Some genetics help.

[forgetful]

I recently hatched a batch of chicks and could use some help figuring out the parents of a few. I could use some help understanding comb genetics. I have two separate flocks, one of which consists of black copper marans, and the other has silver laced wyandottes with two mixed breed hens. One of the two mixed breeds is a single combed blue copper and the other a pea combed black breasted red hen. I also have one lone single comb mixed cockerel roaming free.

I have hatched eggs from the wyandotte pen previously, and have received single combed chicks from the pen. They have all been some variation of silver laced down, with some being lighter and some darker. I am assuming this means my wyandotte cockerel is not a homozygous rose comb, or that single combs are dominant to rose. I recently let the two pens out to forage, and although they stay in their respective groups, the Marans and mixed cockerels occasionally chased after the wyandotte group.

This brings me to my newest hatch, in which I have all rose comb chicks, but several are black, with one of the black having feathered shanks. This would rule out my single combs being dominant to rose comb theory, and leaves me guessing that my wyandotte hens are homozygous for rose comb? I could use some help figuring out if I'm on the right track.

 

[donrae]

Rose combs are dominant over single combs.

Did you hatch eggs from your mixed hens, or just the slw hens previously? If you're breeding rose to rose and getting straight expressed, I'm pretty sure that means both parents carry the recessive straight.

 

[Chicken Girl1]

Rose combs are dominant over single combs.

Did you hatch eggs from your mixed hens, or just the slw hens previously? If you're breeding rose to rose and getting straight expressed, I'm pretty sure that means both parents carry the recessive straight.

x2

 

[forgetful]

Alright, thanks for clearing that up. The previous hatch included eggs from the mixed hens, but that now means that I can't rule out some of the silver laced carrying recessive straight. I suppose I will need to remove the two mixed hens to discover if they are

 

[donrae]

Yeah, I think you'd need to do some test hatches from pure slw x slw and see what you get.