Genetics Mini-Series

Please keep in mind that these posts are intended to be read in the order in which they were written.  Terms introduced in earlier posts are used without explanation in later articles.

GMS1: Genetics of Egg Color  (wild type, gene symbols, earlobe)

GMS2: Breeding for Blue Eggs (simple autosomal dominance, Punnett, homozygous, dominant, recessive, Punnett square, test cross, genotype, “F1” etc.)

GMS3: Breeding for Other Egg Colors (inhibit, cuticle, true-breeding, Croad Langshans, olive eggers)

GMS4: Incomplete Dominance of Blue Feathering (incomplete dominance, genotype, phenotype, inhibit, BBS, black/blue/splash inheritance)

GMS5: Chicken Chromosomes (DNA, chromosomes, gene, locus, sex chromosomes; Explains the basis of sex-linkage in chickens which is then built upon in GMS6)

GMS6: Sex-Linkage (barring, black sex-links, silver/gold, red sex-links, dermal melanin, hybrid, hybrid vigor, hemizygous)

GMS7: Plumage Pigments (eumelanin, phenomelanin, wild type, duckwing, extended black, Colombian restriction, birchen, wheaten, partridge, melonic, pattern, charcoal, mahogany, dominant white, recessive white, mottling, barring, blue, chocolate, dun, khaki, dilute, lemon, champagne blonde, silver, lavender, isabel)

GMS8: Breeding for Two Traits (polygenetic inheritance)

GMS9: Autosexing Recipe

GMS10: Skin and Shank Color (dermis, epidermis, yellow skin, white skin, dermal melanin, inheritance, shank color reference)

GMS11: Breeding for Type (type, production traits, productive capacity, constitutional vigor, wry tail, roach back, squirrel tail, split tail, split wing, crooked keel, crow head, side sprigs, epigenetics and nutrition)

GMS12: Inbreeding Coefficient (inbreeding, inbreeding coefficient, effects of inbreeding, inbreeding depression, ALBC, Law of Ten, maintaining genetic diversity)

GMS Supplement #1: Recessive White (dominant white, recessive white, albinism, breeding recessive white into a new breed)

GMS Supplement #2: Skin Color Punnett Squares and Test Crossing  (skin color, shank color, white skin, yellow skin, homozygous, heterozygous, dominant, recessive, test crossing to breed out a recessive trait)

GMS Supplement #3: Selecting for Head Shape  (head shape, head points, amativeness, prepotency, Call of the Hen, crow head, productive traits)

The Best Chicken Genetics Resources

(that I found so far):

Chicken Quest Gene Info (click on “parents” to use the color calculator)

Genetics of Chicken Color (also from Chicken Quest)

Poultry Genetics for Exhibition Breeders

The Classroom @ The Coop: Genetics and Selective Breeding discussion board forum

Breeding – American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC): Chickens great articles and resources to guide breeding programs