Learning About Genetics

[LoveOfFeathers]

I’ve only been learning about poultry genetics for a few months, I’m absolutely hooked. My curiosity started when I bred a splash polish to my mottled rooster and got a chick with bright red down. I was like wha???

Chick down is red



Sire as a cockerel

As a cock

 

[LoveOfFeathers]

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Do you have any pictures of the mother? She'll probably have a few clues as for where that pullet came from out of those parents. Pretty birds!

Genetics definitely is a fun and fascinating topic to learn about. The deeper you go into it, the more interesting little tidbits you seem to pick up!

 

[LoveOfFeathers]

I don’t have good pictures of the mom, she had a deformed beak that was twisted sideways but was very sweet. She unexpectedly prolapsed and I made the decision to end her discomfort. She had laid two eggs while with my rooster so I took a chance and set them. I didn’t take photos of her because people are so judgmental of oddities. This is what I could find through videos

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Interesting, she looks every bit the part of a Splash Polish, which should not give you such a colorful chick. However, if you're positive that that pullet hatched out of her egg, then there are reasonable explanations for how that pullet could come from that pairing. For example, the mother could not have been pure for the allele that would have caused all of her chicks to be mostly solid-colored, or she could have been another coloration that only mimicked the appearance of Splash but genetically differed. Unfortunately, without her around to test cross to other roosters, we may never have a definitive answer on her genetics.

Very sorry that you lost her! I would not worry about sharing pictures of birds with oddities, at least not here on BYC. It seems like people here only really get judgemental if birds with oddities are kept in as breeding birds for those trying to breed to the standard or trying to sell chicks or hatching eggs to other people, because such deformities could possibly be genetic and be passed on. But hatching a couple eggs from a loved bird just to keep a part of them in your own flock, as long as you're aware of the possibility of deformities being passed on, isn't that big of a deal, at least in my opinion. I suspect more here would be supportive of you taking care of such a bird than anything, unless the bird is clearly not doing well because of their deformity. From the sounds of it, you did everything right with your bird.