Test Your Knowledge of Genetics

 

1)      Can a recessive pied be bred from a pair of dominant pieds?

 

2)    Can a dominant pied be bred from a pair of recessive pieds?

 

3)    There are no known dominant varieties with red eyes. Is this statement true or false?

 

4)    Is it possible for a bird to be visually carrying the color gray, violet, dark factor, sex-linked, dominant and recessive traits all at the same time?

 

5)    The yellow face on a yellow face blue is considered to be a dominant trait. What is the white face on a green considered to be?

A.      also a dominant trait

B.      does not exist

C.      a recessive trait

D.      a sex-linked trait

 

6)      Name four varieties for each of the following.

Dominant                            Recessive                           Sex-linked

 

7)      What are the only ways to breed a sex-linked cock? Mark all that apply.

A.      hen has to be normal, cock has to be normal

B.      hen has to be normal, cock has to be split

C.      hen has to be normal, cock had to be sex-linked

D.      hen has to be split, cock has to be normal

E.       hen has to be split, cock has to be split

F.       hen has to be split, cock has to be sex-linked

G.      hen has to be sex-linked, cock has to be normal

H.      hen has to be sex-linked, cock has to be split

I.         hen has to be sex-linked, cock has to be sex-linked

 

8)      When a bird is said to be masking something, what does that mean? Also, give an example.

A.      split for another color or variety

B.      preventing the true visual color or variety to be seen

C.      dominant for large spots on a deep mask

 

9)      What dominant varieties change appearance when they have two genes for the trait?

 

10)   What does it mean when a bird is said to be split?

A.      two colors present as in a pied

B.      not visible on the bird but carrying one gene for another color or variety

C.      two colors/varieties present, dividing the bird down the middle; halfsider

 

 

 

 

 

Test Answers 

 

 

1)      Yes, a recessive pied can be bred from a pair of dominant pieds. Both birds would have to be split for recessive pied. If that recessive gene is passed from each of the parents to the chick, a visible recessive pied would appear. In most cases, the crossing of these two types of pieds is not recommended as the two forms of pied would begin to appear on the same bird visually at the same time. This would make them very difficult to show in either class because the markings and standards are very different. The clearflighted dominant pied is crossed with recessive pied to eventually create the beautiful dark eye clear variety.

 

2)      No, a dominant pied cannot be bred from a pair of recessive pieds. In order to produce a dominant pied, or any other dominant variety for that matter, at least one of the members of the pair must be visually that variety and therefore in possession of at least one gene for the trait, to pass on to a chick.

 

3)      True, all red eyed varieties are either recessive or sex-linked.

 

4)      Yes, it is possible for a bird to be visually carrying the color gray, violet, dark factor, sex-linked, dominant and recessive traits all at once. As an example, a yellow face cinnamon gray violet mauve white or a opaline grey green violet olive clearwing. Many more combinations are possible and more than one of each type of trait can be present. Serious exhibitors would be wise to keep birds as pure as possible and try to limit the number of varieties that can be bred onto one bird. This is important in producing a specific variety, for improvement purposes and for exhibiting.  

 

5)      The answer is B. Presently, in late 2003, there are no green birds with white faces.

 

6)      Dominant types would be the colors green, grey and violet and varieties such as normals, yellow face, dominant pieds (including the banded, non-banded and clearflight  forms), crested, spangle and Easly clearbody.

 

Recessive varieties are the color blue, clearwings, greywings, dilutes (also known as pastels, suffused or by their color names – yellow or white), harlequins, (recessive pieds) all fallows, black faces, fadeds, mottles and saddlebacks.

 

The sex-linked types are opalines, cinnamons, lutinos and albinos (both referred to as inos) lacewings (cinnamon form of ino), slates and Texas clearbodies.

 

7)      H and I  Hens cannot be split for sex-linked traits. Sex-linked cocks result when a sex-linked hen and a sex-linked cock or a cock split for the same variety are mated..

 

8)      Masking is when varieties such as ino, DF spangle or dark eye clear act like a coat and prevent or block your ability to see the true visual varieties  present underneath.

 

9)      Spangle, dominant pied and yellow face change appearance as double factors.

 

10)  The correct answer is B. A bird that is split (shown as /) has one gene for a recessive or sex-linked trait and is carrying it in a hidden or non-visible manner because for it to manifest itself visually, the bird would have to possess two genes for it.