# question about blue eyes



## goattee22 (Nov 7, 2009)

I know this has been discussed several times so im sorry if this is just a repeat  

I understand that a parent must have blue eyes and that the blue eye gene is dominant but if BOTH parents have blue eyes, will all the kids have blue eyes?? i think ive read in the past that no, there can be brown eyed kids but i just wunna double check...

next question... the blue eyed kid that is from TWO blue eyed parents, will that kid always throw blue eyed kids when bred since both of its parents had blue eyes?

hope this is making sense!! haha :idea: 
just curious about this stuff onder:


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

If you cross two heterozygous blue eyed goats then you have a chance of getting a litter of all blue eyes, all brown eyes, or a mix.
If you have a goat homozygous for blue eyes that means it will only produce blue eyed kids. *There is no test yet for homozygous blue eyes in goats.*
Crossing two blue eyed goats there is a chance to produce a homozygous.
You can get a heterozygous blue eyed kid or kids from two heterozygous blue eyed goats. There are no guarentees of getting a homozygous.

There is a chart on this...let me see if I can dig it up.


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## DavyHollow (Jul 14, 2011)

Its genetics, and brown eyes are dominant.
So say the code for blue eyes is bb and for brown BB
The parents are probably Bb, meaning brown or blue eyes but retaining the other color gene.

Even if both parents are Bb watch what happens:
Each baby would have a one and three chance of being BB
Three options: (BB, Bb, bb) Bb is likely still brown, but carrying the blue eyed gene. Some of the kids will be bb, which means they will produce ONLY bbs if bred with another bb. But can still produce Bb when bred with a BB or a Bb.
Brown is dominant, so it's hard to get bb. I don't think its' possible to ever completely rule it out, but I could be wrong

I'm really bad at explaining genetics . . .  :laugh:


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## RMADairyGoats (Jun 20, 2011)

You are never guaranteed blue eyes even if both parents have it. We bred two blue eyed goats together and got 1 brown eyed baby, and bred a blue and a brown eyed doe and buck and got 4 blue eyed babies. So you never know what you are going to get, but you have a very good chance at blue eyes if one or both parents have them. But there are no gurarantees.


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

Here...this website has a great chart: http://www.goatspots.com/blueeyes.html


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## TinyHoovesRanch (Jan 16, 2010)

I bred 2 blue eyed goats, and had 2 blue eyed babies WITH brown eyes...lol hard to explain but it was pretty cool!


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

Good link Kylee.

Laura...blue eyed babies with brown eyes? I'm having trouble picturing that. :laugh: You mean part blue, part brown?


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## DavyHollow (Jul 14, 2011)

Or one eye of each? I WANT ONE!!


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

TinyHoovesRanch said:


> I bred 2 blue eyed goats, and had 2 blue eyed babies WITH brown eyes...lol hard to explain but it was pretty cool!


 :scratch:


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## goattee22 (Nov 7, 2009)

Alrighty, thanks for the input! I guess I wouldn't want one that only threw blue eyes anyway cuz it wouldn't be as exciting to knowwwww what you were gunna get lol. I like brown eyes too! I was just curious if it was possible. 

Oh and thanks for that link! Very helpful!!


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

> Alrighty, thanks for the input! I guess I wouldn't want one that only threw blue eyes anyway cuz it wouldn't be as exciting to knowwwww what you were gunna get lol.


Exactly! That's what's so fun about Nigerian Dwarves, IMO.


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## myfainters (Oct 30, 2009)

TinyHoovesRanch said:


> I bred 2 blue eyed goats, and had 2 blue eyed babies WITH brown eyes...lol hard to explain but it was pretty cool!


Are you talking about marbled blue eyes? Blue with brown speckles or a brown ring with a blue ring


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## myfainters (Oct 30, 2009)

DavyHollow said:


> Its genetics, and brown eyes are dominant.
> So say the code for blue eyes is bb and for brown BB
> The parents are probably Bb, meaning brown or blue eyes but retaining the other color gene.
> 
> ...


Davvy this is a correct chart for human genetics however goats are opposite.  In goats Blue is dominant and brown is recessive. So reverse the chart and you got it!


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

myfainters is correct - blue eyes are dominant so the gene can not be carried. If a doe or buck is brown eyed they can not throw blue eyes and having a blue eyed parent doesnt up the chances of blue eyes in the kids if even if bred to a blue eyed (I see people noting the color of a sire or dam and saying that its in their pedigree to throw blue eyes so thats why I mention this).

editing this because it was poitned out to me I made a type-o and then I realized I totally missed half of what I was trying to say :doh:


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## TinyHoovesRanch (Jan 16, 2010)

One time my doe had blue eyes with weird specs all over. She was sold, but her brother had blue and brown eyes, with the rings....


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

That is REALLY cool! I would like a goat like that!


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

StaceyRoop said:


> myfainters is correct - blue eyes are dominant so the gene can not be carried. If a doe or buck is blue eyed they can not throw blue eyes and being bred to a blue eyed doesnt up the chances of blue eyes in the kids.


Wait...what? A blue-eyed goat can NOT throw blue eyes? I've only ever had blue eyed kids out of blue-eyed goats. From what I understood one parent HAS to have blue eyes to produce blue-eyed kids.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

sorry type-o - answering to many emails and TGS posts - fingers just been typing so much blue it came out blue instead of brown. Will edit my post.


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## firelight27 (Apr 25, 2009)

Lol...that makes a lot more sense.


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## DavyHollow (Jul 14, 2011)

Ah haha thats what I get for taking a human genetics class!  Thats interesting that blue eyes are dominant considering in humans blue eyes are a mutation . . . huh. Wicked cool though.


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

firelight27 said:


> Lol...that makes a lot more sense.


thanks for catching it


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