Beard Inheritance

[Guest]

I have a bunch of youngsters I\'ve been raising from chicks and have noticed that a good 3/4 of my buffs appear to lack a beard and muffs.  They didn\'t have it as babies, either.  Those who had the owl faces when newly hatched have maintained it and those who were lacking at hatch never grew them in.  They are looking to be of nice breed type otherwise and color is good both in feather and shanks.

My question is, should I cull the birds who lack the beard and muffs (eliminating most of them) or is it potentially safe to breed them back to birds who have good furnishings?  I\'m not certain how the genetics of this works.

Thanks!

[Mike Gilbert]

Muffs and Beards are inherited on a single dominant gene basis.   Two copies of Mb (one from each parent) give full muffs and beard.   One copy of Mb will result in muffed birds, but the muffs and beard will be somewhat smaller.   No copies of Mb, no muffs and beard (symbolized as small mb).   The following are average long run results of the matings you might make.

MbMb X mbmb = 100% Mbmb  (all with smaller muffs)

Mbmb X mbmb = 50% Mbmb, 50% mbmb (50% no muffs)

MbMb X Mbmb = 50% MbMb, 50% Mbmb

Mbmb X Mbmb = 25% MbMb, 50%Mbmb, and 25% mbmb

MbMb X MbMb = 100% MbMb

If you mate mbmb with mbmb, all the chicks will be clean faced, without muffs and beard.

I hope this helps in your decision making process.  Since this trait is relatively easy to fix, I would give a lot of weight to other factors in your clean faced breeders such as size, type, weight & shape, lobe color, shank color, eye color, evenness of plumage color, absence of defects, productivity, and especially temperament.  Keep in mind also that genetic diversity is important to a closed flock.

[Guest]

I\'m no expert, but the way I understand it is that the muff gene is dominate.  Meaning with only one dose the muff will show.  It takes both to have a good full muff.  I your not seeing it they don\'t have it.  I would not breed one, unless that is all you have to work with.

I know there are always exceptions, If you have one that is better in all respects except for the muff, then you may breed it, but if the other bird has only 1 dose then 50% of the offspring will not have a muff and you will have the same problem again.

If you breed two birds with only one dose, then 25% will have no muff, 50% will have one dose, and 25% will have a full muff with both muff genes.

I hope I didn\'t give you too much information. I\'m just trying to be thorough.


Glen

[Guest]

Thanks so much for the help.  I have two pullets with really nice beards and muffs, 1 cockerel with smaller furnishings but really nice breed type (especially fine tail carriage), another less than ideal cockerel who is too young to pass judgment on otherwise, and the rest appear to beardless pullets.  I\'ll watch the beardless pullets to see if one or two have enough finer qualities to warrant keeping them in a breeding pen.  If not, if you must have culls, pullets are just fine.  I do social work and give my more disadvantaged clients eggs to help out with the food bills.  

[John]

give a lot of weight to other factors in your clean faced breeders such as

If these are large fowl buff look for the best pea combs.  In my experience that is one of the areas they need the most improvement in.

[Guest]

give a lot of weight to other factors in your clean faced breeders such as

If these are large fowl buff look for the best pea combs.  In my experience that is one of the areas they need the most improvement in.

I should have specified; they are large fowl.  Thanks for the tip on that as well.

This might all end up being immaterial with regard to the buffs, anyway.  The 4 month old pullet that I was so excited about was dead in the pen this morning.  She had always been a bit sickly and just got through fighting off the pox (@#%!!! mosquitos!!!) but there she was in a heap this afternoon.  That really just leaves me the decent 4 month old cockerel and one of the 2 month old pullets for birds with adequate beards and muffs.  The rest are beardless and likely to be culled since I don\'t have a male with a good muff and beard.  I\'m debating whether or not to scrap the whole buff project now.  I love the color since I used to show standard buff Cochins but just have had some really rotten luck.  I\'ll have to think on it.

On a happier note, I have some mighty fine young whites growing out.  They and the blacks, blues, and splashes all have excellent beards and muffs so I can worry about the finer points with them.