So I guess both Cochins and Silkies come in both Dominant white and recessive white?I don\'t raise those breeds, but suspect that might be the case.....and the down color has nothing to do with the gold and silver gene?
I would not go that far. It depends on a variety of factors, so one can\'t make a blanket statement that it always is this or that. Silver/gold is responsible for the chick down color differences between buff and light Brahmas, partridge and silver penciled, silver and light brown, etc., etc.
But I don\'t think it causes yellow versus gray down in most cases.
Well, the white chick I hatched from my Black/Lavender split Ameraucana (from John) is yellow, and feathering in white. She was breed by a white roo about 2 weeks prior to being put in with my Lavender roo, so I\'m leaning towards her (and her white father) being dominant white even more now.
By \"she\" do you mean the mother of the yellow chick, which is the split from John?
Do you know the source of your white rooster? It is possible he could be dominant white - in fact it is possible for chickens to be BOTH dominant and recessive white, as the genes are inherited independently of each other.
Yes, she, my B/L split (and a few more from John), was in a pen with other hens and roos (a white roo being dominant roo) prior to being separated into a breeding pen with John\'s Lav cockerel and 3 more B/L splits.
I hatched the white roo from some of my white Ameraucana hens back in the day when everyone ran together, just for fun, just to have chickens, and his father MIGHT have been one of the EE\'s that I used in developing the red pyles, so he could very well be dominant white, but as you mentioned they can also carry recessive white, so that is also also a possibility.
I don\'t have this same white roo now. I sold him several weeks to months back as an EE, because his comb was a little floppy and he had a little green in his legs. I also have his brother, who\'s much better but still a touch of green near his feet. I\'ve never used him for breeding, but may use him with the Red Pyles if he\'s dominant white.
Breeding the white roo to that B/L hen wasn\'t intentional by the way, but neither was it prevented. They were all in a large coop/grow out pen and a run together.