Wrytail genetic?

[chickened]

I have an otherwise real nice rooster and want to breed him and he has wrytail. I have read both ways that it is genetic and that it is not. Would you use him in spite of wrytail?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...tics-of-recessive-genes-specifically-wry-tail
You might enjoy this thread.

I once sold a roo just because he had a wry tail. Broke my heart.

 

[speckledhen]

Yes, it is genetic and will be passed on. It takes two birds with the gene for it to express the trait in the offspring, but they can still pass on the gene, so you can have a bird carrying the gene who doesn't show the trait. I wouldn't breed one with wry tail, no.

 

[gjensen]

From recent experience and some looking into . . . I have come to the conclusion that there can be more than one gene that causes it. I hatched 60 chicks from a single male with two females. The first small batch (8) gave me two with wry tails. Both females. The other three batches gave me no wry tails. Two out of 60. The matings were the same. None of the three possible parents showed the trait. I think there is more than one gene contributing with my birds. If it was a single simple recessive gene, I would guess that I would have seen more. 52 birds later and no wry tails. I knew to look for it, because the batch the parents came from gave me three.
I have read that it was as simple as a recessive trait, and a need for the male and female to carry it. Judging by my experience that could be the case. BUT, seeing what I saw this year . . . it isn't always that simple. I believe that there can be more than one cause (gene) that can be the issue. Simply put that one person's wry tail is not necessarily the same as another's wry tail.
Regardless, it is a problem. The bird should not be bred.

 

[chickened]

I have never had a bird with wry tail as a breeder myself and I bought the birds unseen and was not too happy when the woman showed up and then said it had wrytail. I think she should have told me... my fault on that one.

It is a lemon cuckoo orp from very good lines and I really want to breed it but do not want to deal with wrytail popping up. What to do... I am a culler by trade and advocate it strongly.

 

[NYREDS]

IMO there's never a good reason to use a bird with a disqualification as a breeder IF you're interested in showing, preserving or improving a breed. If you just want chickens it doesn't really matter.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Can you ask the woman you bought him from for a quality replacement that DOESN'T have a wry tail?

I breed Andalusians and I had the worst luck in getting a black male that was worth keeping. Several years ago I got two nice ones. One of them was FAR superior to his brother. As he matured though, he couldn't hold up that magnificent tail! Made me so mad, I finally chopped his head off and put him in a pot! Just like you, this broke my heart, as it was his only problem.

Now I have a very nice black male, he's just on the small side. I've mated him to correctly sized females and the offspring are growing and are very promising!

 

[speckledhen]

I think a gene can be held by a parent and not passed on 100% of the time, so you can have the same two parents produce wry tailed chicks some of the time and not others. It doesn't mean the chick isn't carrying a copy from one parent, though. Could be one parent passed it on and the other one didn't in that one chick.

I know that a bird who carries a dwarf gene will pass it on to only 50% of the offspring.

 

[chickened]

The hen I got with him is fine and I am considering culling her also. These are very nice birds from very good stock and it just kills me to cull them. Honestly I may try a seperate breeding and see what happens if for anything pure curiosity.

I do not plan to show these birds but do plan to sell the offspring after I improve them, many generations from now.

 

[speckledhen]

Could be the hen is not related to him and therefore, doesn't carry the gene. The problem is, you won't know that unless you breed her or do genetic testing.