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YOur calicos are beautiful, but I think that like the feline species, calico are possibly sex-linked. The gene that carries orange/red coloration (O) is only carried on the female X chromosome. A male (with an XY chromosome) can only have one O gene, but a female could have two and if one O is dominant and one o is recessive, youll get a tricolored cat. (About one in 3000 tricolored cats are male it happens only if they get three sex chromosomes instead of two.). In cats it is the male who determines the sex, but make note it is the hen that more than likely determines the sex of chicks, so there may be a relationship with the passing on of a tri-color gene
Calico in chickens is not sex-linked. There is no tri-coloured gene (in chickens). Calico is autosomal red showing on a splash background. As with many varieties, there is a difference in the phenotype of the male and of the female. Males show the red predominantly on male pattern areas: head, hackle, shoulder, saddle. Females show predominantly on breast. Birds have Z and W chromosomes, not the X and Y of mammals. Hens are ZW; cocks are ZZ. Yes, the hen determines chick gender.
YOur calicos are beautiful, but I think that like the feline species, calico are possibly sex-linked. The gene that carries orange/red coloration (O) is only carried on the female X chromosome. A male (with an XY chromosome) can only have one O gene, but a female could have two and if one O is dominant and one o is recessive, youll get a tricolored cat. (About one in 3000 tricolored cats are male it happens only if they get three sex chromosomes instead of two.). In cats it is the male who determines the sex, but make note it is the hen that more than likely determines the sex of chicks, so there may be a relationship with the passing on of a tri-color gene
Calico in chickens is not sex-linked. There is no tri-coloured gene (in chickens). Calico is autosomal red showing on a splash background. As with many varieties, there is a difference in the phenotype of the male and of the female. Males show the red predominantly on male pattern areas: head, hackle, shoulder, saddle. Females show predominantly on breast. Birds have Z and W chromosomes, not the X and Y of mammals. Hens are ZW; cocks are ZZ. Yes, the hen determines chick gender.
