New Variety Idea?

[maddiecakes]

I had a hypothetical idea for breeding a (possibly) new variety of Leghorn. I’d begin with a Single Comb Light Brown Leghorn rooster with Rhode Island Red hens. The offspring should look phenotypically like Rhode Island Reds. If I backbreed one of the offspring with another Brown Leghorn, there will be a chance of a Red Duckwing hatching. If I breed the Red Duckwing with yet another Brown Leghorn, there will be a chance the offspring will also be Red Duckwing. After backbreeding so many subsequent generations after that, the Rhode Island Red genes will become so diluted as to become more or less negligible. Finally, I just breed two Red Duckwings together and their offspring should all be Red Duckwings. At that point, a variety of Red Duckwing Leghorns that breed true will be developed. I’m not sure if that variety exists yet or not but if not, I think I may have just come up with a path toward breeding a new Leghorn variety.

 

[Debbie292d]

New breeds of birds are discussed here and often it's found it can be done, but getting credit for it can be a whole new thing.

One of a few folks I know that breed for different varieties you could talk to about it is @MysteryChicken

 

[JacinLarkwell]

@The Moonshiner

 

[MysteryChicken]

I had a hypothetical idea for breeding a (possibly) new variety of Leghorn. I’d begin with a Single Comb Light Brown Leghorn rooster with Rhode Island Red hens. The offspring should look phenotypically like Rhode Island Reds. If I backbreed one of the offspring with another Brown Leghorn, there will be a chance of a Red Duckwing hatching. If I breed the Red Duckwing with yet another Brown Leghorn, there will be a chance the offspring will also be Red Duckwing. After backbreeding so many subsequent generations after that, the Rhode Island Red genes will become so diluted as to become more or less negligible. Finally, I just breed two Red Duckwings together and their offspring should all be Red Duckwings. At that point, a variety of Red Duckwing Leghorns that breed true will be developed. I’m not sure if that variety exists yet or not but if not, I think I may have just come up with a path toward breeding a new Leghorn variety.
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Use Welsummer as they're already a Red Duckwing variety, & won't bring in the Columbian gene like the RIRs will.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Have you looked into dark brown Leghorns?
Mine were rose comb and partridge instead of single comb and duckwing but after doing some crosses I'd get some that looked like brown leghorns with really dark red and gold tones.
Crossing to other breeds causes a long process of getting back to a Leghorn. Getting back to white eggs alone is a pita and takes years.