Dun variety project

[John W Blehm]

I don't know much at all myself on the Dun genetics though.  However, I know that it can be at times sex linked, but also not...

The Dun gene and the Chocolate gene (sex-linked) can both produce a feather color/variety that is shown as Chocolate.

Ameraucana Chickens, p75

Dun, ID - Incompletely dominant. Primarily inhibits production of black pigment. Two dun alleles (ID/ID) produce khaki, aka splash dun. A Dun Ameraucana (ID/i+) X a Dun Ameraucana (ID/i+) = 25% black, 50% dun & 25% khaki.

Ameraucana Chickens, p72

Chocolate, choc - Recessive mutation. Chocolate dilutes black/eumelanin. It breeds true.

[Elijah Ensor]

Thanks for clearing that up for me, makes sense!

[John W Blehm]

I put the last hatch, of ten, of the season in the incubator yesterday. I'm down to just bantam buffs and working yet on the bantam dun project, which also involves using blacks. Some lavenders have also popped up, since the last time I recreated my bantam blacks I used silvers and lavenders. Some of the lavenders aren't just lavender, they have brownish foreheads like some of my dun chicks. I'll grow some out to see what Chocolate Lavender looks like...maybe it is Dun Lavender, but that debate is for another day.
I haven't had any really brown chicks hatch this year, like the one or more last year. Much of what I've read about dun is it should look enough like sex-linked chocolate to be shown as chocolate. There are others that say dun is more "steel" or bluish and from my experience they are closer to the truth. From black to dun matings I'm getting black chicks, as expected, and very dark chicks with brownish foreheads. I'm thinking that is the day-old phenotype I want to get the best dark brown/chocolate adult phenotype. I'm only keeping those dun chicks with brownish foreheads and the rejects/culls are sold locally as easter eggers. Many of the chicks are hatching with what appears to be a khaki phenotype and many are splashed.

[Russ Blair]

Thanks for the update John, I am amazed at the different phenotypes you are hatching. The genetics and how they drastically influence the appearance of chickens are what keep this exciting. I look forward to seeing how the lavender colored ones with dark heads feather in.

[Laurie Ashley - Selah Farms]

Ohh fun! On your third picture, what color variety is the top left chick? Its peaking my interest.

[John W Blehm]

Ohh fun! On your third picture, what color variety is the top left chick? Its peaking my interest.

All five of those chicks are all from the same breeding coop, with a dun male over three black females. You can see one is lavender and one is black. The other three are showing results of the dun gene...expressing somewhat differently. Both chicks on the left have the brown foreheads and this year I'm only keeping dun chicks with that trait, with either the dark brown or cream down. The one cream chick, with the splash, doesn't have a brown forehead.

[John W Blehm]

Even after several years of breeding for a dark brown/chocolate bantam dun variety, I'm still not 100% sure of the day-old chick phenotype needed to mature into the color I desire. I don't want the bluish color, but brown. This chick, with the reddish/brown forehead and dark brown down is what I think I want. Most chicks from this project are still not hatching with this phenotype this year. Looking at the growing chicks it looks like silver/gold leakage may be another problem to breed out. The 2nd photo shows the difference between very dark brown and black down.