Ameraucana Forum

The Official Ameraucana Forum => Ameraucana Marketplace => Topic started by: John W Blehm on August 18, 2021, 08:30:08 am

Title: Large fowl cockerel with dun gene
Post by: John W Blehm on August 18, 2021, 08:30:08 am: This guy was hatched earlier this year and carries dun (I^D). He is available for pick up at my place, for a limited time in Michigan, to an Alliance member that wants him to use in a dun/khaki breeding project. He is 1/2 LF buff, 1/4 LF black, 1/4 bantam buff. The dun (I^D) gene came from LF buff Ameraucana cock.
Title: Re: Large fowl cockerel with dun gene
Post by: Michael Muenks on August 18, 2021, 10:45:38 am: Super neat coloring. I don't want another project, but really neat coloring.
Title: Re: Large fowl cockerel with dun gene
Post by: Mindy Waters on August 20, 2021, 01:46:42 pm: Gosh he's gorgeous 😍
Why do I have to live so far away? 😫
Title: Re: Large fowl cockerel with dun gene
Post by: John W Blehm on August 20, 2021, 02:54:55 pm: If no one takes him for a dun/khaki breeding project I may keep him as a backup to his sister, a pullet, that I plan to breed from next year. She shows dun in her tail, muffs and elsewhere and is mostly buff up front. The plan is to put a bantam black cockerel over her and go from there to create dun and/or khaki bantam Ameraucanas...if time is on my side. ;)
I had thought about also creating these varieties in LF, but I'll leave that to others that might want to. This cockerel would be a good start. Another option that may be even better is to put a LF black Ameraucana over a LF buff Ameraucana that is carrying the dun (I^D) gene.
Title: Re: Large fowl cockerel with dun gene
Post by: Kalin McClure on August 21, 2021, 02:25:19 pm: Very unusual and beautiful color! What method would one use for a dun project? Put him over black hens and breed the daughters back to him?
Title: Re: Large fowl cockerel with dun gene
Post by: John W Blehm on August 21, 2021, 10:57:02 pm: Quote from: Kalin McClure on August 21, 2021, 02:25:19 pm
Very unusual and beautiful color! What method would one use for a dun project? Put him over black hens and breed the daughters back to him?

I think I would put him over black pullets/hens. Some of the F1 generation should carry dun and show it. By continuing to put a bird that carries dun over solid black birds I believe you'd eventually get solid dun birds. Keep using birds with the most dun and then black color, trying to eliminate all silver/white and gold/buff color.
A solid dun crossed with a solid black should produce about 50% pure/solid black chicks and 50% solid dun (carrying one dun gene)...as I understand it, kind of like crossing a black and blue and getting 50% of each. Crossing two dun birds should produce 25% black chicks, 25% khaki chicks and 50% dun chicks. Khaki would breed true and Khaki crossed with black should produce all dun chicks.
I haven't studied this much and even though I accidentally created khaki Ameraucanas at one time I didn't continue with them for long, so correct me if I'm wrong with my assumptions.
Title: Re: Large fowl cockerel with dun gene
Post by: Kalin McClure on August 23, 2021, 10:10:47 am: Very cool, thanks for taking the time to explain!
Title: Re: Large fowl cockerel with dun gene
Post by: Janie Vila on August 25, 2021, 11:29:47 pm: John,

That is an incredible bird!!!
Title: Re: Large fowl cockerel with dun gene
Post by: Mike Gilbert on August 26, 2021, 09:32:36 am: For those of you wondering what dun looks like, here is an image of the final product in another breed.
Title: Re: Large fowl cockerel with dun gene
Post by: Jorge Gutierrez on December 21, 2021, 06:30:27 am: Still available?
Title: Re: Large fowl cockerel with dun gene
Post by: John W Blehm on December 21, 2021, 12:31:22 pm: He is spoken for and will be picked up, along with the pullet, when I'm finished setting eggs for this upcoming hatching season.