Spangle Pekins

[Kiwibird]

In New Zealand we have chickens called spangle pekins. They are like bantam cochins in the states. The spangle seems to sometimes mean what you call mottle and sometimes mean what you call mille fleur. If we have a black chook with white feather tips we call it a mottle. If we have a coloured bird with white or black and white feather tips, we call it a spangle. Here is a point of lay spangle pekin pullet.

My question is, what do you think she is genetically?

Also, what exactly would you call her in the states if I wanted to look for more information about birds like her?

Do you think she will end up with some of the white on every feather tip, or stay pretty much as she is?

 

[Mahonri]

Bantam Millie Fleur Cochin?

I did a search and saw a number of them on here... one from a guy in FL that looks spectacular.

 

[nzpouter]

She is partridge base with mottle gene, there are a few thread called mille fleur cochin project.... similar birds...
I did bred a spangle to ordinary partridge and some of the offsprings are brown red..

My own spangles tends to lightened up every moult, but different degrees with different birds..

A pic of last year late bred, I'm hoping the roo will get more white this moult...

 

[Kiwibird]

Wow, yours are really gorgeous NZPouter!

Thanks for the info.

 

[Kiwibird]

Just to help anyone else searching for information under the name "spangle pekin", who may come to this thread first, here are the other relevant pages and threads you may like to look at:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=10091-mille-fleur-cochin-progress
This is a summary of the breeding projects BYC members have trying to create or improve "mille fleur cochins", most of which are similar to our "spangle bantams" in New Zealand.

Forum Threads about mille fleur cochins, with the threads titles, follow:

Hey Patty, Gator, Mike and other mille cochin enthusiasts
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=106962
(Long thread with lots of genetics discussion)

Mille Fleur Cochin project, F1 update pix
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1125560
(Fairly brief)

brown mottled Cochin?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=109588
(An unusual bird that shows the diversity of what may be useful in breeding spangle bantams/mille fleur cochins).

Mille Cochin Info
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=228613&p=1
(Another very long thread with lots of genetics discussion, with the most recent entries)

Many BYC members who are interested in mille fleur cochins are also members of a Yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/millefleurcochins

Mille fleur cochin is often abbreviated to "mille", "millie" or "mfc" in these pages.

All in all it seems that some lines of New Zealand's pekin bantams are well ahead of most of those photographed here, having a great shape, even and consistent spangling, and predictable offspring to the point that breeders on Trademe may caution buyers that they have had one or two birds without correct spangling or eye colour or whatever where that is the case. However my own chicks that have hatched from spangle pekin eggs bought off Trademe are quite varied and pretty comparable with some of the "project birds" shown here. So different lines in New Zealand are at very different stages, and some of the "what should I cross this bird with to improve the next generation?" discussions here will be of interest to some New Zealanders.

Here is something that fascinated me:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/5627_p1030470.jpg
This is an image of chickens from the mille cochin project, which don't have a mille cochin look at all to me, and they are US birds. They are very much like birds described as "gold patridge pekin pullets" that a New Zealand breeder was surprised to have appear among his "pure bred spangle pekins". The "gold partridge pekin pullets" were sold on Trademe recently, and I don't know how long the sold photos stay online, but one is at http://images.trademe.co.nz/photoserver/tq/59/117339759.jpg . So despite some differences I can see between US and NZ spangle pekins/mille fleur cochins, they are similar enough that our lines go off on some of the same genetic tangents at times.