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The bird pictured above is the result of several generations of Opal on Opal no out cross, The line that I crossed with white is doing much better now 3 generations past the cross.
If you will notice the excess tail fluff at the base of the tail, all of the Opals I have had or have seen have very loose feathering with excess under down which causes this fault, they also have fluff in the hackle feathers causing the hackle to stand out much like a D'anver. They also have a much more vertical body carriage and flatter high breast again much like a D'anver.
The Birds that resulted from the cross have been short on color but it is coming around rather well, I beleive I have 2-3 cockrells and 2-3 pullets that will be much more appropriate to show as OE this year, they are much tighter in feather with very little under down, consdierably lower, broader, and heavier in breast with better body and wing carriage. I expect it will take a nother 3-4 generations to get them right but they are showing much improvement at least to the point I beleive they are worthy of being seen.