Sex Identification by Down Color of Silver Laced and “Red Laced Silver” Chicks

THE purpose of this report is to record evidence of the relative color distinction between sexes of day-old chicks of two synthetic Silver meat-typed varieties, viz., a Silver Laced and a “Red Laced Silver” variety. ORIGIN OF VARIETIES The color patterns have been developed at M.S.U. from experimental crosses with Cornish and Silver varieties. A Silver Laced mutant of predominantly Cornish ancestry was bred at this station (Henderson, 1952). Subsequent breeding tests with this variety have resulted in several other unorthodox Silver phenotypes. A few of the more distinct color patterns have been described, (Henderson, 1953, 1954; Henderson and Coleman, 1957). VARIETIES TESTED FOR “SEXABILITY”2 The breeding stock available for sex identification tests consisted of the following: Silver Laced Cornish and “Red Laced Silver.” In some cases, classification with respect to lacing might be questionable when compared with fanciers’ idealistic standards. Classification of genotypes from phenotypes was based on the …