Watermaal comb genetics?

[Raptor-tooth]

Hello! I've found myself in possession of a trio of quail watermaal as the founders of my first breeding project. I have a hen with great coloring, but 5 spikes on her comb as well as it being a bit large and a rooster with mediocre coloring but he's got a nice rose comb with 3 spikes. The remaining hen has 5 spikes as well but a good comb overall aside from that though her coloring isn't great either.

So I'm currently just breeding them and hoping for a few more with the 3 spikes to really start my own line with after these founders since any more or less are disqualified for showing and I cannot for the life of me find any information on how those comb spikes work and how they pass down!

If anybody has any information or even just hypothesis on how those rose comb spikes work genetically, I would be eternally grateful!

(I do have one chick that just hatched from my founders whose comb specifics are unknown as well as a quail d'anver hen I can breed into my line if need be if breeding a normal rose comb to one with too many spikes would help at all)

 

[Amer]

I really don’t know about the spike inheritance, but I imagine using a quail d’Anvers would improve type and color because they are more refined (being more common) so I don’t see how it could hurt.

 

[KristenG]

Raptor-tooth are you still breeding your Watermaal? I have been breeding them for a while and wouldn’t mind discussing my observations with the triple spike inheritance.

 

[Amer]

Raptor-tooth are you still breeding your Watermaal? I have been breeding them for a while and wouldn’t mind discussing my observations with the triple spike inheritance.

Those are lovely!

 

[KristenG]

Thank you Amer. I suppose since you responded, perhaps I can just post what I have learned about the triple spike anyway because you never know who might be interested in the information.

The triple spike seems to be primarily dominant. It is linked to the crest or tassel gene and, similar to polydactyl does not seem to always express itself with exactly three spikes. Some have suggested that it is similar to the gene for side sprigs, though I Am not sure I have had any true side sprigs in my flock to speak of.

My particular line was created using silkies and d’Anvers. In the beginning, I did have some walnut and single combs. The walnut combs were devoid of spikes. The single combs often also had a triple- or double-bladed appearance to them.

Several generations away from that original cross the trend has been towards a shortening of the spike length and fusion between the spikes, leading to fewer spikes. Currently, I would welcome a 5-spiked bird, since I have noticed those with more than 3 spikes have a bit more potency in putting three spikes on their babies when bred to a bird with fused spikes or fewer than three spikes. I have not tried breeding birds with 5 spikes to normal triple spikes birds, however, so I feel that I cannot lend complete insight as to the best pairing for that hen. I would likely still use her myself, but with a d’Anvers male. Preferably a d’Anvers male with a low tail angle and narrow tail spread.

The last thing I have noticed is the texture gene in the rose comb exerts some influence over the manifestation of the spikes. Extreme texture ( with lots of tooth-shaped points), can lead to the appearance of additional spikes, without there actually being any surplus of true genetic spikes. That said, the texture gene also enhances the length and separation of the true spikes. Unfortunately, it also often lends a blade-shape to the spikes if you are not careful. This texture gene seems to be an incomplete dominant. Because it’s expression is so variable, it makes comb shape difficult to control overall and I found myself moving away from it in favor of very small bumps that I call primary texture (the texture due to the texture gene I call secondary texture). I have found that moving away from the secondary texture has allowed me greater control over the comb shape With regard to the actual body of the comb. However, it has cost me definition within the spikes.

Hopefully this information proves useful to somebody. If anyone would like to know more just let me know

 

[Amer]

Thank you Amer. I suppose since you responded, perhaps I can just post what I have learned about the triple spike anyway because you never know who might be interested in the information.

The triple spike seems to be primarily dominant. It is linked to the crest or tassel gene and, similar to polydactyl does not seem to always express itself with exactly three spikes. Some have suggested that it is similar to the gene for side sprigs, though I Am not sure I have had any true side sprigs in my flock to speak of.

My particular line was created using silkies and d’Anvers. In the beginning, I did have some walnut and single combs. The walnut combs were devoid of spikes. The single combs often also had a triple- or double-bladed appearance to them.

Several generations away from that original cross the trend has been towards a shortening of the spike length and fusion between the spikes, leading to fewer spikes. Currently, I would welcome a 5-spiked bird, since I have noticed those with more than 3 spikes have a bit more potency in putting three spikes on their babies when bred to a bird with fused spikes or fewer than three spikes. I have not tried breeding birds with 5 spikes to normal triple spikes birds, however, so I feel that I cannot lend complete insight as to the best pairing for that hen. I would likely still use her myself, but with a d’Anvers male. Preferably a d’Anvers male with a low tail angle and narrow tail spread.

The last thing I have noticed is the texture gene in the rose comb exerts some influence over the manifestation of the spikes. Extreme texture ( with lots of tooth-shaped points), can lead to the appearance of additional spikes, without there actually being any surplus of true genetic spikes. That said, the texture gene also enhances the length and separation of the true spikes. Unfortunately, it also often lends a blade-shape to the spikes if you are not careful. This texture gene seems to be an incomplete dominant. Because it’s expression is so variable, it makes comb shape difficult to control overall and I found myself moving away from it in favor of very small bumps that I call primary texture (the texture due to the texture gene I call secondary texture). I have found that moving away from the secondary texture has allowed me greater control over the comb shape With regard to the actual body of the comb. However, it has cost me definition within the spikes.

Hopefully this information proves useful to somebody. If anyone would like to know more just let me know

This is really useful and informative! I love learning new things about genetics, so thank you.