New Bantam Chicks

[Mike Gilbert]

Thought I would try my hand at posting photos - after all these years.   These are some wheaten, blue wheaten, black, and one buff bantam chicks hatched here last weekend.  There is one brown red, but he is virtually indistinguishable from the blacks (which are out of a blue hen).  If this works I\'ll post more photos later.

[John]

They look great!

[Mike Gilbert]

Here are some large fowl Brown Red chicks hatched in January.   Some have white on the chest, some just a little grey.

[Mike Gilbert]

And this is what CAN happen when your stock is not pure for the correct e-locus genes.    These chicks are buff columbians out of the large fowl brown reds.   Their parents each had one copy of brown (e>b) instead of two copies of birchen (e>R).
Since e>b is recessive to e>R it was not possible to tell by the looks (phenotype) of the parents.   Each breeder will be test mated over the next two years to ensure they will throw nothing but brown reds.

[Guest]

Mike,
Can you explain this? Granted, I don\'t even understand the genetics...but can you possibly \"dumb it down\" a little?
Thanks
April

I\'m very jealous of your brown/red chicks !!!!

[Mike Gilbert]

There are only about a half dozen or so primary color genes, and these are found at one particular location on one particular chromosome.  That location is called a \"locus.\"  The locus for these primary color genes is designated \"e.\"
All Chromosomes except one (the sex-link chromosome) are inherited in pairs, so each chicken has two e-locus genes.  Actually, the sex-linked chromosome is inherited in pairs also, but one of the two is inactive, so I think of it as not being there for simplicity sake.  In chickens, the inactive chromosome is found in females, in humans and mammals it is found in males.    No, ladies, that is NOT the reason.  Anyway, there are many, many other feather color genes, but most of the time their action depends on which e locus genes  they are found in conjunction with.  The buff columbian chicks above, had they had at least one e locus BIRCHEN gene, would have looked like brown reds.   Instead, they inherited BROWN e locus genes, one from each parent.   The parents looked like, and were, brown reds, but each had one BIRCHEN and one BROWN e- locus gene.    The buff columbian chicks inherited BROWN from both their mother and their father.   Since BROWN is recessive to BIRCHEN, these buff columbian chicks will breed true for their color, as they carry no BIRCHEN.  Does that help?

[Guest]

Thank you so much...I\'ll study this to understand more. You have been great !!!

[Guest]

Question,,,,so these are brown/red but they will look buff and all their offspring will look buff also? Therefore, you wouldn\'t be able to use them to produce more brown/red\'s, correct?
Please forgive my slowness....

[Mike Gilbert]

Question,,,,so these are brown/red but they will look buff and all their offspring will look buff also? Therefore, you wouldn\'t be able to use them to produce more brown/red\'s, correct?

No , the buff columbian chicks are not brown red, and they have no ability to produce brown reds when mated among themselves.   They did not inherit the proper e locus genes to make them brown red.    While I have not attempted it, the buff columbians should produce nothing but buff columbians when mated among themsleves.    It\'s kind of like breeding two whites that came from black parents.   Since white is recessive, it has to be \"pure\" (homozygous) in order to manifest itself.   These whites, mated among themselves, will always produce more whites, never blacks.  Same principle with the buff columbians.

[Guest]

Ah Ha....I think I\'m getting it..somewhere down their line they had buff in them..correct?

Thank you so much for your patience....by the way, I do have one cockerel and one pullet...thank goodness. I also finally trimmed his spurs...that was kind of gross. He did really well though. Thanks for all your help.

April

[verycherry]

Have you every raised one of the BC chicks to adulthood?  Seems like it would be an easy variety....or easier than some.

[Mike Gilbert]

Have you every raised one of the BC chicks to adulthood?  Seems like it would be an easy variety....or easier than some.

Two friends who live close by have raised them.   As expected some are better in coloring than others, but they are all recognizable as buff columbian.   There certainly are modifiers at work as well.   But this would be a variety someone could work with to perfect without ever introducing outside blood.   Any extras I have this year are already promised.

[verycherry]

If you ever get a chance to get a picture of one of the adults I\'d love to see.  It sounds beautiful.  

I\'d be interested in some for next year since this years are spoken for.