Yellow legs, hard to breed out?

[Krys109uk]

It is Id (inhibitor of dermal melanin) that is sex linked. It inhibits pigment from the lower layer of skin.
A male without Id being mated to a female with Id would give light legged females. But not to be confused with the dark pigment on the outer layer of skin (epidermis) which is more to do with the allele at the e-locus.

In dark legged extended black birds one can usually ascertain the skin colour by looking at the underside of the feet. Otherwise the yellow/white just works the same.

 

[ceadar post]

I've been trying to get the legs yellow on my black wyandottes. Will get some that are part yellow but seems hard to get rid of the dark or black legs. Any suggestions.

 

[Krys109uk]

There are two layers of skin affecting leg colour. The epidermis (outer layer) & the dermis (inner layer).

Black wyandottes are brown at the e-locus with melanising genes to make them black. If somehow the e-allel in your blacks is extended black this would make the epidermis dark while the skin colour could still be non white (yellow). If the dermis is dark on birds which are the correct e-allele for black wyandottes & the legs are yellow this would cause a greenish effect (willow?). Dark pigment in the dermis is stopped by the sex linked gene Id. In order for the black wyandotte to have yellow legs it would need to be brown at the e-locus, have the gene to inhibit dermal melanin & be 'pure' for the non white skin gene.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Quote:
I had the same problem when I had black wyandottes. The males would have great leg color but the hens would have shading. It seems like the same thing with barring.

 

[onthespot]

does the lacing gene, like golden laced affect either layer of pigment?

 

[Krys109uk]

does the lacing gene, like golden laced affect either layer of pigment?

Not as far as I know. Barring inhibits pigment in both layers I think. Mottling inhibits pigment & dominant white inhibits pigment to some extent.​

 

[blackdotte]

To breed exhibition Black Wyandottes you are going to have to breed two totally separate strains. A pullet breeding strain ,for exhibition females, that will give pullets with dark undercolour and clean yellow legs, the males will also have clean yellow legs but will be white in the undercolour especially under the neck hackle, basically the genome is eb/eb Ml/Ml w/w Id/Id (Id/- hen) .
For the cockerel breeding line,exhibition males, you will get males that have black undercolour to the skin, yellow legs with maybe a slight trace line of black, and possibly darker beaks, the hens will have dark dusky shanks. Basic genome is ER/eb Ml/Ml w/w Id/Id (Id/- hen). The latter will not breed true and you will get some dark shanked males & light shanked pullets. They can be bred on either S or s+ but I found the latter to be better as far as the green feather sheen was concerned,
David

 

[onthespot]

Thank you David. I don't comprehend all the alphabet soup, but I get the gist of what you are saying and I just wanted you to know that even though I don't get it all yet, I do really really REALLY appreciate your answering in clear, scientific terms, which once I 'get it' will be as easy as a math problem to understand.