Roux

Roux is a dilution gene that causes the entire bird to be a reddish color. (1) It does not change the pattern of the bird itself, but rather changes all of the brown and black plumage to be tinted red. It is very similar to the Ginger mutation, although it has more of a red tint and is slightly darker than Ginger, but still lighter than the sex-linked brown mutation. In order of dominance, Roux is more dominant than Ginger, but less dominant than brown (2).

Roux is based on the sex chromosomes, meaning it can be used to create one-time sex-linked hatches if the specific cross is done right. This is different from autosexing, which is when the same variety can always be bred together to be sexed at hatch.

Breeding with Roux:

Roux Male x Roux Female = 100% Roux chicks

Roux Male x Clean Female = Roux females, het. Roux males

Clean Male x Roux Female = 100% clean female chicks, 100% het. Roux male chicks

Het. Roux male x Roux Female = 50% Roux female chicks, 50% clean female chicks, 50% het. Roux male chicks, 50% Roux male chicks

Het. Roux male x Clean Female = 50% clean female chicks, 50% Roux female chicks, 50% het. Roux male chicks, 50% clean male chicks.

Note: it is impossible to have a heterozygous female chick, as females can only have one Z chromosome, and the "pair" or the W chromosome is short, meaning it forces the recessive mutation to show even with only one copy. This is called Hemizygous. Refer to the genetics series if you would like to read more.