Breeding Colours

[sapper756]

Thought this article may be of interest to somehttp://forum.pigeonbasics.org/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif

 

The Opal Factor

Breeding reds from two blues is genetic impossibility, but there are fanciers who claim to have done it. The following should explain the situation. Sometimes a blue pair will produce a young cock which looks somewhat like a red check but is actually an opal. If you compare the opal check with a true red check you will notice a difference. Also the opal will not have black flecks as seen in some red checks. The opal colour is also found in hens and is usually a soft powder blue and there is no dark bar on the tail. Racing ability does not seem to be affected.

 

On looking through past racing records I note that an opal cock won the 320 mile race for me in 1982. Further down the race result sheet was another opal cock owned by someone else. The opal colour in hens certainly enhances the show potential. I had a beautiful opal hen that won many best in show awards. Opal is a recessive colour. When mated to blues or blacks, only blue and black progeny will result. The young will carry the opal factor and when mated together will give opals of both sexes. It is an interesting colour for experimentation. A blue pair could produce reds if there has has been some hanky-panky. My birds never do that!

 

Black Flecks

You will have noticed that some red cocks have black flecks on their feathers, mostly wings and tail, and these flecks increase with each moult. The explanation is quite simple and has to do with X and Y chromosomes and whether or not there were blues in the ancestory. Black flecks means these red cocks are carrying the factor for blue colour.

 

The business of X and Y chromosomes is more complex and we will leave that to be discussed under another heading. You may have noticed too that hens don't get these black flecks. If they do have flecks, they will be brown. Its all about sex-linkage and those X and Y chromosomes again.

 

PairingYoung Birds Produced

COCK X HEN COCK HEN

BLUE X BLUE BLUE BLUE

 

BLUE X MEALY MEALY BLUE

BLUE X BL CHQ BLUE/BL CHQ BLUE/BL CHQ

 

BLUE X RED MEALY/RED BLUE/BL CHQ

 

MEALY X BLUE BLUE/MEALY BLUE/MEALY

 

MEALY X MEALY MEALY BLUE/MEALY

 

MEALY X BL CHQ MEALY/RED/BLUE MEALY/RED/BLUE

BLUE CHQ BLUE CHQ

 

MEALY X RED MEALY/RED MEALY/RED/BLUE/BL CHQ

 

BL CHQ X BLUE BLUE/ BL CHQ BLUE/ BL CHQ

 

BL CHQ X MEALY MEALY/RED BLUE/ BL CHQ

 

BL CHQ X BL CHQ BLUE/ BL CHQ BLUE/ BL CHQ

 

BL CHQ X RED MEALY/ RED BLUE/ BL CHQ

 

RED X BLUE BLUE/BL CHQ/RED BLUE/BL CHQ/RED/MEALY

MEALY

 

RED X MEALY MEALY/ RED MEALY/RED/BLUE/BL CHQ

 

RED X BL CHQ BLUE/BL CHQ/RED BLUE/BL CHQ/RED/MEALY

MEALY/RED

 

RED X RED MEALY/ RED MEALY/RED/BLUE/BL CHQ

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately the spacing did not print out as typedhttp://forum.pigeonbasics.org/public/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif So have attempted to colour codehttp://forum.pigeonbasics.org/public/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif

Edited September 28, 2010 by sapper756

[OLDYELLOW]

should of resized the font what about blacks / dark chequers in the pairings

[sapper756]

should of resized the font http://forum.pigeonbasics.org/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif what about blacks / dark chequers in the pairings http://forum.pigeonbasics.org/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif

 

 

GET LOSThttp://forum.pigeonbasics.org/public/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif

[OLDYELLOW]

GET LOST

i bet you get pigeons still

[sapper756]

Please feel free to add other pairings and colourshttp://forum.pigeonbasics.org/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif

 

 

[OLDYELLOW]

Please feel free to add other pairings and colours

http://www.angelfire.com/ga3/pigeongenetics/expectations.html

 

http://www.angelfire.com/ga3/pigeongenetics/expectations.html