Featured Video: Chicken Genetics-Codominant Blue Gene
How to Breed to Get Blue Chickens.
Not all genes are either dominant or recessive – some genes can be co-dominant. That means they can both be expressed even when they are present in only one copy. The chicken gene for black feathers and the gene for the "splash" color are co-dominant. When we mate a black chicken with a splash chicken, the chicks are blue. The blue chicken is heterozygous and can pass on either her black gene or her splash gene to her offspring. If a blue hen mates with a blue rooster, the baby chicks can be blue, black or splash - in fact half will be blue, a quarter will be black and a quarter splash (at least if we get enough chicks to see the odds in action). On the other hand, the gene for lavender colour is a recessive gene, so all lavender chickens are homozygous for lavender, and the lavender colour breeds true. For more fascinating facts, hints and tips about caring for your chickens, and the sheer pleasure of chickens, subscribe to my channel: Chickens in my garden - New Zealand Chickens in my garden. See Video Below.
"Mendel’s law of inheritance, says each chick receives two genes, one from the mother and one from the father. Since blue is made up of 2 colour genes – black (BB) and splash (bb), the laws of probability say we have 4 different possibilities when crossing Blue with Blue. BB, Bb, bB, bb.
The following combinations are achievable:
The following combinations are achievable:
- Blue X Blue = 50% Blue, 25% Black, 25% Splash
- Blue X Black = 50% Blue, 50% Black
- Blue X Splash = 50% Blue, 50% Splash
- Black X Black = 100% Black
- Splash X Splash = 100% Splash
- Splash X Black = 100% Blue" (Daniels, T. 2008).
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References:
- Chicken Genetics - codominant blue genes. (October 13, 2017). YouTube. Retrieved 10 June 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p35NOBLRcV8
