White Silkies throwing Partidge

[spkg]

I live in New Zealand and love this website a so much info re chooks.....I breed white and BBS silkies, I have just changed out my white rooster as he didn't have the darkest of cones/wattles (although gave me the biggest vaulted skulls and amazing pom poms on my girls) I got a white roo from a "top" breeder here in NZ but since breeding with him he's throwing 75% partridge chicks. Is this a recessive gene in him as have NEVER had this issue before and the person I got him from is dancing around the question....he's the most loveliest rooster and really quirky character, but I am not a fan of partridge and not into breeding this colour way (am 80% of the chicks are too smutty in colour to do anything with and not correct partridge)

Also, from my last hatch, I have had 3 cross beaks and 2 wry tails.....again NEVER had this....I do line breed to 2nd generation then breed out to a new rooster (depends on the hens and roos) but now have all these issues and thinking is it this 1 white roo causing all this grief? I had a gorgeous splash rooster, he was slightly aggressive and very dominate with his girls, I moved him on as thought it was him, but since he's gone I am hatching 1 disaster after another....

Any help guys or advice would be greatly apprecaited

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! This new cock isn't working out, that's for sure! Pretty to look at doesn't always mean that the genetics will be what you need. Good luck finding another boy; maybe use one of your other cockrels. Mary

 

[Kev]

sorry for all the troubles. No fun.

probably the white roo is genetically a partridge. White is not really a color, it just 'stops' whatever color/patterns the bird has from showing up visually.

the partridge chicks is proof the hens used are partridge carriers.

Breed a partridge(what your white probably is) with a partridge carrier= 50% partridges. Your high numbers is just coincidence, breed larger numbers and it will come down to that or lower if breeding with multiple hens(as some hens might not be carriers).

unfortunately if he is partridge under that white, then ALL of his non- partridges offspring are partridge carriers. Expect some of the blacks/blues/splash out of him to eventually show off color on their necks and probably backs too.

white bred to white should not ever produce anything besides white as most white silkies have the recessive kind of white... which means they are 'pure' for it. My guess is the white roo is breeding the b/b/s hens?

partridge lurking 'under' other silkie colors is extremely, extremely common.

can't comment on genetics of wry tails and beaks.. most folks recommend not ever breeding from these.

 

[donrae]

sounds like there's a reason this "top" breeder got rid of this bird

. I'd follow their example and move him on.

 

[Wappoke]

I live in New Zealand and love this website a so much info re chooks.....I breed white and BBS silkies, I have just changed out my white rooster as he didn't have the darkest of cones/wattles (although gave me the biggest vaulted skulls and amazing pom poms on my girls) I got a white roo from a "top" breeder here in NZ but since breeding with him he's throwing 75% partridge chicks. Is this a recessive gene in him as have NEVER had this issue before and the person I got him from is dancing around the question....he's the most loveliest rooster and really quirky character, but I am not a fan of partridge and not into breeding this colour way (am 80% of the chicks are too smutty in colour to do anything with and not correct partridge)

Also, from my last hatch, I have had 3 cross beaks and 2 wry tails.....again NEVER had this....I do line breed to 2nd generation then breed out to a new rooster (depends on the hens and roos) but now have all these issues and thinking is it this 1 white roo causing all this grief? I had a gorgeous splash rooster, he was slightly aggressive and very dominate with his girls, I moved him on as thought it was him, but since he's gone I am hatching 1 disaster after another....

Any help guys or advice would be greatly apprecaited

If you are breeding white to white and the cross is producing 75 % partridge that would indicate the male is dominant white.

If you are getting only partridge that would indicate all of your hens and the male are hypostatic partridge or carry some of the genes that express the partridge phenotype. Too much black in the feathers would indicate the hens and male are not purebred for the genes needed to produce a partridge secondary color pattern.

Reduced penetrance could be the answer and if that is the case the male would have to be carrying a sex linked recessive gene that would be epistatic to the recessive white genes. That would only cause 25% of the young ( all females) to be partridge like. I can not think of a scenario where the male can carry a gene that would account for the 75%. A dominant gene can give such offspring ratios but he could not be white nor a hen- both parents would have to be heterozygous for partridge and that does not fit the situation.

I am going to have to go with the dominant white being the genetic answer. Unless I can think of some other answer that sounds logical.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

White to white shod only vive whife offspring...since you are getting partridge chicks, either one parent is not white, or it is ,as was previously stated, dominant white, not the typical recessive white. If you've never had the other issues, I suggest getting another rooster for your breeding.