# Almond + Kite / Almond + Blue



## dingweding (Jun 2, 2012)

I have a pale almond cock bird, I was told if pair it with a kite hen, I will get standard dark almond, is it true?

meanwhile, I have a blue check hen, if I pair her with almond cock, will I get qalmond? I think almond is dominate gene, thus none of the chicks will be blue ??


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## Woodnative (Jul 4, 2010)

Almond is a dominant gene. Qualmond is a different gene. A kite hen carrying recessive red would be your best choice. Note that only hallf the babies, statistically, will be almond. Depending on what your almond bird has underneath you will get other color youngsters.


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## tmaas (May 17, 2012)

You're correct in that almond is a dominant gene, but that doesn't mean all offspring will be almond. It means that all birds that possess the gene will express it. It means that the gene cannot be carried without being expressed.

Almond coloration is expressed only in its heterozygous state, so all almonds are only 50% almond therefore only half of their offspring will be almond. Birds that are 100% almond will likely never hatch because the gene is lethal in its homozygous state.

There are other dominant genes, which are not lethal, wherein all offspring would be the dominant color if the parent of that color is homozygous for that color gene. (ie: ash, spread, checker, etc.).


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## dingweding (Jun 2, 2012)

so my pale almond cock bird carry 50% almond gene, the parent of the blue hen is almond and saddle, as she is blue check, so does she carry 25% almond gene or none? 

I thought 25% come from her parent, but if she carry any almond gene, as tmaas said, it should express it, but she is a bald head blue checker... thus I assume she did not carry any almond gene then?

if I pair this blue hen with the pale almond cock, what the chick will be ? 50% almond, and 50% blue?


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## tmaas (May 17, 2012)

Your blue check hen carries no almond.

The baldhead markings have nothing to do with almond, they're completely separate, genetically.

The almond offspring will be 50% almond and the blue offspring will be 100% blue.

Is the pale gene actually involved, or do you mean that the almond is a light colored expression of almond?


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## dingweding (Jun 2, 2012)

he is light colour almond.. Not those standard dark red almond


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## dingweding (Jun 2, 2012)

so if almond mate with non-almond, the chicks will be either almond or other color does not carry any almond gene?

however, I had cross saddle with almond before, sometimes I will get saddle but the wings shows almond colour, sometimes I got mismark saddle but clearly carry almond gene, as some of their feather look like almond, but the rest feathers do not.

so, how much almond gene do these chicks carry? if it is 50%, they should look like normal almond, if it is none, they should not show any almond pattern... but they show part almond, part saddle ...


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## tmaas (May 17, 2012)

Correct.

If the wing shows almond color then it's almond. (50%, or heterozygous almond)

Again, almond and piebald are completely different genes, and have nothing to do with one another. There are many almond saddles, almond baldhead, etc.. Almond is a color gene and saddle is a marking gene.


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