Muscovy Genetics

[Backswampcub]

I just purchased a trio of pied chocolate muscovies the drake has the chocolate ripple pattern in his chest and belly. I was told that they came from Barred stock. The gentlemen I purchased them from said that he hatched Barred in the same clutch as these. My question. Is the Chocolate gene dominent and the barred subdominent. Meaning if I breed a chocolate to a chocolate carrieing the barred gene will I get barred chicks. And if I breed the chocolate drake to a normal hen will I get more chocolates. The drake is unrelated to the hens. They are from two different breeding pairs. Thanks for help

 

[Backswampcub]

Anyone. I know most of you are a hobbyist like me but someone has to understand Skobi genetics

 

[keeperofthehearth]

Sorry I can't help you. This is my first year w/Scovies and I'm just as interested in hearing an answer. Our 2nd clutch of ducklings just hatched/are hatching and I haven't a clue as to what colors we will end up with.

 

[lauralou]

I'm certainly no expert on color genetics, but I'll give it a try here...

I believe that the gene for chocolate is recessive, as is the gene for barring. These genes aren't competing with each other, they are completely separate. You can have a chocolate duck with barring, or a black duck with barring... Maybe even other colors with barring. Again, I'm no expert.

Also, barred and rippled are 2 different patterns, controlled by different genes. But rippled is recessive, too. So the explanation remains the same.

If you breed a chocolate to a chocolate barred, you will not get any barred ducklings in the first generation. Assuming of course that the first duck, the chocolate, is not carrying a single, "hidden" gene for barring. And the only way to know for sure is to breed them. If half of the ducklings are barred, then the unbarred parent is carrying one copy of the gene for barring.

Another thing about the chocolate gene. It is sex-linked. A chocolate drake will produce all chocolate female offspring. The male offspring will not be chocolate if the mother is not chocolate. Instead, they will carry the chocolate gene, but it will not manifest itself as visible chocolate coloring.

Now, how this relates to the fact that the birds are pied is a mystery to me. The only thing that I know about pieds is that they are actually white birds, with color showing through. I don't understand how that works from a genetic standpoint.

I hope that was helpful to you. And if anyone sees that I got any of that wrong, please correct me!

Oh, and also, not sure what you mean by a "normal" hen? What color is normal? LOL

 

[ShadyGlade]

Here's a link to a Muscovy duck forum if you are interested.

http://muscovyduckforum.smfforfree3.com/index.php?topic=4.new;topicseen#new

 

[Backswampcub]

Thanks for the help. All three of mine are chocolate. They all three are carrieing the barred gene. And the Drake is has the ripple gene. So if I breed my Drake to a normal Hen. All of the Chocolate offspring will be hens.

 

[lauralou]

Again, not sure what color a normal hen is. To me, normal means black with white in the wing bands. The normal or "wild type" color.

Is that what it means to you?

Because if you mean chocolate is normal, then all of the offspring of a chocolate X chocolate cross will be chocolate. With or without the barring showing up, depending on how many genes for barring that you are dealing with.

If you mean that a normal hen is white, then I don't know at all what will happen. I don't understand the genetics behind white, because I don't have any white birds, so I've never looked into it.

If anybody does know anything about white or pied, please chime in! I'd love to learn how that works.

 

[chickieboy]

over my head all i know is that my choclate male produce both m &f i reall like the choc muscovy with the white head but i trade my hens off after my male die for a pair a welsummer that turn out to be a welsummer roo and a partride rock hen .that why she laid a light brown eggs insted of dark o well i am getting a pair of welsummer this sat for my 1 welsummer hen i got as a chick last year.