Tell me about the frizzle gene!

[JamesA]

I have some bantam regular cochins and some frizzle cochins.What do I need to do to get more frizzles? What percentage would I get frizzle if I breed a regular bird to a frizzle bird? Is it ok to breed frizzle to frizzle? What is best for good frizzles?

 

[walkswithdog]

Most people breed Frizzle to Smooth. Yielding half and half, in general.

Breeding frizzle to frizzle - yields all Frizzled birds yes, but creates about 1/3 of chicks with a double dose of Frizzle genes - a curly or Frazzle, those chicks DO NOT do well and usually must be culled. Lots of people don't like that idea at all. So they breed smooth to frizzle and avoid the problem.

I breed Sizzles so it's further complicated by silkie genes - lol. I can get Sizzle (the normal curly feather like a frizzle), sizzle (smooth normal feathers), the Frazzles, and silkie feathered birds, and curled silkie feathered birds. Which makes every hatch sort of a scatter gun adventure. I'll be selling off and culling a great many birds this next year.

Frizzles are NIFTY. I love it. I've even let a few Sizzle/Delaware eggs get set. What hatches out is anyone's guess, LOL.

 

[jimnjay]

Nothing to add to Walkswithdogs post. I did try the Frizzle to Frizzle this year and I have one chick that hatched. It is frizzled but the curls seem to be very loose, almost straight. A modifying gene also come into play with the Frizzle that affects the degree of bend in each feather. I apparently have one with a very active Modifyer. I don't see any indication at this point of it being a Frazzle. Information I received when I first started breeding Sizzles indicated that the best Frizzles come from a Frizzle to Frizzle breeding but the down side is as mentioned, the need to cull so many. All indications are that this little chick will not be one of the best Frizzles I have hatch so that shoots down the theory of superior Frizzling when breeding Frizzle to Frizzle.

One other thing to mention, The smooth birds from a Frizzle breeding when bred to a Frizzle will produce a slightly greater percentage of Frizzles. At least that is the way it works here.

 

[walkswithdog]

Jaynie

good to see you, how's the next generation coming?

I have silkies growing out. In blue and black - hoping for at least two pullets.

And my apparent birchen smooth, whether he's blue or black has really gotten some serious feather and feather feets on him - so of course I'm going to continue on with him despite color and comb fault. He's splendid. When he hit six months I swear someone dumped a bucket of fertilizer of some sort on him, cuz he just went POOF HUGE.

The splash Sizzle turned out well but actually has less foot feathering than the birchen smooth.

I did get a line on a local breeder of show birchen cochins so you can see where that's headed LOL.

This is STILL all your fault...

 

[jimnjay]

LOL, I have heard that before but I don't feel guilty

I have a nice selection of smooth and frizzled Sizzles I am watching to see how they do. My Splash roo does not have much of a crest and it appears that some of the babies are going to come up short in that regard as well. The AI chick from my Frizzled Cochin boy are looking very nice.

Thanks for asking.

 

[walkswithdog]

Quote:
Glad they're coming along!!! Post a thread with pics - nudge nudge hint hint. We should establish a Sizzle thread like the marans thread, so we can all reference each other's progress and show the silly things off.