Rose/walnut combs & the silkie gene...

[TurtleFeathers]

Hi all -

I've been researching and trying to understand the genetics behind the subject combs and the silkie feathering gene, and have come up with the following questions for the experts...

First let me say, I have a 3 month old blue bantam EE cockerel with a rose comb (as I found out in a thread I posted in the wrong section earlier today). He hatched from a blue egg, his mother was a splash silkie/EE cross, and his father was a duckwing type EE. His siblings and half siblings (whose mother was a white columbian looking EE) all hatched from blue eggs as well - except they are all pullets, two of which have single combs, and the rest don't appear to have any comb at all yet - and one of the "no-combs" has 5 toes.

So here are my questions:

1. If my EE roo with a rose comb breeds with an EE hen with a pea comb, will the resulting offspring have walnut combs?

2. If my EE roo with a rose comb breeds with a silkie hen with a walnut comb, what kind of comb will their offspring have?

3. What kind of comb will an EE hen end up with if she hasn't developed much of a comb at all by 3 months of age?

4. And lastly, does a chicken HAVE to have 5 toes in order to carry the silkie feathering gene, or can a 4-toed chicken carry it?

If y'all can shed any light on this for me, I'd sincerely appreciate it!! I can post pics too, if you like!

Thanks so much -

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

I do know that 4 toed birds can carry the silkie feathering gene.

Thats about the only question I can answer though.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Are you SURE he has a rose comb? That is unusual with an EE; assuming he does, and assuming that both are pure for comb genes, yes, the offspring will have walnut combs; however they will be het for both genes. If either or both is het for their rose/pea comb genes, you have a chance of them inheriting the not-rose/not-pea. If both, the bird would be single combed; if only one, then the bird would have the other comb.

2. If my EE roo with a rose comb breeds with a silkie hen with a walnut comb, what kind of comb will their offspring have?

A walnut comb, het for pea (assuming the silkie is pure for both rose and pea); if not, see the above answer.

3. What kind of comb will an EE hen end up with if she hasn't developed much of a comb at all by 3 months of age?

pea combs are fairly small, especially on hens; ditto for walnut combs

4. And lastly, does a chicken HAVE to have 5 toes in order to carry the silkie feathering gene, or can a 4-toed chicken carry it?

the genes are unrelated. A bird can have either or both.​

 

[TurtleFeathers]

Thanks for the info Sonoran - you're a whiz at this!!!

To answer your question, I'm not *sure* he has a rose comb - but that's what I was told in another thread - I'll post the pics again here so you can see: