Single comb chick from two rose comb birds? **More questions, page 3**

[Gypsy07]

I recently hatched a bunch of chicks who should all have rose combs. Just noticed one of my 3 day old chicks has a tiny single comb. It sticks out like a sore thumb because the rose comb chicks have no comb at all to start with. But I thought rose comb was dominant? I was sure I was hatching eggs from just the one hen, cause she's the only one that lays a tiny cream colour egg. Could two birds with rose combs produce a chick with a single comb, or have I accidentally incubated an unusually small Leghorn egg by mistake???

 

[speckledhen]

If one of the rose combed birds is not pure for rose comb (only one copy), I can see you getting a single out of that. I got a single combed pullet out of a rose comb over a pea comb. That was a shocker, lemme tell ya, but the genetics folks told me that if each parent wasn't pure for their comb type, about 25% of the kids could be single combed. Whodathunkit? It does happen that Wyandottes can pop up with singles quite often, especially in hatchery stock.

 

[marquisella]

Quote:
In order to get a single comb out of rose comb parents, both parents have to have the recessive for single combs.

Sue

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I have learned there is nothing that can't pop up in generations of Poultry!!! That's why everyone uses that word cull!!!

 

[wclawrence]

The parents each had one copy of rose comb, not two. To keep this from happening, test cross the parents to straight combed birds to determine which birds are splits, and do not breed from them anymore.

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
Ain't that the truth, Sandy! It's crazy some things that pop up on occasion out of left field.

 

[joe17]

Regardless of the rose comb being a dominant gene, there is always a chance of something other than rose combed chicks. Like someone said, the parents prolly had only one copy of the rose combed gene. My biology teacher did a great job drawing and explaining all of this!

 

[Gypsy07]

Quote:
In order to get a single comb out of rose comb parents, both parents have to have the recessive for single combs.

Sue

So... If both parents have the recessive gene for single comb, does this mean that all their offspring that turned out rose combed would still have the recessive gene?

Or would you get like 25% chicks pure for rose comb, 50% with rose comb but with the recessive gene, 25% single combed?
And all the ones with rose comb you'd have to test mate them to find out if they had both copies of the gene or just one?
Or am I way off base with that?

Would single combed offspring still have a rose comb gene or would that have disappeared?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm totally new to this. Very interested to learn more!

(edited for typos)

 

[Gypsy07]

Quote:
Can I please borrow your biology teacher for a few hours? I think I may need a diagram and a s.l.o.o.o.ow explanation with not too many big words! Haha!

 

[Gypsy07]

Quote:
When you say test cross the parents, you mean in future test cross other prospective parents right? Different birds altogether. Not these ones? Cause if these ones have popped out a single comb chick then they MUST both be splits? Split meaning only having one copy of whatever gene, right? Sorry if this sounds like a doofy question, I'm just making totally sure I'm not misunderstanding any of this...