Duckwing Leghorns

[ChicKat]

This thread is fascinating. I am looking forward to tracking your progress on this project.

An extraordinary & encyclopedic book by Sigrid Van Dort...called the Genetics of chicken colours. I think it is around $92 and worth every penny. To everyone I say, "Get your local library or an Ag college to stock one if it exceeds your book buying budget. "

She has the formulas for all the European show colors. (wouldn't you know?)-- Following is Sigrid's 'recipe':

She says Golden Duckwing is e+/e+ S/- Ar+/Ar+ (Di/Di) in a hen and
e+/e+ S/S Ar+/ar (Di/Di) in the cockerel "This variety is made by the combination of Silver and autosomal red, Dilute is often present but is not essential. Hackle stripling shows a lot of variation in this color. " (emphasis is mine)
I wonder if the male could be Ar+/Ar+ -- you would have a true-breeding bird wouldn't you? -- hmmm
For selection of breeders I would look for silver males with the reddest shoulder patch and silver females with the reddest breast feathers.
Here are some goldens... I could watch this about 50-times

As Nicalandia states the look could be obtained in various ways -- but I think that Sigrid's is the most straight forward.
Finding your excellent silvers and your autosomal reds to get your coloration and then working to improve the birds.... great enterprise IMO.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

This thread is fascinating. I am looking forward to tracking your progress on this project.

An extraordinary & encyclopedic book by Sigrid Van Dort...called the Genetics of chicken colours. I think it is around $92 and worth every penny. To everyone I say, "Get your local library or an Ag college to stock one if it exceeds your book buying budget. "

She has the formulas for all the European show colors. (wouldn't you know?)-- Following is Sigrid's 'recipe':

She says Golden Duckwing is e+/e+ S/- Ar+/Ar+ (Di/Di) in a hen and
e+/e+ S/S Ar+/ar (Di/Di) in the cockerel "This variety is made by the combination of Silver and autosomal red, Dilute is often present but is not essential. Hackle stripling shows a lot of variation in this color. " (emphasis is mine)
I wonder if the male could be Ar+/Ar+ -- you would have a true-breeding bird wouldn't you? -- hmmm
For selection of breeders I would look for silver males with the reddest shoulder patch and silver females with the reddest breast feathers.
Here are some goldens... I could watch this about 50-times

As Nicalandia states the look could be obtained in various ways -- but I think that Sigrid's is the most straight forward.
Finding your excellent silvers and your autosomal reds to get your coloration and then working to improve the birds.... great enterprise IMO.

Thank you Chickat for the encouraging words and insightful information. I'll give you guys an update on my progress!

 

[ChicKat]

regarding the goldens in post 81. focus on the females. They really are unique, their neck hackles are 'golden' -- and we seem to pay more attention to roo than to hen. From the filming you don't see the breast, and if it isn't red (salmon is the correct term) - then that female probably isn't based on e+/e+.
Also the 'brown' on the female's back looks a teeny bit 'dusky' -- so maybe there is silver with autosomal red or Mahogany or something..... What are y'all's thoughts.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

 

[The Moonshiner]

I find it interesting that the cockerel is listed as Ar+/ar because you're correct that that doesn't breed true.
I haven't had a bird exactly like what's stated but I've crossed silver and gold duckwing and produced a couple dozen silver/gold cockerels. Of them all I did have one that received Ar+.
It was S/s+ Ar+/ar.
It was silver/gold so it had the yellowish hackles and saddle feathers. The Ar+ only added the red to the shoulders. It was a far cry from the rooster shown.
If it would of been silver/silver it would of lost all the yellow color. I am unsure what a second Ar+ gene would of added.
Anyone have pics of a Ar+/Ar+ and a Ar+/ar bird to compare? Or info one the difference?

 

[ChicKat]

Oh --
remember this...in European exhibition poultry -- there is a 'pullet-breeding line' and a 'cock-breeding line' -- in a LOT of their pens. It could easily be that the beautiful golden birds shown have parents that wouldn't qualify for the show ring. I also think that in the USA, (maybe not the same in Europe/EU countries) -- that the judges pay far less attention to color/pattern than we raisers do.

interesting genetics article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duckwing-leghorns.1291747/page-9#post-21984704
Here's a quote from that page:
*C/B = Cock Breeder, P/B = Pullet Breeder D/M Double mated i.e. exhibition males and females are bred from separate strains. S/M= Single Mated (at the current time) N/S Non standard. Potential other

laced colours: lavender and chocolate in silver, gold and red varieties, white or gold laced black which are not truly laced but genetically similar to Silver Sussex.

Here's the chart in the link just above it. So D/M means that two different pens of birds are needed, one to produce show-quality males and one to produce show-quality females.

for my part, I don't do 'facebook', hopefully I will never do facebook, however, I came accross this duckwing: wow

so Miami Leghorns, it has the golden duckwing -- with the blue gene (one copy) added. I guess due to blue this particular bird would never breed true-- but it's a real looker.

 

[The Moonshiner]

In the U.S. they also do the cock breeding lines and pullet breeding lines etc. Back when I showed I stayed away from all that and any breeds/varieties that suggest doing it.
Just me but I think there's something flawed in the idea that you need two lines to breed the different sexes.
That bird has an interesting pattern. Thanks for showing it. Fascinating to see just how many different patterns can be made if you want to put in the effect.

 

[ChicKat]

Same here... my preference is a "breed true bird" -- and you don't have to keep different lines....however, now-a-days, I'm a bit mellowed out. The reason why is that some genes are sex-linked, and some the female only has one copy. Different challenges appeal to various breeders.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

And thats the challenge I'm willing to take on.
I will reach out and correspond with a few individuals overseas to see what is it that was done to get to where they are.
The way I see it if they're doing it over there we can do it over here.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

I wonder if in those display cages at the shows when you have a rooster and a few hens if that's the case whether you have two separate lines there