# Lemon question



## Albannai (Jan 21, 2001)

I am interested in knowing what is the genetic make up of the "Lemon ". What are the basic colors or genes in lemons.
is it possible to get "lemon" by mating brown and dilue ash red.


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## rudolph.est (May 14, 2009)

Lemon is a mutation all on its own. It is not dilute ash-red (which is called yellow), nor is it dilute brown (which is called khaki). You cannot create lemon birds, if you do not have the lemon gene in your stock. The best way to start breeding lemons is to buy a lemon cock, all his daughters will be lemon.

The yellow looking birds that are called lemon, have a mutation at the dilution locus which causes blue birds to be come extremely diluted (to a point where they look yellow/lemon).

The symbol for lemon (or extreme dilute as I think it is rightly named) is d^ex (that is d with an 'ex' superscript). The dominance series for alleles at the dilution locus (on the sex chromosome) is:
D+ > d (dilute) > d^ex (extreme dilute).


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## 12Ka-6 (Sep 4, 2012)

Hi Albannai, I would think that you would need a bird carrying lemon/extreme dilute to be able to breed it.....

http://www.angelfire.com/ga/huntleyloft/lemon.html

This is a 5th generation lemon Jacobin hen breed down from a Jack Barkel Lemon Racing Homer, bred and owned by Drew Lobenstein, USA.....

best regards
Gordon


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## A_Smith (Aug 8, 2006)

12Ka-6 said:


> Hi Albannai, I would think that you would need a bird carrying lemon/extreme dilute to be able to breed it.....
> 
> http://www.angelfire.com/ga/huntleyloft/lemon.html
> 
> ...


That was a great link.


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## rudolph.est (May 14, 2009)

Huntley's website is the go-to place for genetics information, I think everyone would agree on that!

My website has some other links too (some aren't in English though, I use Google Translate to help).


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

Very pretty bird.


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## Albannai (Jan 21, 2001)

thanks, you are right. I asked this qestion because there was a decussion in another forum about the lemon. one breeder said that he got lemon from dilute ash red and brown. I'm sure he was wrong.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

You can get lemons from an ash-yellow mated to a brown. Pretty unlikely, as extreme dilute is rare in most breeds, and the ash-yellow cockbird would be carrying extreme dilute and blue. In which the lemons would be hens. Lemon is extreme dilute on blue.


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## NZ Pigeon (Nov 12, 2011)

As Becky said, It is possible.


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## Harvey Moberg (Feb 3, 2007)

*Introducing lemon into some of my show racing homers.*

I have produced some nice looking yellow solid and checker youngsters. by crossing the yellow Trenton birds with silver and red Jim Isselhardt birds which are mainly with the Gurnay bloodlines in their background. Now I am going to introduce the Barkel Lemon color into the yellow birds I have developed. I like the Lemon color. I wonder what the colors will be. The first round of from my pair ( Blue bar cock, which carries the lemon gen and lemon bar hen) were both nestmates were lemon bar color with both cock and hen having light almost pearl color eyes. The next round was one also lemon color but the eye seems almost like a bull eye. and the third round I just banded both lemon colored again and too early to tell the eye color. Any one have any idea what colors , both sexes will be or otherwise?? Just wondering.........Harv Moberg Winnipeg, Canada. p.s. I find this forum quite interesting and informative


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## tmaas (May 17, 2012)

Harvey, all young which are extreme dilute (lemon) will have a very light orange/pink eye color, distinguishable at hatching time. The eye color will be even lighter than that of dilute brown (khaki, drab). All others are not extreme dilute.


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