Sex-linked Olive Egger Genetics ?

[ChickenGal247]

I started hatching from a cross that should be sex-linked but so far none of the chicks have hatched with the telltale white spot. I might’ve assumed all pullets, but now at 2 weeks it appears a blonde chick is developing barring.

Cross is Wheaten Marans Rooster x Cream Legbar Hen. I was worried about the clarity of the spot with the roo being a Wheaten, but I never imaged that there would be no spot at all. How is this possible? Is it the down color? I never found anything that suggested the base color had to be black (i.e. Black Copper Marans) but I know it is more common.

 

[Floof]

I've read not to use wheaten for barred sex linked crosses but haven't done it myself. I guess the yellow down makes it too hard to see the spot but the barring gene is still there.

 

[Floof]

...is it possible you have a silver/gold sex linked cross instead? There are silver and gold varieties of the ccl (I think). If all those chicks in your incubator are from this cross then it might be that your redish ones are your ladies and the more yellow ones are your boys.

 

[Floof]

You've probably read this but just in case: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/sex-linked-information.261208/

 

[ChickenGal247]

...is it possible you have a silver/gold sex linked cross instead? There are silver and gold varieties of the ccl (I think). If all those chicks in your incubator are from this cross then it might be that your redish ones are your ladies and the more yellow ones are your boys.

This thought crossed my mind, but it shouldn’t be possible. The colors are cream and crele but all Legbars are gold based birds (s+). The Cream color is expressed by a double copy of a recessive inhibitor gene (ig/ig). Although I do feel like the yellow chicks may be the boys. Everything I‘ve read states solid male (excluding white) over barred hen will produce sex-linked offspring. I must be missing something in the genetics. I found a thread about Wheaten Ameraucana x Legbar cross I’m reading through now. Guess I have more homework to do, lol.

 

[Floof]

This thought crossed my mind, but it shouldn’t be possible. The colors are cream and crele but all Legbars are gold based birds (s+). The Cream color is expressed by a double copy of a recessive inhibitor gene (ig/ig). Although I do feel like the yellow chicks may be the boys. Everything I‘ve read states solid male (excluding white) over barred hen will produce sex-linked offspring. I must be missing something in the genetics. I found a thread about Wheaten Ameraucana x Legbar cross I’m reading through now. Guess I have more homework to do, lol.

Share your conclusions!

 

[Floof]

I've been thinking about this all afternoon. Do you have pictures of your hens from whom you set eggs? What color are the eggs (they look cream or white in the photos but the color balance on the camera could just be a little off)? There do exist other varieties of legbar, specifically the gold legbar, the silver legbar, and the crested cream legbar. The Gold Legbar was the first to be standardised in 1945, followed by Silver Legbar in 1951 and the Cream Legbar in 1958. Reading through your posts it seems like this is a rather new breed for you so you probably don't have a huge sample to observe yet but I wonder if maybe some silver legbars got in there.

 

[ChickenGal247]

I've been thinking about this all afternoon. Do you have pictures of your hens from whom you set eggs? What color are the eggs (they look cream or white in the photos but the color balance on the camera could just be a little off)? There do exist other varieties of legbar, specifically the gold legbar, the silver legbar, and the crested cream legbar. The Gold Legbar was the first to be standardised in 1945, followed by Silver Legbar in 1951 and the Cream Legbar in 1958. Reading through your posts it seems like this is a rather new breed for you so you probably don't have a huge sample to observe yet but I wonder if maybe some silver legbars got in there.

This particular cross is brand new for me and was experimental. The eggs are blue. Gold Legbars exists, yes, but they are a separate breed and have not been imported into the USA. They’re also not crested. I don’t have Silver Legbars - I’ve actually never even heard of Silver Legbars (only Silver LegHORNS) and we don’t have them in the States. I have Cream Legbars (a crested breed) and some of my hens are split for the crele color, which is common since the inhibitor gene is recessive. They’re still all gold based birds. No chance of silver. It would be nice if that was the explanation lol! The problem, I’m pretty sure, is coming from the Wheaten genes - and possibly the wild type e+ allele of the Legbar. I have to do more research, but it’s hard to find information on this cross. Maybe this is the reason it doesn’t exist ha! Or hopefully someone smarter than me can tell me what’s going on lol.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Yes the wheaten gene is causing the issue.
Wheaten doesn't play well with head spots.
Once they feather in the barring or lack of it will still hold true though.

 

[ChickenGal247]

Yes the wheaten gene is causing the issue.
Wheaten doesn't play well with head spots.
Once they feather in the barring or lack of it will still hold true though.

Thank you for the insight. That’s what I was fearful of when I decided to play with this cross, but I expected a spot to still be present even if hard to see. Do you understand the genetic reasoning behind it? Or perhaps they just simply blend too well into the down?