone. Apparently, Tammy is a huge cucumber fan! I'll check her out in the morning to confirm, but I'm a lot less worried now than I was earlier this evening!

Thanks again,
George

 

[Frithest]

Quote:
Very sad - Dameru looked like a sweetie.

 

[jc12551]

Hi all! It has been a long time since I posted here. One of my BTW (5/11/11) hens was the first out of all my hens to lay. The eggs are so impossibly tiny!

I was worried about the bantams mixing with the turkeys and the standard birds, but they hold their own fairly well. My Maran roo has been trying to breed the BTW hens, but he...um....misses due to the size difference. Usually the two BTW cockerals come over and beat him up for messing with their four girls

Two of my four hens think they are turkeys and fly about 25 feet up in a tree at night to roost with them. I moved up bed time so I could catch them and put them in the coop, but they (and the turkeys) moved up bedtime too! I worry because tonight it is dipping slightly below freezing. I worry that they will freeze to death because they are so little.

I have been meaning to take and post some pics. I don't think any of my six carry a short leg allele (they are all homo. dom. and not hetero.). Which is a bummer. But hey, they were free, and I love them dearly even if they are NOT friendly.

I lost one of my original seven to a hawk. It swooped down and got her right in front of me. Even I dove to the ground when it came in

Her little legs couldn't carry her fast enough to safety (this was inside the run). I haven't seen the hawk again though.

 

[Jloeffler]

I want to make sure I understand JB genetics, if you could double check my understanding. I have a pair of JBs both with long legs and that means they can only have chicks with long legs because the short leg gene is dominant. So, the only chance I have of getting a short legged chick is to get a hen with short legs to breed with. Is this correct??

 

[jc12551]

Quote:
Most of the literature I read says that the gene for long leg is dominant and the gene for short is recessive. But, it cannot be if the heterozygotes (what we call short legged) are shorter than the homozygous dominant (what we call long legged). It has to be a type of incomplete dominance where the two alleles (variations of the gene) "blend" together like with the classic red and white four o'clock flowers producing pink offspring biology problem.

Long legged JB have two dominant alleles (LL) for normal leg size. If you breed two of them you will only get long legged birds (LL x LL = 100% LL). Birds that are short legged have one allele for long and one for short (Ll). If you breed two of them together you get 25 % LL, 50% Ll, and 25% ll (which die in the shell). If you bred your long legged roo with a short legged hen (LL x Ll) you would get 50% long legged and 50% short legged offspring.

Somebody might need to correct me on the type of inheritance. But the statistics should be correct regardless. After twelve years of teaching biology I dream about Punnett squares at night

ETA: Because I can't do math tonight.

 

[Jloeffler]

Quote:
Most of the literature I read says that the gene for long leg is dominant and the gene for short is recessive. But, it cannot be if the heterozygotes (what we call short legged) are shorter than the homozygous dominant (what we call long legged). It has to be a type of incomplete dominance where the two alleles (variations of the gene) "blend" together like with the classic red and white four o'clock flowers producing pink offspring biology problem.

Long legged JB have two dominant alleles (LL) for normal leg size. If you breed two of them you will only get long legged birds (LL x LL = 100% LL). Birds that are short legged have one allele for long and one for short (Ll). If you breed two of them together you get 25 % LL, 50% Ll, and 25% ll (which die in the shell). If you bred your long legged roo with a short legged hen (LL x Ll) you would get 75% long legged and 25% short legged offspring.

Somebody might need to correct me on the type of inheritance. But the statistics should be correct regardless. After twelve years of teaching biology I dream about Punnett squares at night

I am so glad you are on here! Now the fun can begin!!

 

[jenjscott]

jc, check your square again. LL x Ll should give you 50/50.

L l
L LL Ll
L LL Ll

 

[Jloeffler]

Quote:
Thanks! Now, I just need to find a Ll hen...

 

[meepitqueenie]

Quote:
Thanks! Now, I just need to find a Ll hen...

so Ll would that be your medium length legs? or is that a different gene combination