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Bo,
when you have time and opportunity I would like a discussion with you about your whites, I may be interested in a few pullets for a LF Columbian project based on the outcome of the converstaion. The leg color problem would be of little concern as I will be using LF Columbian Wyandotte with great yellow leg color as the male to cover them and introduce the color pattern I am much more concerned with type, tail great leg and foot feathering.
The leg color problem is improved by using males with good leg color. My males all have bright yellow legs and most of the females lightly willow tinted. I had problems originally finding white males to begin breeding these birds so after a year with just pullets I took the best black male I had and placed over the white hens, the resulting offspring were white, black and brown red. I culled the blacks, kept the best typed whites and brown reds and still have brown reds from that line although I am down to one breeding hen after one succumbed to the heat a couple of weeks ago.
On your columbian cochin project I would probably go with a Light brahma male as opposed to the wyandotte. This keeps your foot feathering intact and gives you the color you are looking for at the same time. Yes, the comb will be an issue in the first couple of generations but that is the quickest fixed problem in my opinion. Braham blood will also keep the size needed in the cochins. Just make sure you use the largest and best typed white females you can find, I have a few prospects that are very round and my whites are very large as well with excellent heads and combs. Tom Roebuck has the best whites in the country at this time and Paul Homer of Canada also has some excellent whites.
We are in the same state only a few hours from each other, I'll be at the Newcastle show in October and at Shawnee in December hopefully we can meet up there.
On the same note I am going to begin a large birchen project this next year and am beginning to get excited about that.
Blessings to you,
Bo
Bo,
I discussed this with Tom as well late last year and based on information on his whites at that time decided to pass on them for reasons he and I discussed, I continue to search for the right white to use, I know yours will be of good size and type, so that is the easy part teh questions i have are much better left to verbal discussions so I will see you this fall.
