Quote: Don't take this wrong but this is 7th grade science at the school I teach (a long time ago for some folks so not fresh in memory - but more current information for me but it has been four years for me and we haven't covered this material yet this year) so I've got a simple understanding of this. If feather legs are controlled by 2 genes, a dominate and a recessive, it's true that the first generation will all show feathered legs. If we are talking about one chicken with feathered legs mating with another without, all offspring will have feathered legs showing, but carry the recessive gene for clean legs. When you take the offspring with the hidden recessive gene to another with hidden recessive gene, you have a 25% chance of getting a clean legged chicken. If you have a clean legged chicken mate with one of those with the recessive yet showing feather legs, you have a 50% chance of getting clean legged chicks.
Lets see if I can create a punnet square: it's the best way to see what the chances are for genetic traits
F = feather gene dominate f = clean leg/feather leg not dominate (I don't know how to draw lines without actual paper/pencil)
Generation 1 Generation 2 (offspring back to themselves) Generation 2 (offspring to clean leg)
f / f F / f F / f
F:Ff / Ff F: FF / Ff f: Ff / ff
F:Ff / Ff f: Ff / ff f: Ff / ff
All offspring have 1/4 chance come out clean 1/2 chance come out clean
legged
feather legs but are 3/4 chance look feathered but 1/2 chance come with feathers and
carry recessive gene
carriers of recessive gene 2/4 will be carriers of recessive gene
Actually, eye and skin color is not determined by one gene so you can't always say a brown eyed baby will come from parents (or one parent) with brown eyes. Certain diseases/genetic disorders are not guarantees that if one child inherited it, all other future children will too. Some of them are simple genes, and will look like the first Gen2 ( 25% chance of getting it, 50% of being a carrier). While other genes take 4 or more copies of it to show itself.
CG
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