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Walt may be able to explain better. Side sprigs just happen. It could mean a cross. It is something all breeders look out for. Just like an inverted spike on a rosecomb or bumps of any kind on a cushion comb.
You always start where you are. One top breeder of several breeds started with hatchery stock. He was restricted to NPIP members only. After several years and thousands of chicks hatched, he now has some of the top quality anyone has seen in his breeds. Its Dr. Keith Bramwell at the University of Arkansas-Fayettville. He does not show. But gives his hatching eggs away to mostly youth. Those eggs have produced some show winners.
So start where you are and work on what you have. If you can acquire better stock, then you have less work.