Taking a crazy walk out on a limb (
), but I think the problem with Rocks, Wyandottes, Leghorns, Dorkings, Orpingtons, Marans, Hamburgs, Polish, Cochins, is that they exist in way too many varieties for their own good. One fad of color leads to another, and now we have the proverbial divided kingdoms that cannot stand. There's the old adage that "if you're doing more than two or three things, you're not doing anything." It's what's great with Andalusians, Australorps, Redcaps, Buttercups, La Fleche, and Dominques. If you're working on them, then you're working on
them. Considering RIRs and Anconas, there are two varieties separated by comb alone, which could be interbred in a pinch and proper combs could be drawn out over a few seasons, while type and color would never need falter. Some breeds have variety, but they're at that limit that additions would be unfortunate, i.e. Brahmas and Jersey Giants.
The reality with so many of these breeds with multiple varieties is that they are redundant, but each color has a breed it calls home, i.e. Blue in Andalusians. We even refer to it as Andalusian blue. Reducing of varieties wouldn't make color genes disappear; indeed, I think it would strengthen them. I think that the general quality in stock would improve and the actual manifestations of the given color pattern would strengthen because more people could exchange stock.
Imagine if the original variety of a breed were focused on with, perhaps--but not necessarily, one or two historically significant varieities:
Dorkings: Whites, Silver Greys, Reds
Leghorns: Whites, Light and Dark Browns
Minorcas: Keep it black, SC and RC
Rocks: Barred, White, maybe Partridge.
Orpingtons: Black, Buff, White
Wyandottes: Silver Laced, Golden Laced, White
It might seem a bit Draconian, but I think that on the other side, we'd see better and better birds.
