COLOR INHERITANCE IN FOWLS 



The Genetic Relationship of the Black, Buff and Columbia 

 Colorations in the Domestic Fowl 



L. C. Dunn 



Storrs A(/ricultural Experiment Station^ 



THE VAST array of variations in 

 color, pattern and form of 

 feathers and other parts, which 

 is observed in the domestic fowl, has 

 made it enticing material for many 

 students of variation and heredity. A 

 great deal of information on the in- 

 heritance of many of the characters 

 which distinguish the various breeds 

 has been accumulated since Bateson 



both sexes is an even shade of buff, 

 with an occasional and generally un- 

 noticeable trace of black in the tail 

 feathers, and more rarely in the wings. 

 This coloration is a varietal characteris- 

 tic of Buff Plymouth Rocks, Buff Or- 

 pingtons. Buff Leghorns, and others. 

 The other type used was Columbian 

 (Figs. 12 and 13), a pattern consisting 

 of clear white surface color in all of 



first took up the study shortly before the plumage except the primary or 



the rediscovery and application of the 

 Mendelian method of investigation. A 

 large part of the field of poultry gene- 

 tics is still, however, unexplored coun- 

 try. We are still ignorant concerning 



flight feathers of the wings, the hackle 

 or upper neck feathers, and the tail 

 feathers which in typical Columbian 

 fowls are marked with black. This 

 pattern occurs in Light Brahmas, 



the inheritance and relationships of Columbian Wyandottes, Columbia Leg- 



some of the most obvious traits which 

 differentiate our common varieties. 



The present article describes the re- 

 sults of some experiments which were 

 designed originally to furnish data on 

 a certain class of heritable characters 

 in fowls, namely those which are trans- 

 mitted in the peculiar fashion known 

 as sex-linked. Several such charac- 

 ters are known in fowls, but concern- 

 ing the relations between them, or how 

 their expression is altered by other 

 characters we have but little informa- 

 tion. 



Columbian and Buff Color-Factors 



The author's first experiments, 

 which have been partially reported 

 elsewhere", consisted in a study of the 

 relationships between two well-known 

 color patterns which exist in several 

 breeds of fowls. r)ne of these colora- 

 tions is known as Buff (Figs. 13 and 

 1-1), in which the whole plumage of 



horns and others. It had been estab- 

 lished by Sturtevant'' that at least one 

 sex-linked gene was concerned in the 

 production of the patterns of Colum- 

 bian Wyandottes. 



Reciprocal crosses were made be- 

 tween standard bred Light Brahmas 

 and Buff Orpingtons. The first gen- 

 eration males from the reciprocal 

 crosses were alike. They were Co- 

 lumbian pattern birds (Figs. 13 and 

 14) with clear white body plumage, but 

 with less black in the wings, tails, and 

 hackles than appeared in the Colum- 

 bian parents. The first generation 

 females (Fig. 13) sired by the Colum- 

 bian male were likewise of the Colum- 

 bian type with reduced black. The 

 first generation females out of the 

 cross of Columbian female by buff 

 male were buff in color (Fig. 13), but 

 like the first generation Columbian 

 chicks they developed black pigment 

 in wings, tails and hackles. 



^ Contributions in Genetics Xo. 17. 



"Dunn, L. C. American Naturalist, Lvi :242-255. 1922. 



^ Sturtevant, a. H. Journal of Experimental Zoology, xii:499-5i8. 1912. 



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