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Question on clearing up brassiness in white.

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Guest:
If the hen is recessive white:

If you back cross to the hen then you will have one chance in four of getting a white bird that carries the extended black gene. You will not get any birds that carry two of the extended black genes.  I would want to work toward a bird that was homozygous at the e locus and would carry two extended black genes. Once you get homozygous birds then you will eliminate the brassy problem. As long as you have heterozygous birds you will continue to throw some brassy whites.

On the positive side the hen backcross would produce more whites.

If I did the hen back cross I would do the following.

P = original parent

Black roo (P) X white hen (P)  = F1 black chicks

F1 black roo X white hen (P) =  F2 White chicks and black chicks

F2 white roo X F1 black hen = 3 chances in 8 getting white   chicks that carry the extended black gene

1 in 8 of the chicks will be the other e locus ( non-black)phenotype.

Rooster

Guest:
This has all been extremely helpful. I have asked this question at several places and this is the clearest explaination or game plan I have read yet. I definetly appreciate it.

Guest:
Silverpullet,

You can determine if your white bird is carrying one or two extended black genes. If you cross your white ameraucana with a light brown leghorn, you can find out if the ameraucana carries one or two extended black genes.

If the cross only produces black chicks then the white ameraucana has two extended black genes. If the cross produces non black chicks then the white ameraucana has an extended black gene and another e locus gene.

This test cross will work if the amerucana is recessive white.

Rooster

Mike Gilbert:
Question:   wouldn\'t the E>R (birchen) gene at the e-locus also produce black chicks?  My brown reds are hatched with almost entirely black chick down.    Actually, I don\'t think that would be a bad e-locus gene behind recessive white, as long as the birds also carried sex linked silver (S).

Guest:
Mike,

You are on the mark with the birchen.  Extended black would be the best because of the lack of red in the wings and pyle regions of the bird. If you throw in a few black intensifiers like Ml or melanotic then you do not have to deal with sex linked gold or the red associated with the male plumage causing gold/red  to leak through on the hackles or pyle regions. Using extended black will give the breeder one less thing to deal with.

Rooster

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