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First published and adapted from "My Mailbox"
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QUESTION
I thought I had the genetics figured out, but I’ve become confused. I used
a program that others have sent me and thought I knew exactly what one
of my pairs could produce. It has broken the male splits down and
changed the possible outcome of my pair. I'm looking for Linda's help on
this. I will be getting her workbook soon, as now I am extremely interested
in how this all works.

The cock is a Whiteface split to Pied, Lutino and Pearl - I thought it was
Lutino-Pearl, but because of the babies he's thrown, it must be Lutino
and Pearl. (This cock’s mother is a Whiteface Lutino and his father is a
Whiteface. There must be Pearl in there somewhere). The hen is a
Normal Grey split to Whiteface, and I am unsure of her background. The
pair produced the following offspring: Normal Grey, Whiteface Lutino,
Whiteface, and a Whiteface Pearl in the first clutch. The second clutch
had 2 Normal Greys, a Whiteface and a Whiteface Pearl.  

Here's where the confusion comes in.  According to my new chart all the
males are either Normal Grey or Whiteface and none of the females are.
This is different than before and I am wondering if I did this right? I also
played around with the Lutino and Pearl and in order to throw a
Whiteface Pearl, my male has to carry each of these genes ... is this
correct?

Is it normal to get the same mutations in females (i.e., Whiteface Pearl
and Whiteface Lutino, but not the standard Pearl or Lutino)? The
program showed the same probability for both and I'm wondering if this is
correct?  And if so, will the Normal and Whiteface offspring be male? If
this is correct, it will be easier than I thought to tell whether chicks from
this pair are male or females. Thanks,
Diana


ANSWER
Hi Diana,

I am glad you are getting my workbook because I wrote it to end this kind
of confusion by teaching breeders a simple method they can learn and
exercise on their own. Unfortunately, computer programs do not always
teach these types of skills or chart more complex crosses in depth.

You are on the right track. Your cock's sire was a Whiteface, but he was
also split to Pearl in order to throw a Whiteface/Lutino, Pearl and Pied
male offspring when paired to a Whiteface Lutino hen. In addition, either
one, or both of the grandparents had to be visual Pied, or split to Pied, in
order for the Pied gene to be inherited in split form in your adult breeding
cock. Therefore:


Breeding a Whiteface/Lutino, Pearl and Pied cock to a Normal
Grey/Whiteface hen =

cocks:

6.25% Whiteface/Lutino Pied
6.25% Whiteface/Lutino
6.25% Normal Grey/Whiteface Lutino and Pied
6.25% Normal Grey/Whiteface Lutino
6.25% Whiteface/Pearl Pied
6.25% Whiteface/Pearl
6.25% Normal Grey/Whiteface Pearl Pied
6.25% Normal Grey/Whiteface Pearl

hens:

6.25% Whiteface Lutino/Pied
6.25% Whiteface Lutino
6.25% Lutino/Whiteface Pied
6.25% Lutino/Whiteface
6.25% Whiteface Pearl/Pied
6.25% Whiteface Pearl
6.25% Pearl/Whiteface Pied
6.25% Pearl/Whiteface


As you can see by the above colors, you will be able to sex the young
once they are fully feathered. Cocks will appear as Whiteface or Normal
Grey; hens will appear as Whiteface Lutino, Whiteface Pearl, Lutino, or
Pearl. However, ALL the young have extra color mutations that they carry
and can pass onto their future offspring. What a great pairing!


Remember, too, that all percentages are based upon every 100 chicks
produced per pair. Therefore, while you may have a preponderance of
several phenotypes (visual mutations) in the first nest or two, future nests
will eventually throw the remaining predicted colors.
This remaining balance will eventually even out the numbers predicted
for each genotype (i.e., the complete genetic makeup of an individual
organism) as listed above.


However, should you produce any of the following visual mutations:
Whiteface Lutino-Pearl cocks, Lutino-Pearl cocks, Whiteface Lutino-Pearl
hens, or Lutino-Pearl hens, then you have encountered the
rare
phenomenon of
genetic crossover. In this case, the Pearl gene has
crossed over to combine with the Lutino gene on the same X sex
chromosome in the male. As a result, many of the genotypes above will
differ accordingly.

If you do experience the event of crossover, it can be compensated for in
a new chart that will reflect such changes and you are encouraged to
submit it as another question.