Of particular interest to me in the "what were they then" vein is the nice lacing on the breast and the lack of white on the wing tips of the charcoal cockerel. On all of my silver cockerels, I've yet to get anything approaching lacing on the breast, getting either more splotches of white or closer to mottling. I don't know if this can be selected towards a more even lacing or not, but genetically I don't think we'll get an "easy" lacing to the breast with the silvers.
In regards to the charcoals vs. birchens, I have seen stippling (to a lesser degress, obviously) on birchens and the birchen chicks that go on to be the best laced often have some degree of the brown/chestnut tips to their feathers, those being the adult birds also more likely to show the stippling to the feathers in at least juvenile plumage.
Great photos and definitely a look to strive for. As we enter this second year and hopefully see more of not only the silvers but the charcoals, will be interesting to see where we're at at this time next year.
When we get back into revamping "the" standard for the Iowa Blue, this is going to come up on what to favor, particularly in the wing color stipulation and the appearance of the breast pattern.
Much like this year has been the year of the Silver, in trying to produce numbers to visualize and choose from, next year could very well be the year of the charcoal to increase those numbers to assess, evaluate, and go from there.
I think it's very probable that the original breed consisted of a mix of these. I can see why. Personally I think the silver hens are prettier, while I will probably favor the charcoal cockerels for their nicer lacing.
In regards to the charcoals vs. birchens, I have seen stippling (to a lesser degress, obviously) on birchens and the birchen chicks that go on to be the best laced often have some degree of the brown/chestnut tips to their feathers, those being the adult birds also more likely to show the stippling to the feathers in at least juvenile plumage.
Great photos and definitely a look to strive for. As we enter this second year and hopefully see more of not only the silvers but the charcoals, will be interesting to see where we're at at this time next year.
When we get back into revamping "the" standard for the Iowa Blue, this is going to come up on what to favor, particularly in the wing color stipulation and the appearance of the breast pattern.
Much like this year has been the year of the Silver, in trying to produce numbers to visualize and choose from, next year could very well be the year of the charcoal to increase those numbers to assess, evaluate, and go from there.
I think it's very probable that the original breed consisted of a mix of these. I can see why. Personally I think the silver hens are prettier, while I will probably favor the charcoal cockerels for their nicer lacing.