Description:
Recessive white is a gene commonly seen in most white varieties. It causes the bird to be entirely white and covers up almost all other colors and mutations, though chicks may have a slight red tinge to the plumage, this will be significantly less than with dominant white (3). It has been proven to be an entirely separate gene then the recessive white (and other forms of white suspected to be on the same locus) that is seen in Japanese quail. (6)
Where dominant white affects only the black plumage (eumelanin) and not nearly as much of the gold plumage (pheomelanin), the recessive white gene affects both eumelanin and pheomelanin (3), making it much less likely to get smuttiness, black feathers, or brassiness that can creep in with dominant white. Therefore, it is often used to create the white varieties found in the showroom, aside from leghorn lines. However, it is still virtually impossible to tell dominant white from recessive by looking at a bird, and the most certain way to tell which gene you are dealing with is to test breed.
The recessive white gene also has been found to cause a slightly slower growth rate then dominant white(8)(9)(10), and reduce overall bird size in broilers by 1-2% (7). While not obvious to backyard breeders, it is enough of an effect in the industry that it is unlikely to be in most commercial cornish cross lines.
The APA recognizes white in either dominant or recessive form in the following breeds: Ameraucana, American Game, Araucana, Aseel, d'Anver, d'Uccle, Booted Bantam, Chantecler, Cochin, Cubalaya, Dorking, Cornish, Favorelles, Hamburg, Holland, Houdan, Japanese, Jersey Giant, Lamona, Langshan, Leghorn (typically dominant white), Malay, Marans, Minorca, Modern Game, Naked Neck, Old English, Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Polish, Rhode Island White, Rosecomb, Serama, Silkie, Spanish, Sultan, Wyandotte and Yokohama. (5)
Recessive white is, as the name states, entirely recessive meaning that you can only see any form of white if the bird carries two copies of the gene. Carriers of recessive white will look the same as noncarriers.
Recessive White x Recessive White = 100% Recessive White
Recessive White x Non-White = 100% Carriers
Recessive White x Carrier = 50% Recessive White, 50% Carriers
Carrier x Carrier = 25% Recessive White, 50% Carrier, 25% Non-White
Carrier x Non-White = 50% Carrier, 50% Non-White
References & Further Reading
Sato, S., et al. "Mapping of the recessive white locus and analysis of the tyrosinase gene in chickens." Poultry science 86.10 (2007): 2126-2133.
Fox, W., and J. R. Smyth Jr. "The effects of recessive white and dominant white genotypes on early growth rate." Poultry Science 64.3 (1985): 429-433.\
Jerome, F. N., and J. R. Cavers. "Crosses involving dominant and recessive white in combination with colors and patterns." Poultry Science 31.3 (1952): 427-433.
Chang, CM., Coville, JL., Coquerelle, G. et al. Complete association between a retroviral insertion in the tyrosinase gene and the recessive white mutation in chickens. BMC Genomics 7, 19 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-7-19
American Poultry Association. (2023). American Standard of Perfection (45th ed.)
Minvielle, Francis, David Gourichon, and Jean Louis Monvoisin. "Testing homology of loci for two plumage colors,“lavender” and “recessive white,” with chicken and Japanese quail hybrids." Journal of Heredity 93.1 (2002): 73-76.
Jerome, F. N., and D. M. Huntsman, 1959. A comparison of the growth rate of colored and recessive white chicks. Poultry Sci. 38:238—239.
Fox, T. W. and J. R. Smyth, Jr., 1982. Further studies on the effect of the recessive white genotype on early growth and body size. Poultry Sci. 61: 1585-1589.
Blackwood, C. A., B. B. Bohren, and H. E. McKeon, 1962. A mutation at the / locus in an inbred line of White Leghorns and its effect on growth rate. Poultry Sci. 41:488-493.
Bohren, B. B., and D. R. Jones, 1964. A test for linkage of the loci for dominant white and barring with loci controlling growth rate in the fowl. Br. Poult. Sci. 5:299-306.
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