Author Topic: Breeding and Genetics...oh my!!  (Read 10174 times)

Beth C

  • Guest
Re: Breeding and Genetics...oh my!!
« Reply #15 on: June 05, 2012, 11:45:09 AM »
Yes, you can avoid splash wheaten by breeding wheaten to blue wheaten. Since wheaten doesn't carry the diluent, the offspring can never receive the 2 copies of the gene needed to turn it splash. But since the blue wheaten only has one copy of the gene, it will only throw it half the time, so only 50% of the offspring will be blue wheaten and the rest wheaten. Blue wheaten x blue wheaten will produce roughly 25% wheaten (neither parent threw the gene for blue) 25% splash wheaten (both parents threw the gene for blue) and 50% blue wheaten (one parent threw it and the other did not). A splash wheaten will always throw the gene for blue because it has 2 copies, so when bred to wheaten, which cannot throw it, 100% of the offspring will be blue wheaten, making splash wheatens desirable for people who want to produce only blue wheaten chicks. But the lady on the other site is incorrect about them being rare, you just don't see many splash or splash wheaten at shows, likely because they are not (yet) recognized varieties, so Best of Variety is the highest they can place. (A catch-22, since showing is part of the process for getting them recognized.)

Personally, I'd rather not use splash wheatens right now, even though I like them, because one of my "biggies" at the moment is getting more black into the wings and tails while eliminating it in hackles, and it's easier to see where the black is on a wheaten, slightly harder to see the blue on a blue wheaten, but very difficult (at least for me) to figure out on a splash wheaten. So even though I produced a number of them this year, I'll retain few if any.

As far as terminology, it may sound picky, but Mike really is giving you good advice. Sometimes how you word it can make all the difference, especially when it comes to selling. Take goats for example (sorry to keep defaulting to mammals, still what I know best) A well-bred "buck" will command a good price but you can hardly give a "billy goat" away. Even if it's the same goat, no one is going to ask to see "Billy's" pedigree. "Buck" conjures up the image of a well-groomed animal posed proudly in an ad listing his and/or his daughters accomplishments. "Billy goat" brings back memories of the vile beast that propelled you over Pappy's fence while retaining a chunk of your clothing...   ;)

Jess

  • Guest
Re: Breeding and Genetics...oh my!!
« Reply #16 on: June 05, 2012, 01:04:02 PM »
This has been posted before I think, but here it is and I hope it helps.
Jess

Wheaten x Wheaten = All Wheaten

Wheaten x Blue Wheaten = 1/2 Wheaten and 1/2 Blue Wheaten

Blue Wheaten x Blue Wheaten = 1/2 Blue Wheaten, 1/4 Wheaten and 1/4 Splash
Wheaten.

Wheaten x Splash Wheaten = All Blue Wheaten

Blue Wheaten x Splash Wheaten = 1/2 Splash Wheaten and 1/2 Blue Wheaten

Splash Wheaten x Splash Wheaten = All Splash Wheaten