The genotype of the offspring is likely heterozygous (Bb), with one black feather allele (B) and one white feather allele (W).
In genetics, the color of chicken feathers is often determined by multiple alleles at a single gene locus.
Let's use the letter "B" to represent the allele for black feathers and "W" for white feathers.
Since the chicken with black feathers is denoted as BB and the one with white feathers as WW, we can infer that black feathers (B) are dominant over white feathers (W).
When these two chickens are crossed, the resulting offspring will inherit one allele from each parent.
The genotype of the offspring will be BW, indicating that they carry both a black allele (B) from one parent and a white allele (W) from the other parent.
Despite having both alleles, the phenotype, or the observed trait, is black feathers, as the black allele is dominant.
In a more detailed explanation, the genotype of the offspring can be heterozygous (Bb), with one black allele and one white allele.
However, since black is the dominant trait, the presence of the black allele will determine the phenotype.
This type of genetic cross, involving a dominant and a recessive allele, results in a phenotypic expression that reflects the dominant allele's characteristics.