Gold Laced Orpington- For Learning and Sharing

[Elliemae 77]

Dee,
I'm so excited for you. Thank-you for sharing your game plan. That's good to know about adding in buff instead of black. Chip is beautiful!! I love the lacing on his hackle feathers. He looks like he has quite the personality too

 

[deek]

Dee,
I'm so excited for you. Thank-you for sharing your game plan. That's good to know about adding in buff instead of black. Chip is beautiful!! I love the lacing on his hackle feathers. He looks like he has quite the personality too

Elliemae, there have been three schools of thought for improving the shafting on the GL. I've communicated with a top German breeder and he recommends outcrossing to Black. Bob Follows, in the UK recommended Buff, and a geneticist in France said, "It depends if they have a complete pair of the MI gene." Some will need Black and some will need Buff. So I guess the answer is to do test hatches to see which works within a breeding pair. Then, the trick is to breed as many as you can house and feed and later find homes for or eat the ones you don't breed. Because it is now apparent with my flock that the diversity of genetic traits is vast within a single bird then when there are two contributing it gets even more fun. It will take me several generations to see what I have to work with.

 

[delisha]

Quote: How do you know if they have a complete pair of the MI gene?

 

[Elliemae 77]

OIC, yes, how do you know if your bird has the complete MI gene.( goodness, laced varieties ARE complicated. Whew! They're just so beautiful though...I think its worth a try)......I'm gonna need a bigger notebook....

 

[deek]

I need to find the emails that I received from Stefane in France. I want to give you ladies a direct quote. I'm having to do everything with my left hand so it's getting frustrating.

But just in case it takes a while to find it, here is how I remember the advice. But please forgive me for not using the proper genetic terms. I needed to keep it simple so that I could remember it. He uses the phenotype (the traits that can be observed) to give clues to the genotype (traits that are hidden in the genetic code). He therefore had me send him pictures of the birds feet, spread wing, tail and saddle, chest, profile, and face.

It takes three pairs of genetic code to have a laced bird. One for the lacing, one for the ground color, and one for ?, can't remember the third. If Jeremy reads this he'll pipe in.

I was specifically addressing the ground color of the feather, not the lacing. Since those are separate genetic codes. By the hue of color in the pictures he could see if the MI gene was complete. I had at the time 12 birds. He specifically showed me which ones needed black and which ones needed buff.

After I culled from the original 12, I kept one cockerel that needed Buff and two that needed Black. All three of my girls needed black. (I didn't have Victoria then, only Greenfire). My black chicks are babies and I will probably attempt a small test hatch using them this Fall. I will definitely post my outcome. I know where to get the perfect Buffs (

) IF I decide to breed Buddy. (Right now he and I aren't on good terms. I am only keeping him because he has perfectly bold lacing, and is the most even of all the boys!!! He also is very suited for working towards the SOP. I still may eat him. It's touch and go with him. It's a miracle he hasn't made it to the pot yet.)

My shoulder hurts. I will find his correspondence and share it as soon as I can.

 

[thedragonlady]

I need to find the emails that I received from Stefane in France. I want to give you ladies a direct quote. I'm having to do everything with my left hand so it's getting frustrating.

But just in case it takes a while to find it, here is how I remember the advice. But please forgive me for not using the proper genetic terms. I needed to keep it simple so that I could remember it. He uses the phenotype (the traits that can be observed) to give clues to the genotype (traits that are hidden in the genetic code). He therefore had me send him pictures of the birds feet, spread wing, tail and saddle, chest, profile, and face.

It takes three pairs of genetic code to have a laced bird. One for the lacing, one for the ground color, and one for ?, can't remember the third. If Jeremy reads this he'll pipe in.

I was specifically addressing the ground color of the feather, not the lacing. Since those are separate genetic codes. By the hue of color in the pictures he could see if the MI gene was complete. I had at the time 12 birds. He specifically showed me which ones needed black and which ones needed buff.

After I culled from the original 12, I kept one cockerel that needed Buff and two that needed Black. All three of my girls needed black. (I didn't have Victoria then, only Greenfire). My black chicks are babies and I will probably attempt a small test hatch using them this Fall. I will definitely post my outcome. I know where to get the perfect Buffs (

) IF I decide to breed Buddy. (Right now he and I aren't on good terms. I am only keeping him because he has perfectly bold lacing, and is the most even of all the boys!!! He also is very suited for working towards the SOP. I still may eat him. It's touch and go with him. It's a miracle he hasn't made it to the pot yet.)

My shoulder hurts. I will find his correspondence and share it as soon as I can.

You can carry the gun in your sling. Don't eat him ! I have some fat ladies who would like to meet him if he needs a buff girl, or two.Feel better !

 

[rockinpaints]

You can carry the gun in your sling. Don't eat him ! I have some fat ladies who would like to meet him if he needs a buff girl, or two.Feel better !

 

[aveca]

LOL !! Funny Vickie

 

[delisha]

Funny...

feel better Dee..rest your shoulder

 

[deek]

After re-reading all the advice I've gotten to improve shafting I've come up with my own personal game plan. I'm going to continue test hatches using different combinations, but allowing intermittent hatching from the same pair. So far, what I am seeing in my backyard, given my specific birds, is that even within a breeding pair some genetic traits are constant and some are random. I'm not seeing that the same parents are always producing the same chicks. So for now, I'm noting which are the constants and rolling the dice for the random traits. I am hoping that if the random traits are desirable and present in a pair, perhaps eventually that will become a constant. It's going to take several years to determine some of the genetic traits my birds have.

What I mentioned above is common sense to most, but I had to see it for myself I guess. The bottom line for me is: unless someone handed down genetic information about the birds you have when you purchased them, you have to start by seeing what you have first.

I guess I find challenges interesting.