Leg color - what is this (incorrect) color called? Ameraucana

[ChestnutRidge]

Thanks, Sonoran Silkies and Dipsy Doodle for answering my question about the term "willow."

They are all absolutely adorable. They are friendly, but much faster and more inclined to fly than my other birds. They really zip around the run! They are adorable, and while the girls will stay and lay, the boys will find good homes with some Easter Egger ladies or mixed flocks, I'm sure, because they are very handsome and will be quite dapper as adults when their beards come in.

They enjoyed some watermelon this morning in the heat. Here are their adorable fuzzy behinds.

Further questions: I am assuming that the boys may be carriers of the yellow skin gene as well. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Out of curiosity, is yellow skin a dominant or recessive trait, or is chicken skin more like human skin where the level of pigmentation is controled by more than two genes? I think I have read that there is an outer color on the legs, like the darkish pigment on these birds, and then a deeper skin color that can be white, yellow, etc. How many genes govern the deeper skin color?

 

[pips&peeps]

Yellow skin is recessive, you must have two copies of it to manifest. That is why it took to the second generation before I knew about it.

That is also why it is so hard to get rid of unless you do test breedings.

They all could be carriers or they might not have gotten it. According to the Kip Calculator, 50% of the offspring will inherit one copy of the yellow skin gene on the first cross. So a percentage of them would have white skin. Breed that back again and you still have a small percentage that would have white skin, but then you get the chance of the bird inheriting two copies of the yellow skin gene.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

In addition to yellow versus white skin, there are two additional genes that directly govern skin colour, and a host of plumage colour genes that also affect it.

Fm (fibromelanosis) causes black skin, and is present in silkies, cemani and other black skinned breeds. Id+ inhibits dermal melanin, and is a sex-linked gene. It strongly influences leg colour.

 

[pips&peeps]

Those genes are not found in silver ameraucanas though.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

pips&peeps :

Those genes are not found in silver ameraucanas though.

Since they have slate legs, they should be id/id (or id/-), and since skin is not black they are fm+/fm+. But she did ask about other genes that influence skin colour.​

 

[pips&peeps]

Quote:
Since they have slate legs, they should be id/id (or id/-), and since skin is not black they are fm+/fm+. But she did ask about other genes that influence skin colour.

Silver duckwing are id+/id+ and fm+/fm+, which means they carry neither gene.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

pips&peeps :

Quote:
Since they have slate legs, they should be id/id (or id/-), and since skin is not black they are fm+/fm+. But she did ask about other genes that influence skin colour.

Silver duckwing are id+/id+ and fm+/fm+, which means they carry neither gene.​

I thought that was what I said?

 

[ChestnutRidge]

Excellent. Thank you both for sharing your expertise. So, while it seems that white and yellow skin follow simple Mendelian patterns, additional melanin can be added from another of other places...

I better read up. If anyone else reading this wants to read up too, I''l be looking here: http://sellers.kippenjungle.nl/page0.html
If you scroll down, Part II J & K discuss "Genetics of feet/shank color" and "Genetics of dark skin color." Anyone else have a good internet source for this kind of info?

ETA: Okay, those were short passages! Any other sources?

 

[flowerchild59]

I thought craptastic was only a word a nurse would use at the hospital. I think I learned it many years ago and yes, it fits many situations.

 

[buffalogal]

I like the baby bald eaglein the second and third pictures.