White barred chicken...?

Of course. I went out to take one purposefully for this. It's time to get a nice close up anyway.

I strongly suspect he's half laced Wyandotte of some color, but I even more strongly doubt that he's purebred. Knowing where I got him from, they like to mix birds and hatch for buyers who like the random variety. It's possible they produce the occasional purebred chick, but I don't think this guy is one of them. I do believe it's dominant white that he has. He hatched with a brother who looked the same but without the dominant white, red and black with lacing instead. He passes white coloration on the way you'd expect a bird heterozygous for dominant white to do.
Ah, I was wrong. He’s buff laced (gold laced with dominant white). He is probably a wyandotte mix, but it’s also possible that he’s a purebred buff laced wyandotte since he has such uniform lacing.
 
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This is noodles next to a regular barred chick, just to give an idea of how they compare.
 
I have a theory, could this pattern be sex linked? It seems like there are no hens with this pattern(out of the research I did on this no one has come forward with a hen), so I wonder if it can only appear on cockerels and not pullets. Ideas on this?

Barring is on the sex chromosome (Z), but of course there can be barred birds of both sexes.

Dominant White is not on the sex chromosome.

So I don't see any way for it to be sex linked, unless there is some other gene on the Z chromosome that affects how this appears.

Maybe people have just happened to notice it with roosters?
Considering how much it looks like white, maybe there are some "white" hens with the same pattern, but either the owners didn't notice, or they didn't post about them here.
 
Barring is on the sex chromosome (Z), but of course there can be barred birds of both sexes.

Dominant White is not on the sex chromosome.

So I don't see any way for it to be sex linked, unless there is some other gene on the Z chromosome that affects how this appears.

Maybe people have just happened to notice it with roosters?
Considering how much it looks like white, maybe there are some "white" hens with the same pattern, but either the owners didn't notice, or they didn't post about them here.
Hmmm idk but that’s something that probably needs to be looked into. I don’t think it’s just a coincidence. I wonder if the reason why it seems sex linked is because white overtakes the barring with hens, idk if that makes any sense whatsoever but since barring is sort of a sex link trait that could potentially be a cause? Idk I feel like I’m rattling off all sorts of gibberish that doesn’t make sense. I guess I can see about starting a breeding project, I think I have a pen open to do so in a couple of months.
 
@MysteryChicken @Amer @Harmony Fowl @RoostersAreAwesome @NatJ @3KillerBs @All4Eggz I have a theory, could this pattern be sex linked? It seems like there are no hens with this pattern(out of the research I did on this no one has come forward with a hen), so I wonder if it can only appear on cockerels and not pullets. Ideas on this?
No, it’s just more common in males. Barring cannot be passed from mother to daughter, but the father passes the barring gene to sons and daughters. Naturally, there are more males with this pattern because they can get it from their mothers. However, males are more likely to have leakage because of their sex feathers so it might more easily appear on males.
 
I think some of the perceived difference in prevalence between the sexes may be down to breed popularity. To make barred female offspring, one needs a barred rooster. There are more breeds without barring than with. The odds that any given individual would keep a barred rooster in a mixed flock setting are lower than them keeping a non-barred rooster. Taking that a step further, since barring is sex-linked, it's often used intentionally in both purebred birds and crosses to determine sex at hatch. Fewer males ever make it into the chicken coop in the first place because they're weeded out at birth. Fewer still are chosen to stay as breeding birds in mixed flocks. The odds of a barred hen winding up a breeding animal are much higher. When a barred white bird occurs, it's much more likely to be male because more barred hens are sold and maintained for breeding than barred roosters, in general. If there is a difference in prevalence, I'd chalk it up to our artificial selection, our preference for females and the nature of barring inheritance.
 
I think some of the perceived difference in prevalence between the sexes may be down to breed popularity. To make barred female offspring, one needs a barred rooster. There are more breeds without barring than with. The odds that any given individual would keep a barred rooster in a mixed flock setting are lower than them keeping a non-barred rooster. Taking that a step further, since barring is sex-linked, it's often used intentionally in both purebred birds and crosses to determine sex at hatch. Fewer males ever make it into the chicken coop in the first place because they're weeded out at birth. Fewer still are chosen to stay as breeding birds in mixed flocks. The odds of a barred hen winding up a breeding animal are much higher. When a barred white bird occurs, it's much more likely to be male because more barred hens are sold and maintained for breeding than barred roosters, in general. If there is a difference in prevalence, I'd chalk it up to our artificial selection, our preference for females and the nature of barring inheritance.
Well said.
 

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