Smokey pearl rooster with different breeds of hens

[Burt56789]

Hello, I need some help please,
So we just hatched out a bunch of eggs from our flock of mixed breeds. We have 3 different breeds of roosters: smokey pearl, brown leghorn, and a buff brahma/blue laced wynodotte mix. Our hens consist of mostly white and brown leghorns, easter eggers/ Americana, buff brahma, cochin, and one wynodotte and buff orphington. We had incubated white, brown, pink, cream, and green eggs. I'm just super surprised because the majority of the chicks have come out white with black spots. I was expecting that from the white eggs but alot of the brown and green eggs also have white chicks with black spots. Do smokey pearl rooster have dominant genes? I just can't believe that they look so much like just smokey pearl chicks. The only difference is that some have beards and some have feather feet. I'm assuming he mated with our Easter Eggers and brahmas.

 

[NatJ]

Do smokey pearl rooster have dominant genes?

Based on the results you got, the answer is probably yes.

It would help if you post photos. Sometimes the location of the "black spots" gives some clue to what is going on genetically. (Sometimes it doesn't, but it's still fun to look at chick photos!)

I just can't believe that they look so much like just smokey pearl chicks. The only difference is that some have beards and some have feather feet. I'm assuming he mated with our Easter Eggers and brahmas.

Yes, beards would mean at least one parent has a beard. If no roosters have beards, that would mean the bearded chicks must have bearded mothers.

Yes, feathered feet mean a parent with feathered feet, which might be your Brahma-mix rooster or might be Brahma hens.

 

[Burt56789]

Based on the results you got, the answer is probably yes.

It would help if you post photos. Sometimes the location of the "black spots" gives some clue to what is going on genetically. (Sometimes it doesn't, but it's still fun to look at chick photos!)


Yes, beards would mean at least one parent has a beard. If no roosters have beards, that would mean the bearded chicks must have bearded mothers.

Yes, feathered feet mean a parent with feathered feet, which might be your Brahma-mix rooster or might be Brahma

 

[Burt56789]

Okay i took some pics! Unfortunately they are under a red light so it's hard to see their colors but ill try again to get them in the natural light later. I love the one with the little fluffy beard she's so cute

 

[NatJ]

Okay i took some pics! Unfortunately they are under a red light so it's hard to see their colors but ill try again to get them in the natural light later. I love the one with the little fluffy beard she's so cute

The white ones with black dots probably have the genes to be solid black (inherited from the Smokey Pearl rooster or from a White Leghorn mother or both). The main gene involved is dominant over most other genes a chicken can have.

Then the chicks have the gene Dominant White. It turns black to white, but can miss a few bits if the chicken has just one copy of that gene. So the chicks that were genetically all-black are now white, some with black dots. Dominant White is found in the White Leghorn hens, and the Smoky Pearl would also have at least one Dominant White gene. As you might expect from the name, that is a dominant gene too.

The black chick also has the genes to be black all over, but does not have Dominant White. I see a yellow dot on top of one black head, so that chick also has the barring gene (makes white stripes across the feathers when the chick grows up.) The barring gene probably comes from the Smoky Pearl or else from the White Leghorn. Considering that white barring is not exactly obvious on a white or light colored chicken, these are the obvious places for it to be hiding. Or maybe one of your Easter Eggers has barring, since they can come in so many colors and I don't know which ones you have.

Looking at the colors of the chicks, I think the Smoky Pearl rooster has been very busy, mating with all the hens a lot more than the other roosters are managing, and the White Leghorn hens probably contributed more than their fair share of eggs to this clutch.

If you are just puzzled about the results, I think that is the answer. Every chick from a White Leghorn would be white, with or without black dots. From the Smoky Pearl, I would expect at least half of chicks to be white with black dots, and any others to be black (likely with white barring), except that of course if they have a White Leghorn mother they are white after all. (Smoky Pearl is likely to have one Dominant White gene that goes to half of his chicks, or he might have two Dominant White genes and every chick gets one. Given the colors of your chicks, he might have two Dominant White genes.)

