# what color are these pigeons?



## mtripOH (Jan 4, 2010)

Baby









Dad









Mom









We expected the baby to look more like mom or dad. We are very new to pigeons and this is our first hatch. I have been reading through the genetics stuff but it is way over my head. Why does the baby look very different from the parents? What color are these 3 pigeons?


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Dad is a pied red check, mom looks like either a red bar or a yellow bar (hard to tell from the lighting), and the baby is a blue check. The dad must have been heterozygous (split) for blue.

Here's a summary on basic genetics that hopefully isn't too complicated.

There are three basic colors. In order from most dominant to most recessive they are - ash-red (sometmes just referred to as red), blue, and brown.

The gene for each of these colors can only be found on the X chromosome. Males are XX and hens are XY (opposite from humans).
So having that said, whatever basic color the hen looks, is the only basic color she is carrying.
But the males on the other hand, can carry a recessive color, while showing the dominant color. In your case, your male has both an ash-red gene and a blue gene. The blue is recessive, so it stays hidden, but there is still a good chance of it being passed to his children, which is why you ended up with a blue bird. 

I would also like to add that your blue baby is a hen. Any blue birds you get from this pairing will be hens because of the way the genes work out on the chromosomes. If you've ever seen a punnett square, then this will be a lot easier to explain. Obviously the baby gets one color gene from momma, and one from dad.

*_____________(Red) X____(None) Y*

______*(Red) X*__Red/Red________Red

______*(Blue) X*__Red/Blue_______Blue 


So as you can see, the only birds that will appear blue, are hens. But you can also get red hens.

Another helpful tip that regards to sexing - red males that are split for blue (like your male), will have blue or black flecking in the wings and/or tail. Pure red birds (red/red) who do not carry other colors, do not have those flecks. Hens also don't have the flecks. SO, if you have a red baby with flecking that pops out, you'll know he's a boy right from the start!


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## mtripOH (Jan 4, 2010)

Thank you Becky! How did you learn all of this genetic stuff. Is there a good place for me to go to learn more? The mom is a real pale red. I will try to get a better picture of her. I just figured out today how to post pics with my cell phone. My daughter just got a new digital camera and when she gets home from work I will have her take some better pictures that I can share. Thanks for your input. We really thought that we would have an awesome looking red pigeon, I guess the joke is on us...LOL. Can you tell me if all their offspring will be blue checks?


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

You're welcome 
Only about 25% of the offspring will be blue.
Most of the offspring (regardless of color) will be checks, but there may be a chance of some barred birds as well.

Here's the main genetics sites I go to:
http://www.angelfire.com/ga/huntleyloft/Page1.html
http://www.angelfire.com/ga3/pigeongenetics/


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

This website shows some good punnett squares, which tell you what the possible offspring will be and what percent (in quarters) of each you should expect. It's also got great pictures with captions of what genes made up the colorations. Since you're just starting with genetics, I wouldn't even worry about the letter abbreviations (like B+ and such) for the genes. Just pay attention to the names (ash-red, blue, etc).

http://www.national-federation.co.uk/simple_genetics.htm


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

MaryOfExeter said:


> This website shows some good punnett squares, which tell you what the possible offspring will be and what percent (in quarters) of each you should expect. It's also got great pictures with captions of what genes made up the colorations. Since you're just starting with genetics, I wouldn't even worry about the letter abbreviations (like B+ and such) for the genes. Just pay attention to the names (ash-red, blue, etc).
> 
> http://www.national-federation.co.uk/simple_genetics.htm


Thank you Becky for that


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## mtripOH (Jan 4, 2010)

Wow! Thanks Becky! I really appreciate your help. This is all quite interesting. I have bookmarked all the links you have supplied for me. It is so nice to have a place like this to come to and get quick help/answers.
~melissa


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