Questions re: cuckoo silkies and genetics

[Three Cedars Silkies]

I have a cuckoo silkie roo and have him in with a black hen. I don't know her genetic history, but I have some blacks that I know are pure blacks from many generations back and will be including a couple of them soon.

What can I expect the chicks color to be?

Since I don't have any cuckoo hens, what is the next best color to breed with him to produce cuckoo?

 

[onthespot]

cuckoo works the same as barred. Since he is a roo, I think his babies could either be solid or cuckoo, not sex-linked. If he was a cuckoo hen bred to a solid roo, the male chicks would be single gened cuckoo, the pullets would be solid black and not carry it. If he is double gened cuckoo bred to black hens, I think all the babies would be single gened cuckoos, but you wouldn't be able to tell between the boys and girls until they crowed or laid an egg. I think if you breed a single gened cuckoo or barred roo, the offspring can be either solid or barred/cuckoo. You need to cross a few generations of cuckoo to cuckoo to set the gene so you don't get solid colored offspring.

Anyone feel free to jump in there and correct me if I am wrong. I always try to remember how this works and sometimes can't. Sorry in advance if I botched the explanation.

I'm working on that with my barred olive eggers right now. Takes longer than you think, especially with silkies because they take so long to start laying.

 

[blackdotte]

Sorry to say you will never get good quality Cuckoo Silkies, why ,because you need black skin,shanks,comb,wattles etc which comes from the Fm gene in the normal Silkie. Problem is the barring gene, that makes the Cuckoo pattern, removes the pigment from the skin,shanks,comb,wattles etc.
This is an unresolvable problem.
David

 

[RAREROO]

Quote:
Well even if SQ silkies will never happen, what can she expect from the crossing she asked about, wouldn't their be blacks and cuckoos like onthespot said?

I'd like to try to get some eggs from her sometime and I'd like to know too.

 

[blackdotte]

As stated earlier by onthe spot,if the cuckoo cock is heterozygous for barring 50% of the chicks will be black & 50% cuckoo; if he is homozygous all will be cuckoo. The best Cuckoo Silkies will be the heterozygous for barring males & the hemizygous females.
David

 

[onthespot]

You mean I got it right!!!??? WOO HOO!!!

 

[ultasol]

If you think you can't get black skin on a cuckoo silkie, I have a bird that proves you wrong. True, some areas of the skin are pink, but his comb is dark! The skin on the neck is dark! I will have to get pictures. This bird will be crossed back to a black.

I was given a nice cuckoo roo in summer with the promise of a couple cuckoo chicks in fall in order to ensure more than one person had this particular line of cuckoos. I have to say, I wasn't sold on them at first, but I am rather fond of them now.