--- title: "7.4.5 Color genes in poultry (2024)" canonical: "https://wiki.groenkennisnet.nl/space/TAB/296681632/7.4.5%20Color%20genes%20in%20poultry%20(2024)" format: markdown --- In poultry breeding, especially in the work of hobby breeders, a very broad spectrum of plumage colors is produced (see e.g. [Chicken Calculator (kippenjungle.nl)](https://kippenjungle.nl/chickencalculator.html). The extension locus has a lot of alleles with different expression. It is also known that the main loci for plumage color interact with each other: epistasis is often at stake. White plumage is preferred in the developed world because the skin of the carcasses is also white. In Asia black carcass skins are preferred. A commercial application of the inheritance of plumage color is practiced in layer production where cocks are discarded. A sex linked locus for plumage color gives the opportunity to distinguish at day 1 of live, whether a chick is a male or a female. In the female only one allele of the relevant locus is present and in the male two. Two different alleles in the heterozygous (crossbred) male give another plumage pattern than one allele in the (crossbred) female. > Macro (children)