Subject: Pigeon Genetics
Date: Aug 13 13:39:13 1999
From: Rob Conway - robin_birder at hotmail.com


Tweets,

For some basics on pigeon genetics see:

http://www.angelfire.com/oh/raraavis/genetics.html

I raised pigeons when I was very young - and a RODO is not a RODO is not a
RODO. There are color, feather texture, pouch, flight behavior, and tail
specific "fancies" all of which will readily interbreed with others. As for
color some "red" pigeons have a dominant red gene and others a recessive red
gene (two different reds), barring, checkering, etc. are all possibilities.
I had a wonderful line of pied/tuxedo birds as well.

ALL 80 of my pigeons were wiped out in one night by a grey fox that was
accidentally locked inside the coop by my sister. She just closed the door
as usual to keep varmints out - not knowing that one was already in!!

Rob Conway
Bellevue, WA


>From: John Chapman <ragweed at igc.org>
>Reply-To: ragweed at igc.org
>To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>Subject: Pigeon Genetics
>Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 18:56:34
>
> >I thought all this was interesting because I have always assumed, without
> >giving it much thought, that Rock Doves were so variable in color because
> >people have a tendency to notice the odd-colored bird in a flock and are
> >more likely to toss the food in that direction.
>
>I think the odd coloration comes from domestic pigeon-breeders originally.
>The
>question probably is why do oddly colored pigeons continue to breed and not
>get weeded out.
>
>Domestic pigeon-breeding actually does raise some interesting genetic
>issues.
>Steven J. Gould wrote one of his essays some years back about a scientist
>in
>England that studied domestic pigeons. One of the patterns that develops on
>pigeons is a dark-checked pattern on the wings and mantle, as opposed to
>the two-striped "wild" kind. Apparently, if you have a population of the
>dark-checked kind, you can breed the pattern out until you get the
>two-striped. But once you've gotten rid of it, you can't get it back - the
>two-striped can't be bred to have a dark-checked pattern. No amount of
>selective pressure, artificial or natural, can create a trait if the
>underlying genetics aren't there, (unless you sit around an wait for a
>mutation.)
>
>John Chapman
>
>Seattle


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