Post your opals here

[HomeSweetHome]

Recessive opal check

[christophe]

Young birds for long distance races. The hen is cherry and the cock split for recessive opal.

[ASR]

Another new colour for me and only acquired this ASR hen because I’m over run by cock birds and need to up breeding opportunities. All I’m told is she is an opal. I’ve read about this gene and seen so many YouTube clips. The range in phenotypes is extensive which doesn’t help me at all not being familiar with it.

Can I assume she has spread?
Is she a blue?
That this is dominant opal?
Is she likely to be homozygous for opal?

[ASR]

The second opal ASR hen arriving tomorrow.
The only thing I’m familiar with in this bird are the black feet, dirty!
To be honest, the colour looks a mess. However, I’m delighted in having her. From a well know breeder. Just think, buying into all that expertise and experience.
I’m assuming, blue, heterozygous, dominant opal! That’s based on reading so much and getting so confused by this gene.

[ASR]

OK so having spent a lifetime with blue bar tipplers, coloured ASRs is a whole new ball game. Thankfully I have some understanding of very basic genetics, in rabbit coat colour, which isn’t half as complicated as pigeons.
I’m reading lots about opal…
I’m a bit confused re: the image below: maybe I’m reading it incorrectly but how can a bird be dominant opal and homozygous recessive opal? Aren’t dominant and recessive alleles?
Please educate me. Thank you.

[AdamArcher]

Dominant and recessive opal are completely unrelated. They are not alleles at the same locus, they're totally separate. They only share a name and a somewhat similar phenotype.

[ASR]

That explains that then. Thank you Adam.