Background: When I received my first bantam Buckeyes, the breeder claimed that they were autosexing. Now this is a reliable breeder, however, I still must test the theory.
I have hatched many chicks so far, but not in large enough samples to do a whole experiment, with my other projects.
Procedure: I will use the white wing spot male and dark-striped female methods to sex these chicks, marking them and recording them. I will need to hatch a quantity of these chicks. After they have grown, I will discover their definite sexes and compare them with the chick data. If successful I will try to breed the adults that were the most auto-sexing as chicks and repeat. I am curious if this can eventually be integrated into my show strain. This may not all be possible because of my limited resources, however, I will try and record them here.
I did research and analyzed it. It seems that a similar experiment has been attempted before with promising results.
In a spoiler for scrolling speed. I will try to get a good picture of the parents.
I have hatched many chicks so far, but not in large enough samples to do a whole experiment, with my other projects.
Procedure: I will use the white wing spot male and dark-striped female methods to sex these chicks, marking them and recording them. I will need to hatch a quantity of these chicks. After they have grown, I will discover their definite sexes and compare them with the chick data. If successful I will try to breed the adults that were the most auto-sexing as chicks and repeat. I am curious if this can eventually be integrated into my show strain. This may not all be possible because of my limited resources, however, I will try and record them here.
I did research and analyzed it. It seems that a similar experiment has been attempted before with promising results.
In a spoiler for scrolling speed. I will try to get a good picture of the parents.
Source: Genetics of the Fowl by F.B. Hutt
On page 211, it states: "Pease has developed the Buffbar, Brussbar, and Dorbar from Buff Orpingtons, Brown Sussex, and Dorkings, respectively."
Buffbars, seemingly wheaten based, would disprove your theory, however, I read durther and discovered "It was pointed out by Pease that auto-sexing Rhode Island Reds are not likely to be satisfactory as some of the other breeds to which the barring gene has been added. This is because in pure Rhode Island reds there is so much variation in down color that the distinction between BB males and B- females is not likely to be so readily discernable as in breeds with less variation in the color of the down. This was confirmed by Jaap, who found that identification of sex by the dichromatism resulting from the gene for barring was completely accurate in striped downs but less so in chicks with red or dark brown down." So it seems that the wheaten base is not what causes them to be not-auto-sexing but rather the down coloring in these birds.
But I back-tracked a little to page 196 where it described the red variety, and on 197 discovered an experiment uncannily similar to mine.
"Rhode Island Red chicks vary in color from pale buff to dark chestnut. A few are striped. Using five arbitrary classes of color, Warren differentiated in four years two strains distinctly different as down color was concerned. In the light strain, 82 percent were the lightest grade, and none had either of the two darkest grades. In the dark strain, none showed the lightest of the five grades and 49 percent qualified for the two darkest shades." This holds true for me as well. While the LF Buckeyes have a very light down color, bantam Buckeyes are a very dark color, and this has been very consistent.
"Sex Dicromatism. It was noted by Warren that the majority of the striped chicks were females...
Although identification of the striped at spotted chicks such as females is likely to be accurate in over 80 percent of such cases, these classed together formed only 27 percent of Hay's large population. Since sex cannot be identified so accurately without spots or stripes, a class that includes considerably more than half the chicks, the limitations of this method of identifying sex in newly hatched Rhode Island Red chicks is evident. Hays distinguished between black spots and brown ones and found only about 85 percent of the chicks with black spots were females, while only 74 percent of brown ones were that sex."
This could prove my theory faulty, however, I had another observation between chicks that is proven in the next paragraph.
"A much more accurate method of sexing in Rhode Island Red chicks at hatching was discovered by Homer Rowell, of Essex County, Massachusetts...
When the chicks are held so that both wings are outstretched, the difference is quite clear in all but those having down that is comparatively light in color. Wings of females are uniformly reddish. In males there is a white spot, the extent of which varies considerably in different chicks. In its smallest expression there is merely a short streak of white or creamy down in the prepatagium, or web of wing; but there is all graduations in size from that to extreme white or cream over the whole web and part of the anterior border of the metacarpal region...
With an accuracy of 90-95 percent in Rhode Island Reds and 80-90 percent in New Hampshires. Jaap found also that the accuracy of the procedure is increased in stock selected to enhance the difference between the sexes."
So now in my experiment I will use these methods in sexing and enhance them through selective breeding.
On page 211, it states: "Pease has developed the Buffbar, Brussbar, and Dorbar from Buff Orpingtons, Brown Sussex, and Dorkings, respectively."
Buffbars, seemingly wheaten based, would disprove your theory, however, I read durther and discovered "It was pointed out by Pease that auto-sexing Rhode Island Reds are not likely to be satisfactory as some of the other breeds to which the barring gene has been added. This is because in pure Rhode Island reds there is so much variation in down color that the distinction between BB males and B- females is not likely to be so readily discernable as in breeds with less variation in the color of the down. This was confirmed by Jaap, who found that identification of sex by the dichromatism resulting from the gene for barring was completely accurate in striped downs but less so in chicks with red or dark brown down." So it seems that the wheaten base is not what causes them to be not-auto-sexing but rather the down coloring in these birds.
But I back-tracked a little to page 196 where it described the red variety, and on 197 discovered an experiment uncannily similar to mine.
"Rhode Island Red chicks vary in color from pale buff to dark chestnut. A few are striped. Using five arbitrary classes of color, Warren differentiated in four years two strains distinctly different as down color was concerned. In the light strain, 82 percent were the lightest grade, and none had either of the two darkest grades. In the dark strain, none showed the lightest of the five grades and 49 percent qualified for the two darkest shades." This holds true for me as well. While the LF Buckeyes have a very light down color, bantam Buckeyes are a very dark color, and this has been very consistent.
"Sex Dicromatism. It was noted by Warren that the majority of the striped chicks were females...
Although identification of the striped at spotted chicks such as females is likely to be accurate in over 80 percent of such cases, these classed together formed only 27 percent of Hay's large population. Since sex cannot be identified so accurately without spots or stripes, a class that includes considerably more than half the chicks, the limitations of this method of identifying sex in newly hatched Rhode Island Red chicks is evident. Hays distinguished between black spots and brown ones and found only about 85 percent of the chicks with black spots were females, while only 74 percent of brown ones were that sex."
This could prove my theory faulty, however, I had another observation between chicks that is proven in the next paragraph.
"A much more accurate method of sexing in Rhode Island Red chicks at hatching was discovered by Homer Rowell, of Essex County, Massachusetts...
When the chicks are held so that both wings are outstretched, the difference is quite clear in all but those having down that is comparatively light in color. Wings of females are uniformly reddish. In males there is a white spot, the extent of which varies considerably in different chicks. In its smallest expression there is merely a short streak of white or creamy down in the prepatagium, or web of wing; but there is all graduations in size from that to extreme white or cream over the whole web and part of the anterior border of the metacarpal region...
With an accuracy of 90-95 percent in Rhode Island Reds and 80-90 percent in New Hampshires. Jaap found also that the accuracy of the procedure is increased in stock selected to enhance the difference between the sexes."
So now in my experiment I will use these methods in sexing and enhance them through selective breeding.
