several questions on genetics

[lilshadow]

I have several questions on how things are done.
1. What do you breed to get the mottled feathering?
2. How do you know if a chicken has the blue gene, and what breed has the blue gene?
3. Which bird decides the egg color, hen, rooster or both? which is more dominant?
Thanks
Veronica

 

[LilPeeps]

Mottling is a recessive gene, you can't just get it, you need to introduce it.

If a bird has the blue gene, it would be visable. If it has one copy, it will be a blue. If it has two copies, it will be a splash.

Both sexes pass on genes for egg color equally.

 

[Henk69]

3. One exception. The following is sexlinked:

Brown eggshell color inhibitor pr
This recessive gene results in a lack of protoporphyrin pigment (the brown eggshell pigment) even in hens with polygenic brown eggshell color. It can be employed to remove undesirable tints from eggs of white shelled strains.

Of course the hen determines the eggshell color of her own eggs...

2. Blue can be hidden by whites (dominant and recessive), full buff, cuckoo, lavender and probably mixes with chocolate, dun and khaki (2 copies of dun).

 

[nzpouter]

what sort of blue? Andalusian blue? Lavender blue?

 

[lilshadow]

Quote:
How do you know if the bird has the blue gene? What breeds have the blue gene?

 

[lilshadow]

Quote:
Are they not the same?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Andalusian blue is the blue gene, referred to as Bl. It is incompletely dominant. Therefore a single copy will create a blue bird, and as was previously stated, two copies create a splash bird. Splash to splash breeds true. Blue to blue does not (about half the offspring will be blue and the other half black).

Self blue, also called lavender is the lavender gene, lav. It is recessive; therefore a bird must have two copies for lavender to express. Lavender to lavender breeds true.

Since they are separate genes a bird can be both blue/splash and lavender. In fact, a large number of blue American silkies do at least carry lavender.

 

[dutchhollow]

Another question (hope this isn't stealing you thread) is speckled (as in sussex) mottled?
And, if I let one of my blue andalusians cover some of my ss hens, can I possibly get some blue speckled patterned birds?

 

[LilPeeps]

Quote:
This is not true, blue x blue produces 25% black, 50% blue, and 25% splash. Black x blue produces 50% black, 50% blue.

 

[Wynette]

I was under the impression Andalusion blue factors breed differently from other blue factor breeds...am I wrong?