What Earlobe Genes are Dominant/Codominant/Recessive?

[artbykarenehaley]

I have some White Faced Black Spanish and am curious how their earlobe Genes work. Here are my questions:

Is the size dominant or recessive? A mixture?

Why is the earlobe white?

Would a crossing with another breed change the resulting chicks' earlobes to a combination or can earlobes only be white, blue, red, or Fibromelanistic ayam cemani, white and black?
Thank you!

 

[EIEIO Funny Farm]

I have some White Faced Black Spanish and am curious how their earlobe Genes work. Here are my questions:

Is the size dominant or recessive? A mixture?

Why is the earlobe white?

Would a crossing with another breed change the resulting chicks' earlobes to a combination or can earlobes only be white, blue, red, or Fibromelanistic ayam cemani, white and black?
Thank you!

I don’t know the answer, but would love to see pics.

 

[artbykarenehaley]

I don’t know the answer, but would love to see pics.

Here's two of the white faced black Spanish pullets, with their white earlobes.

I don't have good photos of the two cockerels on hand, as they are located at my parents' property where my sister and I keep a mixed flock that includes some mosaics (blue earlobes and skin), Australorps (red earlobes, not sure what their skin color is) and ayam cemani (black earlobes and skin). there are Easter eggers there too, and I'm curious if the beard gene would supercede the large earlobes gene or combine. I'll get some photos of the Spanish cockerels tomorrow. They have quite the large earlobes already despite being only six months old, and are handsome fellows.

In the background of this photo is my Australorp (she has red earlobes) and my Easter Egger. (Blueish white earlobes with red speckles). These hens are four of the six egg layers I keep at my home, which is within city limits. We can only keep six hens in town, no roosters.

 

[DarJones]

I crossed red ear Silver Laced Wyandottes with white ear blue egg laying Brown Leghorns. F1's have mid level partially white ears. F2 and up the ears tend to segregate 1/4 white, 1/2 mid level, and 1/4 red. This suggests white ear lobe is a single gene trait. For my purposes, I don't care what color the ear lobe is, but since I back crossed to Silver Laced Wyandotte, the result is that most of my chickens are now red eared.

 

[artbykarenehaley]

I crossed red ear Silver Laced Wyandottes with white ear blue egg laying Brown Leghorns. F1's have mid level partially white ears. F2 and up the ears tend to segregate 1/4 white, 1/2 mid level, and 1/4 red. This suggests white ear lobe is a single gene trait. For my purposes, I don't care what color the ear lobe is, but since I back crossed to Silver Laced Wyandotte, the result is that most of my chickens are now red eared.

Oh interesting, thank you! It sounds like you're right. I'm going to keep updating this thread with what happens when we hatch out eggs from the different ear colored chickens we have.
I'll take note about the size too and whether it does a similar thing.

 

[SourRoses]

Oh interesting, thank you! It sounds like you're right. I'm going to keep updating this thread with what happens when we hatch out eggs from the different ear colored chickens we have.
I'll take note about the size too and whether it does a similar thing.

Well, how did it go? I'm curious about this topic too!

 

[pinewoodacres]

I would agree with the above. I’m working with Welsummers (red) and Legbars (white) and the first gen crosses have somewhat of a mixed look to them but the backcross to Legbar progeny have pretty much all white. Trying to think if I remember anybody with red but I don’t think so. The backcrosses to Welsummer have mostly red. There may be a tinge of the opposite here and there but Legbars also can have a tinge of red in the earlobe at times anyway. So, I am not sure which might be dominant! But it seems pretty straightforward as far as heritability. Now I will have to look at my F2s tomorrow! I’ll try to remember to update this when I do.

 

[pinewoodacres]

I checked out my F2s and some have white and some mostly red with just a little streaking of white (not unlike a Legbar). I have one F1 boy with red but almost every other F1 I’ve hatched since a year ago now seems to have white or mostly white. I have one single BC to Legbar boy with mostly red. I guess I’m more confused now. It’s almost like they are co-dominant.

I will add that it seems like the females have less of the mishmash and tend toward white while the males have more of the streaking and more unexpected results. Could be related to the amount of that type of skin in the males vs females.

 

[SourRoses]

I will add that it seems like the females have less of the mishmash and tend toward white while the males have more of the streaking and more unexpected results. Could be related to the amount of that type of skin in the males vs females.

Interesting! Thank you for the update!

I wonder if this points toward involvement of the Z chromosome, with males requiring two copies for a full presentation.
I've read that some skin color genes, such as id+, are on the Z chromosome.

@NatJ
@nicalandia
@DarJones
What do you guys think?

 

[raingarden]

For what its worth, the ancestral red junglefowl had prominent white ear lobes.