CHOCOLATE COLOR GENETICS IN INDIAN RUNNERS

[guineaMaster]

Hi everyone,
My blue indian runner drake seems to be heterozygous for chocolate because in his in his offspring i get blue,silver and chocolate. My question is, will his blue offspring also carry the heterozygous chocolate gene, or does that not get passed along?
thanks

 

[Ravynscroft]

Chocolate is a sex-linked color... meaning it takes 2 copies for a male to express chocolate, but a female only needs 1 copy to express chocolate... that also means drakes can carry 1 copy without showing it and no way to tell until you mate his drake offspring...

 

[PINOAK RIDGE]

Hi everyone,
My blue indian runner drake seems to be heterozygous for chocolate because in his in his offspring i get blue,silver and chocolate. My question is, will his blue offspring also carry the heterozygous chocolate gene, or does that not get passed along?
thanks

Yes, chocolate is sex linked. If your blue drake is heterozygous for chocolate, then he has a 50% chance, with each duckling, of passing that one chocolate gene on to his offspring. Depending on what color females you breed him to will affect whether you can "see" the chocolate gene or if it is "masked" AKA carried/hidden and not seen, but still there.

His "blue" daughters would actually be lilac if they have the chocolate gene from him.
His blue sons, with only one chocolate gene (from the father) would be like him-- blue carrying one copy of chocolate.

Some breeders will say if a male carries chocolate it will "bleed thru" the plumage and show itself as "rust". Personally, I agree with RayvnFallen, and would test breed to show if a blue male carries a hidden chocolate gene or not.

Good luck and enjoy your ducks.