Silkie colors

[mychooks]

I have pulled out all my best silkies and now have two partridge in with the whites. If the chicks are either of the two colors, will they carry a recessive gene for the other color and could the young throw the other color in future generations. OR....could I get a 'dirty' mix color with the first generation.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Offspring of whites will all receive a recessive white gene from each white parent. They could receive one from a non-white parent if that parent carries it. This is why whites occasionally pop up in a colour flock unexpectedly. When present in only one copy, there is no way of knowing it is present in a bird unless you know the genetic backfground of the bird (such as one parent being white).

Partridge is not recessive...exactly. Partridge is e^b plus Pg. Pg is dominant; e^b, while it is the most recessive E-allele (usually, in certain cases E^Wh is more recessive), it is the E-allele found in almost all silkies.

The whites may carry Pg, or may not, there is no way of knowing. Chances are pretty high that they are e^b. The other varieties, especially newer and project varieties are the ones more likely to carry different E-alleles, due to cross breeding to bring in various genes.

 

[muzzles&nuzzles]

Suze, I know you understand genetics and I try so hard to understand what you tell us; however, I have a really hard time.
I have blue partridge hens in a coop with my other blue colors. I also have a rebel white roo in there. One of my chicks looks to be a blue partridge. (which I really hope is a hen because it is sweet as can be). I assumed it was out of my blue roo and a blue partridge hen. Are you saying it could be the white roos instead and carry a recessive white gene?
I also moved white eggs in for those hens to sit on. BUT, the pencil marks came off so when I hatched a white I assumed it was a white egg. Is it possible it is from one of the colored hens and the white roo?
If white is recessive I thought I would need two recessive white genes to get white because any other color would be dominant?

I guess I need to play with the genetics calculator.

I did a punnet square. Let's see if I can do it here

PG e^b partridge with recessive white?

e^b PG;e^b e^b;e^b

e^b PG;e^b e^b;e^b e^b being white with 2 recessive white genes

50:50 chance? Not taking into consideration that the hens were bred from a blue roo and partridge hens. which adds even more genes into the mix.
The white is from several generations of pure whites. I know there is a chance another gene could pop up but I bred all whites to whites.