Lavender coloring and bad tails

[Michael99]

Hello everyone!

So I've done research on lavender coloring, and apparently it is linked to bad feather quality (specifically in the tail and wing regions) in birds that have this coloration. But I've also read in a few places that the linkage can be broken, but that it just takes the breeding of a large number of birds to do it. Anyways, I love the lavender/isabella coloring and would like to make lavender bantam Phoenix's, but I'm worried that it might not be worth the time and effort if all of them would exhibit poor feather quality (as that is the whole point of the Phoenix breed).

So my question is for people who have worked extensively with lavender genetics - can the linkage between lavender coloring and poor feather quality be broken, or does lavender coloring itself cause poor feathering?

 

[sourland]

Good question.

 

[AusHen]

Breeding lavender to lavender over many generations is when you typically see poor feather quality, adding black and using those split birds with good feathering can can help improve your lavender birds
This is what I have learnt from when I was breeding lavender Araucana

 

[Gray Farms]

Its commonly known as the " tail shredder" gene
Out crossing lavendar to black every few generations helps tremendously.

 

[Amer]

It will work, however, I would not recommend using lavender in the long-tailed breeds.
The lavender gene is very closely linked to feather shredding, and people have had very little success separating them.

 

[Michael99]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I don't think I'm going to attempt it after all, I think my time and effort could be better put towards other projects.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

The "shredder" gene is something that does not exist in all lavender birds. I have read pieces about the development of porcelain d'uccles that noted the problems and eliminated it and now it is rarely seen. IMO, it seems to have originated in lavender orpingtons in this country, and large breed fowl that have used orpingtons to introduce the color are having to do the work to eliminate the problem, but it's not impossible.

HOWEVER, the good news is that as far as I know it is rarely or never seen in bantam self blue OEGB which would, I think, be the best choice for introducing it into a line of bantams. So have fun. Just inspect the line you're bringing in really carefully for feather quality, as it is far easier to avoid the problem altogether than it is to eliminate it after established.

 

[Michael99]

The "shredder" gene is something that does not exist in all lavender birds. I have read pieces about the development of porcelain d'uccles that noted the problems and eliminated it and now it is rarely seen. IMO, it seems to have originated in lavender orpingtons in this country, and large breed fowl that have used orpingtons to introduce the color are having to do the work to eliminate the problem, but it's not impossible.

HOWEVER, the good news is that as far as I know it is rarely or never seen in bantam self blue OEGB which would, I think, be the best choice for introducing it into a line of bantams. So have fun. Just inspect the line you're bringing in really carefully for feather quality, as it is far easier to avoid the problem altogether than it is to eliminate it after established.

I think it is really interesting that you mention it can be broken. I was doing some searching today into it again and I managed to come across a website on German Bantams (It's not in English, but google translate works!). If you don't know what they are, they are a breed of chickens that was made by crossing Phoenix with German village bantams.

Anyways, I found it interesting is because they come in lavender coloring (solid/self-blue and isabella), and since they are part Phoenix in origin, their tails are somewhat long, and it doesn't seem like they are affected by the feather shredding gene.

Here's a picture of one that has the best feathering that I could find -

And here are the links if anyone is interested in checking it out further -

http://www.huehnerwelt.de/rassenazzwerg/deutzwerg9.htmhttp://www.huehnerwelt.de/rassenazzwerg/deutzwerg16.htm
I think I just might give it a try! If I were to try though, what do you think would be a better bet - using lavender/Isabella bantam leghorns, or OEGB? And how can you be certain that the feather shredder gene has been broken?