Eye color and leg color for lavender Minorcas - Page 3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonoran Silkies 

At over 50% overweight, it could be considered a different breed--essentially a "giant" (as compared with a bantam that is a large percent smaller).  And that is assuming that someone has worked with them enough that there really is sufficient similarity and conformation in the offspring to constitute a breed.

 

A Ginorca maybe?

I started on a project nearly ten years ago to make large fowl Lavender Minorcas and I have them fairly decent today.The Lavender gene has feather quality issues,frayed tails,pigmentation feather brakes,and constant pinfeathers in wingbows. It takes a lot of lavender males to select and cull against these feather faulty, linkages had to be broken.I started with a tiny OEG Bantam,as I could find no Lavender large fowl.Lavender Orpingtons  were just starting as well as Lavender Araucanas.

I had lots of problems with small size and red earlobes.Lavender is a mild diluter gene and so it has a slight effect on eye and leg color.I have used Black Minorca backcrosses to get the size and type,but I find the Lavenders keep coming with light eyes,light orange brown and more often reddish bay eyes (like White Minorcas).The Leg color is medium to slate gray. Dan Honour

Interesting project, I have seen Dan's birds and he is doing a good job getting them in the right direction to be called a Minorca.  As for the 14 lb Minorca you spoke of, I dont believe I have ever heard of anyone saying that there are 14 lb Minorcas being shown.  The largest I have ever heard of is 11 1/2 to 12 lb old Males and females that push 8 1/2 to 9 lbs as old hens. Minorcas are large and should be large but they are large and athletic, not large and dumpy like Orpingtons or other large breeds.  As for your cross with Lavender Orpingtons it might work as most all of the Lavender Orps I have seen were anything but Orpingtons in my opinion. They were medium sized utility birds and that might be the best type to use honestly.

John

For me it has been a slow process.I breed the Black splits that carry the lavender recessive gene,together and get 25% lavenders.I raise up the Lavenders and check the lavender males for feather quality,which takes 6-8 months of age to evaluate.Then they are mated back to Black Minorcas,to keep the size,and type coming.Then repeat it all over again.

In regard to Minorcas being 14 lbs.,it is hard to imagine.Way more often are the tiny hatchery Minorcas seen,definitely under weight,no frame,and no type.Maybe we can mate these 14 pound birds to the  3 .75  pound hatchery birds??