A red-colored female New Hampshire Red chicken mated with a red-colored male New Hampshire Red chicken and produced golden-colored offspring. Which statement best explains how the offspring could inherit a trait not shown in the phenotypes of either parent?

The statement that could best explain how the offspring could inherit a trait not shown in the phenotypes of either parent would be that both parents are heterozygous for the red color.

Heterozygous parents can produce offspring with a phenotype that is distinctly different from that of either parent if the recessive alleles come together during random fusion of gametes.

Let us assume that the red color (R) in the New Hampshire chicken is the dominant one and the recessive one is the golden color (r). The genotype of the heterozygous parents would be Rr.

Rr x Rr

RR Rr Rr rr

There is a probability (1/4) of producing a golden color chicken (rr), a trait that is not displayed in either of the parents.