Difference between Imperator & Spalding

[tony garza]

Hi,

I was offered some imperator chicks and they are so much more than spalding chicks. What's the difference between them and why the difference in price??

Thanks for your replies.

Tony

 

[Choctaw Valley Farm]

Because the Imperator (Indo-Chinese) is one of the three Muticus sub-species and a Spalding is NOT PURE it will be crossed with something else.

Your Three Sub-Species are :

Muticus - Muticus (Javanese , Java)

Muticus - Imperator (Indo - Chinese)

Muticus - Specifier (Burmese)

Steve

 

[Kev]

How do you tell the difference between them and spaldings?

I agree, imperators are sub species... but have seen young and adult birds in person labeled imperators.. some looked awful close to "Java Green", barely any difference and some that to me really, really, really looked like spalding, some even looked like my own spaldings, which I know are spalding because I bred them myself- too hard to believe they could be imperators because they just share so many traits.. one example are imperator hens with brown edging on the front lower-mid neck. I see that in spaldings, for sure.. do pure imperators have that? I've commented to the owners or just asked who they came from.. many times they came 'direct from big name X'.

 

[BlooRooster]

Spauldings could look almost 100% like any of the muticus sub species, as can they look more like the blues, its all according to how much of the blood from either species that they contain.

How do you tell the difference between them and spaldings?

Sometimes it may just depend on knowing what the parent birds are. If a spaulding has say 3/4 or 7/8 it may look close enough to pass for a pure bird but it is still a spaulding.

I'm sure somewhere someone has passed a spaulding off to someone else as pure green.​

 

[Choctaw Valley Farm]

The Spaldings are sold as Pure Greens more then you will ever know

..............

 

[tony garza]

Thanks for the great advice. I'm still a very small dog in this hunt. I like a green necked bird and the spalding will be my better and cheaper choice. I have two trios of india blue cocks and pied hens and one pair of all white. This little dog says thanks.

Tony

 

[Kev]

Very very true about many spaldings passed off as pures.. I've had to tell many people their "Java" was actually a spalding. Plain, obvious ones at that too. Some resist because they paid 600-800 for the birds so "they just have to be pure, no other way.."

My area of problem is trying to tell which birds really are the sub species or spaldings being passed off as a green subspecies... *especially* when said birds look spalding to me but person claims they got them from "big name/well known breeder".. One example is the "imperator hens" had buff/brown edging to the neck feathers. Is that possible or are they really spaldings? I thought they were spalding but owner argued with me that they came from a name that's supposedly a reputable breeder as pure imperators.

Tony, if you don't care about purity, then yes spaldings are a wonderful and cheaper option. Some of them are really beautiful..

 

[Choctaw Valley Farm]

Well, look at this way just because this guy bought Pure Greens what did he BREED THEM TOO???????????.