PoultryTalk.com

What are your views on breeders developing and creating new colours/varieties of breeds which some view as still needing work on to improve the general breed standard? What are your views on so many new colours being created? Does it attract more people to poultry keeping, seeing so many different colours of breeds available?

I think it must be exciting to create new colours but there are several things that irritate me about it.
1. if you are a serious breeder, why not perfect colours that already exist? and get the best bird possible. Instead of a new colour that isn't anywhere near the correct type etc.
2. So many people "create" a colour often by mistake, and it turns up several times. I see these for sale, especially at auctions with a new colour name. People new to chicken keeping may think these are actual colours, that they breed true etc. and buy them then find out the chicks are nothing like the colour.
People maybe attracted to keeping chickens if they see something they like in one of these new colours yes, and for pets of what is really just a cross of colours it's fine to keep them- i always see x coloured pekins sold which are given a name and they are gorgeous... but i would never buy them to breed and call the offspring that.

Obviously those breeders who know their stuff and make a new colour, there is nothing wrong with that- aslong as they breed generations and generations to make sure they breed true and then improve the standard.

This is why I keep serama, it doesn't matter what colour comes out and it's so exciting to see what colour the chicks you hatch turn out to be! And no 2 are ever the exact same colour. I have thought about creating perhaps a true colour in serama but seem to always be met with opposition from other serama breeders and so am happy at present to continue breeding them just the way they are. I personally like them all the random colours, but am always asked by non serama breeders why there is no colour standard and am often met with humorous comments for keeping them over the lack of the colour standard. I agree with you to a certain extent with regards to creating colours in that the breeder must be dedicated and actually follow the entire process through and actually produce birds of the new colour which meet the breed standard, however I do like to see new exciting colours being created and do feel that if done correctly bring interest to a breed by attracting breeders who like the particular colour. With regards to altering the appearance or shape of the bird eg, silkied, frizzled, rumpless, bearded etc Im not adversed to such advancements or modifications provided they don't diminish the original character or key features in the breed. But saying all this, we all share one thing in common and this is our chickens. I think that constructive advice is needed in such cases and not criticism, after all this is our hobby which we should enjoy.

Julia

I know that this is an old thread but i just had to get involved. I do colour breed with a lot of success, but, the only reason that I do is to retain some of the old colours found in the Araucana, over the last 10 years the Lavender has dominated the market so much that it has pushed some of the old colours either to or to the edge of extinction, Blues, Crele, Blue-red and Black-red are still very rare and very hard to come by, The Spangle hasn't been seen since about 1980.
So we colour breed to preserve the original colours. It really is fascinating to do, i.e from a white cock and a lavender hen you have the basis of a silver duckwing!!
the problem starts when people add a different breed into the fold to assertain a certain colour, for example to get a chocolate gene you need a split black one, so adding a rhode island red to a black cock you will get a split black gene, we have seen this so many times over the last 18 months, in chocolate orpingtons, chocolate leghorns and choc araucanas.
It takes years of selective breeding and carefull consideration about line breeding and a knowledge of basic genetics to begin to create a new or recreate and old colour. But unless you are in the hobby for the show ring or you want to colour co-ordinate your cochin with your daisy's does it really matter what coolour your boys and girls are? they still lay you the same egg and their personalities will always outshine their looks !!

Jay

I honestly think that all colours are beautiful and unique to each breed, accidents happen and it can be a beautiful thing, but i do agree with Lexi, If you are a serious breeder why don't you better an already existing colour and bird!

If you are a serious breeder then breeding to standard should always be your top priority. But breeding new colours is also a subject which interests me greatly and one of the things that first attracted me to poultry keeping was the work on breeding new colours, particularly in Wyandottes that people like Grant Brereton have been doing. It does take a reasonable knowlege of colour genetics but maybe one day i might try with Sussex.