Understanding Light Columbia color genetics

[rascal66]

With my current set-up, I have a Light Brahma Rooster over all my hens. Last season I hatched about 8 chicks which all still hold onto the Light Columbia pattern very closely, with the exception of one chick that looks like she got a bit of the dark brahma's pattern just a bit (Currently don't have pictures but ill be happy to share when i do). Some of the hens used were: Buff Brahma, Dark Brahma, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Golden laced Wyandotte.

Is this Light Columbia a very dominant pattern or color? I would like to understand it for future breeding. I suppose I was hopping for some golds to come through in the chicks, or maybe even some lacing, but I'm very new to color & pattern genetics and don't have a clue what to expect.

I just hatched 14 chicks in the past two weeks, and the hens now were: White Leghorn, Patridge looking Easter Egger, Blue/ gold Easter Egger, Gold laced Wyandotte, Welsummer, Buff and Dark Brahma.

Any idea what to expect? I do enjoy black and white colors, but i think i would prefer more... colors, if you know what i mean, lol. But this has been fun and interesting. I cant wait to see what these grow into.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Silver is not dominant. As to your non statistical outcome of chicks a few things may have happened. First- you have a large number of Leghorn offspring. Second- you have an abnormal percentage of females. Third- a combination of the first two, slightly more than half being pullets and throw in a few Leghorn offspring and you get near all white.

Columbian pattern is a dominant gene, if I remember correctly. A silver male over gold females results in sex link color. Pullets will be silver and males golden yellow.

 

[The Moonshiner]

You have your sex link info backwards.
A gold male over silver female produces the sex links. Pullets being gold and cockerels looking silver but are split silver/gold.
Silver is dominant over gold and sex linked.
Silver rooster will through silver pullets whether bred to silver or gold hens. He will throw silver or silver/gold split cockerels depending what bred to and with silver being dominant the splits will look mostly silver so hard to get a lot of color varieties when using a silver rooster.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

A silver male over gold will make sex links. Silver pullet and yellow cockerels. It's sexed at hatch by color. I believe we are saying the same thing.

 

[nicalandia]

A silver male over gold will make sex links. Silver pullet and yellow cockerels. It's sexed at hatch by color. I believe we are saying the same thing.

I am afraid that this is not the case, You see the males while inheriting one copy of recessive gold s+ from their dame and being genetically S/s+ makes them golden instead of true Silver like their pure Silver sisters(S/-). S/s+ males are indistinguishable from pure S/S at hatch, is not only until they begin to mature where the s+ begins to show on the Pyle zones as a yellow tone instead of the pure Silver/white tones of their S/S counterpart

 

[The Moonshiner]

We're saying the opposite.
I'm saying the same as nicalandia

 

[nicalandia]

I would also like to point out that Silver behaves as completely and utterly dominant over s+ on chick down, even in the presence of the powerful gold enhancer Mahogany, you can see this on RIR/Delaware sex-linked cross male chicks where they are pale yellow(Just like pure Silver Wheaten chicks) and the females are orange

 

[rascal66]

You have your sex link info backwards.
A gold male over silver female produces the sex links. Pullets being gold and cockerels looking silver but are split silver/gold.
Silver is dominant over gold and sex linked.
Silver rooster will through silver pullets whether bred to silver or gold hens. He will throw silver or silver/gold split cockerels depending what bred to and with silver being dominant the splits will look mostly silver so hard to get a lot of color varieties when using a silver rooster.

Thats sounds about right, as my first hatch (which are now fully grown) I have 2 roosters from there that has some yellowing on their hackles and saddles. Well it sucks Its so darn dominant!

 

[rascal66]

So I have a few pictures to share of the offspring I got last year.

Keeping in mind that my Rooster at the time was a Light Brahma.

Starting with what I confidently believe is a Light and Dark Brahma Cross:

This guy is now a part of the flock and I would like to use him in the future for my own stock.

Here is what I believe is a Wyandotte x Light Brahma. (Not sure if silver laced or gold)

You can see a couple of her shoulder feathers display a little bit of lacing. I find that so interesting. And some of her back feathers have some speckling or dots, or whatever correct term or is. She also lacks full on leg feathers, and only has a few on her legs compared to a Brahma.

Some of the other girls just look like they only held onto the Columbian pattern but with some added darkening on their back or end of the neck.

I still want to learn how pattern genetics work?

 

[rascal66]

The chicks I hatched out several weeks ago are starting to show off their patterns a bit. Rooster is still a Light Brahma.
Some of the offspring is a mixture of Welsummer, Easter Eggers, Gold laced Wyandotte, Buff light and dark brahmas and a white leghorn.

Top picture is a welsummer chick, and bottom is of an Easter Egger