Wry tail

[flyingmonkeypoop]

I know some people call me a know it all when it comes to chickens but I do have many questions, lol.
Ok, I just got a trio of barred leghorn bantams and one of the hens has a wry tail. I know I read about it somewhere but I am not 100% sure so I am asking here. Is wry tail dominant or not? If I breed from her and it is dominant, about what percentage of the chicks will show it?

Before everyone asks, yes I will get some pics later.

Michael

 

[speckledhen]

Michael, I had a cockerel with wry tail once so I did some research. I learned that it takes two recessive genes meeting up from the parents to express the trait in the chick. They should not be used for breeding, ideally. My question however was this: if it is bred to another bird without the gene, will the trait show up in the progeny? And you'd not be able to see which one had the trait and which bird didn't unless it actually has wry tail visible. Maybe that's why they say not to breed one with wry tail because you may not know which bird you are breeding to has the recessive gene?

 

[patandchickens]

(assuming it is indeed a simple recessive trait)

--yes, that, and also the fact that people tend to breed their chickens' progeny together at some point down the line and then you have a distressingly high chance of two copies of that gene (well, allele) meeting up and seeing wry tails again.

Things that are recessive and are considered serious flaws, it's generally recommended, in animal breeding on the whole, that you not breed from an individual showing that trait, unless it is almost literally the last of its kind on the planet, because you end up perpetuating the gene (allele) in future generations, rather than gradually cleaning it out of your stock (and the stock of anyone you sell your chicks to who might then breed them on).

If a person is just having Fun With The Backyard Mixed Flock and doesn't really care about wry tail or gene pools or all that, I can't see it's worth worrying about -- but if you're trying to breed a particular breed with some view to the future, it seems unwise to me, and possibly slightly unfair to anyone who might purchase progeny.

Good luck though,

Pat

 

[KKluckers]

Quote:

Couldn't of said it better myself.

 

[speckledhen]

Yup, that about sums it up.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Dang, well I guess I am going to have to cull her off. It would be nice if it was a recessive trait so it wouldnt be that much of a problem.
Thanks for your help everyone.

 

[speckledhen]

Technically, it is recessive. You just dont know if who you're breeding her to will also have the recessive trait, unexpressed and hidden. I sold my boy to someone who just wanted a rooster to breeed to her older BR layers to replace them. I wasn't sure at the time if it was really wry tail or just a weird way he carried it/injury, but since have learned alot more about it.

 

[bantamgal]

I dont know hardly anything about genetics, but when I have a chicken with a wry tail, I either get rid of it, or just have it as a pet (no breeding).

 

[bluey]

Quote:
That and everytime you bred her (ww) with a double dominant (WW) alleled chicken, you'd be producing more chickens (100%) with a hidden non-expressed recessive allele for wry tail (Ww).

So, if:
ww=wry tailed
Ww=normal tail with wry hidden recessive
WW=normal tail, no recessive

then mating her with a WW produces 100% Ww

mating her with a Ww produces 50% Ww and 50% ww

mating her with a ww produces... obviously 100% ww

You asked for the actual percentages and you can see why folks quit breeding these birds. You will eventually end up with all wry tailed birds or those carrying at least the recessive gene from these matings...no normals WW...

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Well I just got back in from feeding and when I was in their pen her tail was normal and all. When I came back from feeding it was wry again but not as bad. I just read on the-coop about wry tails and someone said that in young seramas they have weak tail beds or something like that and they showed a pic of the young bird and again when it was older, its tail was correct when it was older. I almost wonder if this could be the case, she is only about 3-4 months old. I think I will hold onto her until she gets older and see if it straightens out once she gets her adult plumage in. I will get pics of her with and without wry tail, its kinda odd that its straight when I am in the pen.