Can a male be both hen-feathered and normal-feathered?

[SwampPrincessChick]

Hello. I bred my Old English Game Bantam/Dutch Bantam hybrid rooster, Jasper, to my Silver-laced Sebright hen, Quartz. They produced five cockerels and one pullet. I know what hen-feathering is, but I do not know the genetic makeup of it, as with every other gene, LOL. Anyway, Quartz's chicks are about seven months old now, so they are all fully-feathered. One of the cockerels has all male traits: pointed hackles, pointed saddles, and sickles. But the other cockerels have traits that are a mix. They have pointed hackles, rounded saddles, and sickles that are rounded at the tip instead of pointed (I know sickle shape depends on genetics but Jasper has pointed sickles so they should also have that).

My question is, could the cockerels with both male and female traits be half hen-feathered (from Quartz) and half normal-feathered (from Jasper)? Or is hen-feathering completely dominant and something else is going on here?

 

[Egg Snatcher]

@NatJ
I belive hen feathering is completely dominant. I've got a hen feathered Millie Fleur Duccles rooster

 

[NatJ]

My question is, could the cockerels with both male and female traits be half hen-feathered (from Quartz) and half normal-feathered (from Jasper)? Or is hen-feathering completely dominant and something else is going on here?

Yes, your chicks have one hen-feathered gene from their mother and one normal gene from their father.

I found an explanation in Hutt's "Genetics of the Fowl," published in 1949
It's available online here:
https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/chla2837819

Hutt says that chicks like you have (one hen-feathered gene and one normal) can show a mix of feather types when they are young, but tend to be fully hen-feathered after they go through another molt. His explanation is that the hen-type feathers only grow in the presence of the sex hormones, and sometimes cockerels will grow their "adult" feathers before their testes are properly functioning.

Page 142-144 of the book talk about the genetics and the experiments were done as they tried to figure out what was happening. (I'm using the page numbers on the actual page of the book.) Experiments included various crossings of breeds, castrating males and whatever you call the equivalent in females, transplanting testicles between breeds, injecting testosterone, skin grafts, and maybe some other things I've forgotten. They were pretty thorough!

They eventually decided:
--it's something in the skin. Skin grafts are hen-feathered or normal-feathered according to what bird they came from, not the one they were transplanted onto. They transplanted between breeds and female vs. male.

--it requires the sex hormones, so neutered males don't grow those feathers unless you inject them with testosterone. But there's nothing special about the testicles of the males involved, because transplanting Sebright vs. Leghorn testicles did not make them change what kind of feathers they grew.

That book has a lot of things to say about genetics (often including the experiments that were used to learn about the genes), but it can be a bit hard to wade through at times, which is why it's not my first recommendation for beginners. There is a fairly good table of contents, which saves a lot of time when you want to read about something specific. There are a few things he got wrong (as shown by later research), but most of it still seems to be correct.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Yes, your chicks have one hen-feathered gene from their mother and one normal gene from their father.

I found an explanation in Hutt's "Genetics of the Fowl," published in 1949
It's available online here:
https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/chla2837819

Hutt says that chicks like you have (one hen-feathered gene and one normal) can show a mix of feather types when they are young, but tend to be fully hen-feathered after they go through another molt. His explanation is that the hen-type feathers only grow in the presence of the sex hormones, and sometimes cockerels will grow their "adult" feathers before their testes are properly functioning.

Page 142-144 of the book talk about the genetics and the experiments were done as they tried to figure out what was happening. (I'm using the page numbers on the actual page of the book.) Experiments included various crossings of breeds, castrating males and whatever you call the equivalent in females, transplanting testicles between breeds, injecting testosterone, skin grafts, and maybe some other things I've forgotten. They were pretty thorough!

They eventually decided:
--it's something in the skin. Skin grafts are hen-feathered or normal-feathered according to what bird they came from, not the one they were transplanted onto. They transplanted between breeds and female vs. male.

--it requires the sex hormones, so neutered males don't grow those feathers unless you inject them with testosterone. But there's nothing special about the testicles of the males involved, because transplanting Sebright vs. Leghorn testicles did not make them change what kind of feathers they grew.

That book has a lot of things to say about genetics (often including the experiments that were used to learn about the genes), but it can be a bit hard to wade through at times, which is why it's not my first recommendation for beginners. There is a fairly good table of contents, which saves a lot of time when you want to read about something specific. There are a few things he got wrong (as shown by later research), but most of it still seems to be correct.

Thank you so much! I can always count on you for having the most thorough replies. So, that is pretty interesting. My cockerels will have all pointed feathers after their first molt?

 

[NatJ]

Thank you so much! I can always count on you for having the most thorough replies. So, that is pretty interesting. My cockerels will have all pointed feathers after their first molt?

For any cockerel that has a mix of feather types now, I would expect them to be fully hen feathered after their next adult molt.

I can't say whether that will be all of your cockerels, or if it will only be half of them. That would depend on whether the mother has two hen-feathering genes (correct for a Sebright) or whether she has one hen-feathered and one normal gene (which does happen in some Sebrights.) If she has two hen-feathered genes then she gave one to each chick, and her sons should all end up showing hen feathers. But if she has only one hen-feathered gene, she will give that to half of her chicks, and the other half will inherit a normal-feathered gene and will show normal feathering.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

For any cockerel that has a mix of feather types now, I would expect them to be fully hen feathered after their next adult molt.

I can't say whether that will be all of your cockerels, or if it will only be half of them. That would depend on whether the mother has two hen-feathering genes (correct for a Sebright) or whether she has one hen-feathered and one normal gene (which does happen in some Sebrights.) If she has two hen-feathered genes then she gave one to each chick, and her sons should all end up showing hen feathers. But if she has only one hen-feathered gene, she will give that to half of her chicks, and the other half will inherit a normal-feathered gene and will show normal feathering.

Oops, I said the wrong thing, I meant rounded feathers instead of pointed. It would be very interesting to see them suddenly have all hen feathers after their molt! I can only imagine what the oldest cockerel would look like－he has such long and luxurious male feathers right now.

 

[NatJ]

Oops, I said the wrong thing, I meant rounded feathers instead of pointed. It would be very interesting to see them suddenly have all hen feathers after their molt! I can only imagine what the oldest cockerel would look like－he has such long and luxurious male feathers right now.

I thought you might have a typo there

Regarding the male with long and luxurious male feathers: there's no guarantee that he has the hen-feathered gene, so it'll be interesting to see what does happen next time he molts. Hatcheries sometimes send out "Sebrights" that do not have the hen-feathered gene at all (males that grow perfectly normal male-type feathers their whole lives.) Since your Sebright is a hen, there's no way to tell by looking at her, so you'll just have to figure her out from what her sons show.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I thought you might have a typo there

Regarding the male with long and luxurious male feathers: there's no guarantee that he has the hen-feathered gene, so it'll be interesting to see what does happen next time he molts. Hatcheries sometimes send out "Sebrights" that do not have the hen-feathered gene at all (males that grow perfectly normal male-type feathers their whole lives.) Since your Sebright is a hen, there's no way to tell by looking at her, so you'll just have to figure her out from what her sons show.

Interesting. Thank you again! Time will only tell . . .