I have a silkie mix roo from an OEGB roo and a silkie hen. He has a walnut comb. I plan on breeding him back to my OEGB hens. What kind of comb would the offspring have?
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You will, theoretically get :
-1/3 Walnut
-1/3 single
-1/12 Rose
-1/12 Pea
-1/12 V
-1/12 Buttercup
Practiacally, any one of these percentages may be much higher. Out of them all, the Single-combs, and the Rose and Pea combs will be the only ones with stable genetics -- er, they will be the only ones to breed true.
I have a silkie mix roo from an OEGB roo and a silkie hen. He has a walnut comb. I plan on breeding him back to my OEGB hens. What kind of comb would the offspring have?
I didn't get that information anywhere -- just genetic calculation. The Silky carries the duplex gene, so it's not easy to tell the difference between Rose and Walnut when the duplex just restricts it all into a ball or point. I always thought that silkies had Double Walnuts, but if not, just forget I said anything about Pea or Walnut in the list I made.
Are you sure the rooster doesn't have a Rosecomb, Muscovy?
Quote: Obviously, each bird can be different, but in my experience, most silkies that have not come from lines that have been recently crossed to birds with other types of combs are probably pure for rose comb, and most are also pure for pea comb as well. There is a difference in the appearance of a modified rose comb and a true walnut comb. The standard describes a true walnut comb, and that is what most breed towards.
Assuming that the bird is homozygous for both comb genes, all offspring when bred to a single combed bird will be walnut combed. BUT will only have one copy each of rose and pea. The next generation could yield a variety of comb types, depending on what the bird is bred to. This same scenario holds true for tjhe first generation offspring if the original bird has only one copy of each.
If the bird is pure for rose, but not pea, then half the offspring will have true walnut combs and the other hald will have modified rose combs. If the bird is pure for pea, but not rose, you will get about half walnut combs and about half pea combs (this scenario is possible, but not likely based upon experience).