What is my rooster a mix of? Can a mixed breed rooster create a sex link?

[BesideStillWaters]

I mixed Wild Thang, whom I thought was a Rhode Island Red, with our Rhode Island Red, Aurora, and Silver Laced Wyandotte, Tiny. One should have given me Rhode Island Reds, the other should have given me red sex links. But I have two chicks out of 15 that I believe are red roosters with rose combs, which shouldn't have happened for either of the hen's eggs. So I'm guessing Wild Thang isn't a Rhode Island Red but a mix of Rhode Island Red and something else. It's really confusing because last July I hatched out eggs from the SLW and I got brown / red girls and white and black boys. Is it possible that the SLW hatched out sex links with a mixed breed rooster or was I lucky? Can the sex link gene stay intact if both parents have the gene that would cause sex links with a SLW? Any ideas?

Here is the one I believe to be male:

And here is one of the females (where in the world did gold come from?!!! Three chicks are gold!):

Sorry her face is a bit blurred, it's hard to get clear shots when they are so active!

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

A red cockerel can’t come from a red rooster and a silver hen. Do you have any red hens that could be the mother?

 

[BesideStillWaters]

A red cockerel can’t come from a red rooster and a silver hen. Do you have any red hens that could be the mother?

Yes - a rhode island red. I wasn't sure when I was hatching this batch whose eggs were whose. I assumed the red rooster came from the silver hen because of the rose comb. (Good to know it was actually the RIR who gave me the red rooster!) The rhode island red and the red rooster both have single combs. Does this mean that whatever Wild Thang is mixed with would have had a rose comb and that gene showed up in the chicks?

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Yes - a rhode island red. I wasn't sure when I was hatching this batch whose eggs were whose. I assumed the red rooster came from the silver hen because of the rose comb. (Good to know it was actually the RIR who gave me the red rooster!) The rhode island red and the red rooster both have single combs. Does this mean that whatever Wild Thang is mixed with would have had a rose comb and that gene showed up in the chicks?

A rose comb can’t come from two single combed parents either. Do you have any red hens with rose combs?

 

[BDutch]

If a rosecomb is a recessive gene this is possible. Sometimes recessive genes hide for a long time.
If mother and father are both single comb with a single comb and a rose comb gene, an average of 25% of the chicks have a rose-comb.

But Roostersareawsome is right (check) . Because rose-comb is dominant.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

A rose comb can’t come from two single combed parents either. Do you have any red hens with rose combs?

I do, but they are in a separate run, and they are the first hatch that I had off the SLW and this rooster. I didn't use any of their eggs. Since they are in separate houses, it was easy to not get eggs confused.

If a rosecomb is a recessive gene this is possible. Sometimes recessive genes hide for a long time.
If mother and father are both single comb with a single comb and a rose comb gene, an average of 25% of the chicks have a rose-comb.

But Roostersareawsome is right (check) . Because rose-comb is dominant.

So if there was a recessive gene, would the mother of the red rooster be the RIR? Or would this mean it's actually possible for it to have come from the SLW? Because the SLW has the rose comb.

I had no idea rose combs were dominant, but that makes sense. My last hatch, I had 13 chickens and of those, only two had single combs and everyone else had rose combs. Of that hatch, I believe both of the ones to get single combs came from my Golden Laced Wyandotte and this red rooster, because I set eggs from the RIR and if I labeled correctly, all 7 of those were duds.

This time, I have 15 chickens and at least four have single combs, and I'm assuming all those are from the RIR. (They don't have lacing like I would expect out of a SLW mixed chick, and they weren't "chipmunks" when they were babies.)

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I do, but they are in a separate run, and they are the first hatch that I had off the SLW and this rooster. I didn't use any of their eggs. Since they are in separate houses, it was easy to not get eggs confused.


So if there was a recessive gene, would the mother of the red rooster be the RIR? Or would this mean it's actually possible for it to have come from the SLW? Because the SLW has the rose comb.

I had no idea rose combs were dominant, but that makes sense. My last hatch, I had 13 chickens and of those, only two had single combs and everyone else had rose combs. Of that hatch, I believe both of the ones to get single combs came from my Golden Laced Wyandotte and this red rooster, because I set eggs from the RIR and if I labeled correctly, all 7 of those were duds.

This time, I have 15 chickens and at least four have single combs, and I'm assuming all those are from the RIR. (They don't have lacing like I would expect out of a SLW mixed chick, and they weren't "chipmunks" when they were babies.)

Huh. Do you have any other roosters (or cockerels) that could have been the father of the rose combed chicks? Hens can carry sperm for a surprisingly long time.

Rose combs are definitely dominant over single combs. Single combs are actually recessive to most comb types. Rose combed chickens can have single combed offspring if they carry a recessive single comb gene.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Huh. Do you have any other roosters (or cockerels) that could have been the father of the rose combed chicks? Hens can carry sperm for a surprisingly long time.

Rose combs are definitely dominant over single combs. Single combs are actually recessive to most comb types. Rose combed chickens can have single combed offspring if they carry a recessive single comb gene.

Yes, I do have other roosters, but I was so careful to make sure only Wild Thang had contact with these two hens so I would get RIRs and sex links. Maybe I didn't wait long enough. How long is a long time? More than a month? Because yes, Wild Thang's son mated with the RIR over a month before I started saving eggs. But he is also a red rooster with a single comb. His mother is a Golden Laced Wyandotte (she has a rose comb), and he has her lacing on his breast. This is Baelfire:

How quickly can the sperm get into the next egg? Because I had a staggered hatch. All the eggs from the first part of the hatch I thought would be WIld Thang's (I pretty much quarantined the two hens with the rooster for over a month), but I had another rooster get loose around two days before I was done collecting for the second batch of eggs, and I know he fathered several of those chicks. But I was sure this red rooster chick was from the first part of the hatch, so I didn't think he would be the father. This is the other rooster, Patriot:

Did he somehow manage to father some of the first batch of eggs too?!!

 

[RoosterWhisperer]

I mixed Wild Thang, whom I thought was a Rhode Island Red, with our Rhode Island Red, Aurora, and Silver Laced Wyandotte, Tiny. One should have given me Rhode Island Reds, the other should have given me red sex links. But I have two chicks out of 15 that I believe are red roosters with rose combs, which shouldn't have happened for either of the hen's eggs. So I'm guessing Wild Thang isn't a Rhode Island Red but a mix of Rhode Island Red and something else. It's really confusing because last July I hatched out eggs from the SLW and I got brown / red girls and white and black boys. Is it possible that the SLW hatched out sex links with a mixed breed rooster or was I lucky? Can the sex link gene stay intact if both parents have the gene that would cause sex links with a SLW? Any ideas?

View attachment 2734114

Here is the one I believe to be male:

View attachment 2734115

And here is one of the females (where in the world did gold come from?!!! Three chicks are gold!):

View attachment 2734116
Sorry her face is a bit blurred, it's hard to get clear shots when they are so active!

#1 100 % rooster, and #2, looks like a 99 % hen. The legs look awful thick for a hen though......

 

[BesideStillWaters]

#1 100 % rooster, and #2, looks like a 99 % hen. The legs look awful thick for a hen though......

Thanks, I suspected he was. (Almost hoped he was, that little thing pecks and bites. ) I really hope Goldie is a girl! Just posted a different thread for the chick genders. All 15 of them.