Peafowl 201: Further Genetics- Colors, Patterns, and More

[DylansMom]

I bought 6 peafowl chicks last year - a BS male, a White male, two White hens and a IB female (who has white flight feathers). I also bought a pied female from another breeder.

I am assuming that the IB hen is split to White since she sports the white primaries. She and the other two white hens may carry BS, breeder isn't sure.

SO. I want BS and Pied.

White is not my first choice to have, but I know it can be useful for the Pieds.

Does my White male have to carry pied in order to produce Pied if bred to the Pied hen?

It does not look like the BS male is split to White, as he has NO white flight feathers. If I breed him to the whites, and they carry BS, will they produce BS in the first round as it is, as I understand it, a simple recessive? Just not sure if I need to keep the white hens or not. I am planning on breeding him the the IB hen.

Just figuring out my breeding plan.

And also, to imprint, do I need to keep the chicks separated or can they live together and be handled often? These were all a little two old for imprinting and I was having health issues right after I got them, so they were not handled much.

Hmmmm, well to start....the prevailing wisdom is that white and pied occupy the same spot on the chromosome so it is either/or, not both., meaning a white bird carries 2 copies of the white gene and therefore has no room to carry a pied gene. A Pied bird carries 1 copy of white (to produce patches of white) and 1 copy of Pied to spread those patches around. This is why a bird that is spit to white has only white flights and perhaps a white throat latch. A Dark pied bird carries 2 copies of the Pied gene and no white genes this will often give the same appearance as a split white, to get a truly "Pied" bird it must have one of each. Put your white male with your pied hen, this will give you some whites and some pieds. Put your BS male with the 3 hens that may be split to BS, You will likely get IB's as well as IB's that are split white, if any of the hens are split to BS you would get likely get BS and BS split white(white flights).

As far as imprinting, they can be kept together, handle them lots the first few days, give each some 1 on 1 time with you as well. Keep handling them as they grow, I never intended to imprint any, but managed to do it with 2 spaldings and a white, all males.

 

[Helen in the Desert]

Thanks!

An acquaintance just emailed that she has a yearling BS split to Midnight (whatever that is) male that I may pick up so I am not inbreeding too much.

 

[Birdrain92]

Thanks!

An acquaintance just emailed that she has a yearling BS split to Midnight (whatever that is) male that I may pick up so I am not inbreeding too much.

Midnight is a color mutation. You have color and pattern mutations. The UPA has recognized Midnight, Cameo, Peach, Purple, Opal, Charcoal, Bronze, Taupe, and Violeta as color mutations and BS, Pied, Silver Pied, White Eyed, and White as pattern mutations.

 

[Helen in the Desert]

Midnight is a color mutation. You have color and pattern mutations. The UPA has recognized Midnight, Cameo, Peach, Purple, Opal, Charcoal, Bronze, Taupe, and Violeta as color mutations and BS, Pied, Silver Pied, White Eyed, and White as pattern mutations.

That's what I thought, but had not heard of it before. Pretty colour tho, I looked it up.

So if I breed him to my girls, and the chicks get two BS genes, then I get BS, otherwise I get IB, right? And they MIGHT carry Midnight, but no way to tell. I think that is how it goes. I am REALLY glad that BS shows in the chicks the way it does tho, that will help alot in who I keep right off and can keep my population low.

 

[Garden Peas]

And by the way, when you breed the pied male and the white hen and get some white and some pied... don't be too sad. I don't think you will have any difficulty selling the white chicks -- out here, people will pay more for white ones than IB's, so they may help defray the feed bill

 

[barkerg]

Midnight is a color mutation. You have color and pattern mutations. The UPA has recognized Midnight, Cameo, Peach, Purple, Opal, Charcoal, Bronze, Taupe, and Violeta as color mutations and BS, Pied, Silver Pied, White Eyed, and White as pattern mutations.

I hear someone has submitted the infamous green eye to the UPA, I would love to be a fly on the wall at that vote.

Gerald Barker

 

[Birdrain92]

I hear someone has submitted the infamous green eye to the UPA, I would love to be a fly on the wall at that vote.

Gerald Barker

Same. Would that be a pattern or a color though? It only shows up in the summer.

 

[barkerg]

Same. Would that be a pattern or a color though? It only shows up in the summer.

I'd call it a pattern of idiocracy at best to be honest,

.

Gerald Barker

 

[Helen in the Desert]

What do you get with a Pied to Silver Pied breeding? Other than White and Dark Pied, but what would the Dark Pied be carrying? Is one dominant over the other?

I bought a 2 week old Silver Pied chick yesterday (along with the BS split to Midnight yearling male). I have a Pied female, so if this chick turns out to be male I can breed them. Otherwise I will breed her to my white male.

And what about Pied to "regular" IB? Would it possible to get pied since you only need one copy of the gene to get it?

 

[Birdrain92]

What do you get with a Pied to Silver Pied breeding? Other than White and Dark Pied, but what would the Dark Pied be carrying? Is one dominant over the other?

I bought a 2 week old Silver Pied chick yesterday (along with the BS split to Midnight yearling male). I have a Pied female, so if this chick turns out to be male I can breed them. Otherwise I will breed her to my white male.

And what about Pied to "regular" IB? Would it possible to get pied since you only need one copy of the gene to get it?

Pied x Silver Pied = Dark Pied, Pied, White, I believe even White Eyed.
Pied x IB= IB split to Pied or White.
IB split to White x Pied= Pied, IB split to White, White, IB split to Pied.
IB split to Pied x Pied= Pied, IB split to Pied, and Dark Pied.