Silkie genetics question ....

[angsaidso]

I am new to the many colored varieties of silkies out there. Am used to the standard blacks and whites. This year I introduced what I believe are "splash" (although still determining the difference between splash and "paint"). I have incubated the eggs and hatched several chicks. All of these chicks are feathering out in a "not quite white" color. I am imagining that these are baby feathers. I am also imagining that, like the blues, you can get many other thing than splash, such as white or variations thereof.

Does someone have a good genetics site or link I can use? I am trying to determine what other colors can come from different flocks I have here. I also have partridge and cuckoo. I am assuming that these two colors can produce buff and/or black and/or blue? When I purchased a box of random chicks for fun, I had several in there that looked "partridge" in color but when they feathered, one went buff and two went blue with the partridge colors on their faces???????

Someone help! Thanks so much.
Peace ~
Ang

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might try playing around with this genetic calculator. It's not really that hard to use once you play with it a bit. The problem comes in with figuring out what genetics you have to start with. I've learned a lot from this calculator, but it has taken a while. You have to start somewhere.

http://kippenjungle.nl/Overzicht.htm#kipcalculator

This site may help some on explaining the genetics and helping you understand them.

Genetics explanation
http://sellers.kippenjungle.nl

It's not just a case of dominant and recessive. There is incomplete dominance and partial dominance to help complicate it. And with several of the genes, how they express themselves depends on what other genes are present. Melanizers and dilution are in there too.

I'm no expert by a long shot, but it would not totally surprise me if your "not quite white" is really blue from the splash. Splash (actually the blue gene) is one that it depends on what else is present as to how it is seen. I assume you know that if you have two copies of the blue gene it is splash, one copy and it is blue, and no copies of blue it gives black, if it is on extended blck. But if it is on wheaton or something else instead of extended black, you can get something quite a bit different. The pattern may be blue while the base color is something else. Or some genes may mask it entirely, like when recessive white pairs up. I get confused real quick by this.

 

[angsaidso]

You might try playing around with this genetic calculator. It's not really that hard to use once you play with it a bit. The problem comes in with figuring out what genetics you have to start with. I've learned a lot from this calculator, but it has taken a while. You have to start somewhere.
http://kippenjungle.nl/Overzicht.htm#kipcalculator
This site may help some on explaining the genetics and helping you understand them.
Genetics explanation
http://sellers.kippenjungle.nl
It's not just a case of dominant and recessive. There is incomplete dominance and partial dominance to help complicate it. And with several of the genes, how they express themselves depends on what other genes are present. Melanizers and dilution are in there too.
I'm no expert by a long shot, but it would not totally surprise me if your "not quite white" is really blue from the splash. Splash (actually the blue gene) is one that it depends on what else is present as to how it is seen. I assume you know that if you have two copies of the blue gene it is splash, one copy and it is blue, and no copies of blue it gives black, if it is on extended blck. But if it is on wheaton or something else instead of extended black, you can get something quite a bit different. The pattern may be blue while the base color is something else. Or some genes may mask it entirely, like when recessive white pairs up. I get confused real quick by this.

Nope. With silkies, I have no idea what is what in the genetics department. I am still trying to understand the genetics of my peafowl. For some reason, right now, the concept of it does not stick in my head and I have to constantly look things up. I am totally brand new to the genetics dept. Maybe I'm just getting too old for this!!! LOLOLOL!

These guys aren't a real blue. They're almost an ivory color. They're really truly almost white, but not. I thik there's six in there, all from the same trio of silkies, all chicks came out exactly the same.

I also think, until they start growing their adult feathers a bit, I won't know what the heck they really are in color. As I said, I had a baby here with partridge colored fluff who is now buff (yellowy tannish kinda and very pretty).

I guess I will have to make some sort of reminder chart. In the meantime, thank you so much for those links!!! This evening while drinking my coffee I will try to figure it out and see if I can make sense of it. Sometimes I think my biggest challenge is clearing my brain of other things so I can focus on what I am reading and seeing.

Ang