1 Colored Egg Layer Chickens. The Araucana is a pure breed of chicken originating in Chile. 2  Ameraucana chickens were developed in the 1970âs in the United States from Araucanas. They were developed as a practical barnyard fowl that laid pastel shelled eggs, but without some of the limiting genetic factors related to rumplessness and tufts.
sex chromosome. a chromosome, differing in shape or function from other chromosomes, that determines the sex of an individual.
Sex Linked Genes. A particularly important category of genetic linkage has to do with the X and Y sex chromosomes. These not only carry the genes that determine male and female traits but also those for some other characteristics as well. Genes that are carried by either sex chromosome are said to be sex linked. Men normally have an X and a Y combination of sex chromosomes, while women have two X's. Since only men inherit Y chromosomes, they are the only ones to inherit Y-linked traits.