It looks like one chick has stripes in shades of brown. That one would come from other parents, neither Smoky Pearl nor White Leghorn.

If you want more colors in future hatches, maybe pen up the Smoky Pearl rooster for a week or two so the other roosters get a chance, then hatch eggs that are not white (so they can't have a White Leghorn mother.) Or if you want eggs specifically from the Brown Leghorns, separate them from the whites for long enough to collect the eggs you do want to hatch (after limiting their access to the Smoky Pearl rooster.)

 

[NatJ]

Okay i took some pics! Unfortunately they are under a red light so it's hard to see their colors but ill try again to get them in the natural light later.

For taking chick pictures, sometimes it works to shine a nice white light on the chicks and briefly unplug the red light. A few minutes without the heat will not cause any real problems. Just remember to plug it back in after you have your pictures

In this case I was able to see the main details I was looking for, but if you had been trying to sort chicks by whether they were white, buff, gold, or red, it would have been hopeless

 

[Burt56789]

The white ones with black dots probably have the genes to be solid black (inherited from the Smokey Pearl rooster or from a White Leghorn mother or both). The main gene involved is dominant over most other genes a chicken can have.

Then the chicks have the gene Dominant White. It turns black to white, but can miss a few bits if the chicken has just one copy of that gene. So the chicks that were genetically all-black are now white, some with black dots. Dominant White is found in the White Leghorn hens, and the Smoky Pearl would also have at least one Dominant White gene. As you might expect from the name, that is a dominant gene too.

The black chick also has the genes to be black all over, but does not have Dominant White. I see a yellow dot on top of one black head, so that chick also has the barring gene (makes white stripes across the feathers when the chick grows up.) The barring gene probably comes from the Smoky Pearl or else from the White Leghorn. Considering that white barring is not exactly obvious on a white or light colored chicken, these are the obvious places for it to be hiding. Or maybe one of your Easter Eggers has barring, since they can come in so many colors and I don't know which ones you have.

Looking at the colors of the chicks, I think the Smoky Pearl rooster has been very busy, mating with all the hens a lot more than the other roosters are managing, and the White Leghorn hens probably contributed more than their fair share of eggs to this clutch.

If you are just puzzled about the results, I think that is the answer. Every chick from a White Leghorn would be white, with or without black dots. From the Smoky Pearl, I would expect at least half of chicks to be white with black dots, and any others to be black (likely with white barring), except that of course if they have a White Leghorn mother they are white after all. (Smoky Pearl is likely to have one Dominant White gene that goes to half of his chicks, or he might have two Dominant White genes and every chick gets one. Given the colors of your chicks, he might have two Dominant White genes.)

It looks like one chick has stripes in shades of brown. That one would come from other parents, neither Smoky Pearl nor White Leghorn.

If you want more colors in future hatches, maybe pen up the Smoky Pearl rooster for a week or two so the other roosters get a chance, then hatch eggs that are not white (so they can't have a White Leghorn mother.) Or if you want eggs specifically from the Brown Leghorns, separate them from the whites for long enough to collect the eggs you do want to hatch (after limiting their access to the Smoky Pearl rooster.)

Okay thank you for taking the time to respond! To be quite honest I was disappointed with the lack of color variations but I didn't know white was a dominant gene. I also am not fond of the smokey pearl rooster because he is people aggressive. So this might be his last batch anyways.

 

[NatJ]

Okay thank you for taking the time to respond! To be quite honest I was disappointed with the lack of color variations but I didn't know white was a dominant gene.

"White" in chickens is complicated, because there are at least three genes that cause white. One turns black to white and is dominant, one turns red/gold to white and is dominant, one turns everything to white but is recessive. Leghorns typically have the two dominant ones from that list, and Smoky Pearl probably both of them as well.

I also am not fond of the smokey pearl rooster because he is people aggressive. So this might be his last batch anyways.

That would definitely help reduce the number of white chicks in future hatches!