Sex-link and patterning White Leghorns.

[cluckcluckluke]

At the moment I have a White Leghorn rooster and all the hens that I have crossed with him, the progeny comes out all white with a few grey spot exceptions.

What I want, is to not only produce pure White Leghorns, but also create a lovely white and coloured fowl. I would be happy with really any other colour except a brown or making a whitey-yellow fowl.

Also, if possible, I would like the desired fowl to be Sex-Linked, but I can only use this one White Leghorn male. So the cross to create a Sex-linked bird would have to work with hens bringing in the Sex-link gene.

Hopefully there is a breed out there that I can acquire to achieve this

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[keesmom]

You won't be able to make sex links using a white Leghorn male. This quote is from tadkerson in his thread on sex links

The second important rule is that one should not use white birds in sex linked crosses. White birds that have the correct genotype can be used to make a sex linked cross but a breeder never knows if the white bird has the correct genotype. The authors advise concerning white birds and sex linked crossing is do not use white birds in sex linked crosses. White leghorns can not be used in any kind of color sex linked cross.

And his excellent thread on sex links

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261208/sex-linked-information

You'll have to wait for an answer on the white from someone more knowledgeable on genetics. However I believe Leghorns are dominant white, and white hides other colors and patterns. So not sure if you will be able to do what you want.

 

[keesmom]

I wonder if you could use him to create feather sexable chicks? Maybe someone will know if all Leghorns are considered fast feathering, or if it is just certain strains.

 

[dheltzel]

I wonder if you could use him to create feather sexable chicks? Maybe someone will know if all Leghorns are considered fast feathering, or if it is just certain strains.

The link to the sex-link thread explains all of this in details, but it is a lot of content, so I'll summarize:
1. white leghorns are dominant white and that hides all sorts of things, even barring, so an sort of color sex-links are out of the question.
2. Feather sexing works with a fast feathering male over a slow feathering female. Mediterranean breeds like leghorns are "typically" fast feathering, so that's good, but if your male was the result of a hatchery that use feather sexing, then your leghorn roo is actually heterozygous, so he can't be used for feather-sexed sex-links. You'd have to check into the parentage to determine that.

Really, I'd recommend switching your white leghorn roo with something else, that will make your quest for colorful offspring so much easier.

 

[nicalandia]

The link to the sex-link thread explains all of this in details, but it is a lot of content, so I'll summarize:
1. white leghorns are dominant white and that hides all sorts of things, even barring, so an sort of color sex-links are out of the question.
2. Feather sexing works with a fast feathering male over a slow feathering female. Mediterranean breeds like leghorns are "typically" fast feathering, so that's good, but if your male was the result of a hatchery that use feather sexing, then your leghorn roo is actually heterozygous, so he can't be used for feather-sexed sex-links. You'd have to check into the parentage to determine that.

White Leghorn Roosters are impossible to use in any kind of sexlinks, but maybe he would be willing to trade his rooster for a white leghorn female? I know of Only one sex linked cross that will work on white leghorns but only if a female is used.. using a Silkie of any color mated to a White leghorn hen will produce id+/Fm vs Id/Fm sexlinks, females having Black skin and Males having clear yellow skin ..

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Thank you all for your information, it's very helpful.

I honestly thought there would be some breed that could dominate the White Leghorn colours, guess not.lol.

I am very fond of this rooster and so is the whole family ( raised him from a chick ) so he is defiantly staying and I also have another Yokohama rooster, 3 roosters is pushing it a bit with the neighbors.lol. Looks like I will just have to stick with my Whites

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Thank you all again

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[cluckcluckluke]

Could another coloured Leghorn change anything? What about black? or blue?

 

[cluckcluckluke]

@nicalandia , that Silkie over Leghorn X sounds awesome. I never knew that, and the fact that one sex will take on the black skin gene while the other won't is awesome.
I think that might have to be a future project

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Do you know if the feathering stays Silkied or it's a bit of both?!?

 

[nicalandia]

@nicalandia , that Silkie over Leghorn X sounds awesome. I never knew that, and the fact that one sex will take on the black skin gene while the other won't is awesome.
I think that might have to be a future project

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Do you know if the feathering stays Silkied or it's a bit of both?!?

yes its quite nice knowing what you got right after they hatch and not wait till their down dries like other sexlinks.. Heck a Week before hatch date I could SEX the Chicks... Yes I could SEx the Chicks even Before they hatched.. the Candle light wong go thrue the Black Pigments of the female hicks(joints, heart, skin) while the clear skin on the males allowed the light to go thru the large white eggs from the Leghorn mother.. side by side you could see the Huge difference hence 100% sexable chicks even before Hatch...

the feaqthering will normal like leghorns because the silkie feathers is recessive

 

[dheltzel]

yes its quite nice knowing what you got right after they hatch and not wait till their down dries like other sexlinks.. Heck a Week before hatch date I could SEX the Chicks... Yes I could SEx the Chicks even Before they hatched.. the Candle light wong go thrue the Black Pigments of the female hicks(joints, heart, skin) while the clear skin on the males allowed the light to go thru the large white eggs from the Leghorn mother.. side by side you could see the Huge difference hence 100% sexable chicks even before Hatch...

the feaqthering will normal like leghorns because the silkie feathers is recessive

Do the hens have black skin, or just dark shanks? I recall my hybrids with a silkie roo looked pretty normal, at least their skin, I didn't look at their shanks. Of does it only work if the hen is dominant white?