Please educate me on genetic basics.

[stoo]

I have a black Silkie roo and some white Silkie hens and some black Silkie hens - and one black Silkie hen with some tan feathers on her neck - possibly partridge color in her genes. What color chicks can I look forward to? Also, please give me the name of a good poultry breeding and or genetics book. Thanks!

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Hmm...one would say that black is dominant but it all depends on the nature of your white, and at the moment I can't remember which the white of the silkie is.

Begin with Lamon's work. Here's the amazon link http://www.amazon.com/Mating-Breeding-Poultry-Harry-Lamon/dp/1585748145 . It's a good beginning.

A thought. Only breed your blacks and begin there. That's more than enough, and a fun adventure.

 

[stoo]

Thanks.
I have another question - what chicken breeds have a tuft on the head? I have several diff. roosters/hens in a seperate pen from my Silkies and a chick hatched this evening from a large brown egg - but the chick is all yellow with a tuft on its head. I'm like - where did that come from?! I don't have a white rooster - and a white chick from a brown egg laying hen (prob. one of my red sex links)...I haven't got a clue to genetics...but find it facinating.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Well it's hard telling not knowing. There are several breeds that have a head ornament of sorts, ranging from a tassle to a full crest. Sometimes these things just pop up randomly, meaning that one out of so many will be a fluke.

I see though in your ending quote that you have several breeds together. If they are crossing then there's no telling what might arise.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Learn basic genetics first, especially terminology. Dominance relates only to the alleles between the same gene. Black is neither dominant nor recessive to white. They are unrelated genes. Black (or blue or brown or tan) is the presence of black pigment. Red (or gold or buff) is the presence of red pigment. White is the lack of pigment.

If you want predictable breeding, breed the same variety and breed together. White bred to anything non-white is never predictable.

If you list the breeds you do have, maybe we can help you pair up the parents of the chick.

Genetics of Chicken Colours is an excellent book for a beginner. But it's not inexpensive. If you look at it as being textbook quality, thethe n hte price becomes very reasonable, and indeed inexpensive, considering the cost of most textbooks.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Hmmm...I just searched a couple of sites for that title and couldn't find it. Do you know the author?

 

[Coopa Cabana]

I agree with Sonoran - it's an excellent book! Beautiful color pics, well written and easy to understand. Here's the link to the website. Not sure if there are any more of the 1st editions available in the US. I believe Jerry S. is the only distributor in the U.S. You might also contact Blackdotte here on BYC and see if he has any copies left (he's a co-author).

http://www.chickencolours.com/

 

[stoo]

I do have several breeds together but the question is about breeding Silkies. I have 6 Silkie hens (3 black and 3 white) and a black Silkie roo and I was wondering what color a white hen and black roo make...eggs are starting to hatch this week and so far all the offspring are black. I also wonder why some Silkies are real small and others are medium size - not quite as small as a bantam but not as big as a regular size chicken. My hens seem small but the roo is much bigger. Maybe I need better quality hens? I am new to this stuff. I need to find the Silkie breed standards.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
http://www.chickencolours.com/

Chris