The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[Miami Leghorn]

According to the pics that Jacob had sent me compared to what they're doing overseas they're basically the same color pattern give or take a few shades lighter or darker here and there.. these are what the hens can look like.

 

[Amer]

There's a breeder in Arkansas. Jacob Bates and he is heavily into them.
Started with bantams and then moved to large fowl.
Here's a pic of one of his roosters, can't get a hold of a hen picture; I'll try to find one.
View attachment 2284915

Yeah the cock description is easy enough for me to figure out, but the hen description makes absolutely no sense.
The hen description should probably be silver, but instead it’s got a grey hackle where the white should be and what would normally be grey in a silver it is dark grey, apparently.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

Ya Miami has been looking into them for years. He would be the expert.
To me they seem to be/mean different things. Theyre just been a headache for me to follow.

Expert?
I'm not even close.
It's just a pattern that caught my eye, ever since I was a kid and I would visit family down here in Rural South Florida,and every now and then I would see a rooster with that gold duckwing pattern and I just said to myself,"that looks cool"... So then,years later, I would always pause whenever I ran into a picture of an adult Leghorn rooster, admire it and move on. When my wife and I decided to look for a rural property, I started looking into it getting my hands on some Leghorns. Started looking online and stumbled into a Gold Duckwing Leghorn picture from overseas and that was all she wrote. I've been doing research ever since...now that I have a property that facilitates actually having the space to start creating that pattern,I am on my way. I usually overthink and over plan certain things and this isn't an exception. I want to get there as soon as possible with minimal feed,hatching,and time. But like the saying goes,"You make plans and then God throws you a curveball."

Seriously though there's a lot to be said for people like Moonshiner that put in the work Blood Sweat and Tears. For the rest of us to see what possibilities there are in breeding these fine Leghorns.

 

[Amer]

According to the pics that Jacob had sent me compared to what they're doing overseas they're basically the same color pattern give or take a few shades lighter or darker here and there.. these are what the hens can look like.

Okay, thank you, so they’re basically diluted like cream dutch. Not grey at all.
That’s confusing. It’s almost like the SOP is trying to recreate that but by crossing gold and silver instead of diluting it.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

Okay, thank you, so they’re basically diluted like cream dutch. Not grey at all.
That’s confusing. It’s almost like the SOP is trying to recreate that but by crossing gold and silver instead of diluting it.

The basic recipe according to Bates is Silver rooster over Light Brown or brown hen. According to what I've read,some brown hens that are from a Danish strain carry lighter color on the neck and the roosters can carry orange to blonde hackles.
He also said that he has been able to get them to breed true.
Like Moonshiners says pick what you're looking for it go for it. At this point I'm not looking to show. Although I was planning on corresponding with someone at the APA and Bates to show me various pics from various events, so I can compare to what I will hopefully have in the next couple years. I'm looking to recreate what I have in my head and that video I showed you is pretty much close to it. I have seen gold duckwing leghorns that have almost an orangy color Hackle those I've seen coming from Australia and the UK.

 

[The Moonshiner]

@Amer
What do you make of this chick and the black and yellow one in bottom pic?
Do they look mottled or no?

 

[Amer]

@Amer
What do you make of this chick and the black and yellow one in bottom pic?
Do they look mottled or no?
View attachment 2286975View attachment 2286976

Yeah, they look to be mottled. Why? Do you think they’re recessives of some sort?

 

[The Moonshiner]

The rooster is a cuckoo and hen an exchequer.
So they should be single gene barred and only carry mottling.
Hatched first one the other day. He was late hatcher and very weak so didn't think he would make it so didn't put much thought into it because figured I wouldn't see it feather out.
Second one was one of three from that pair. Other two are the ezpected black with headshot.
Just wondering whats going on. Maybe the rooster carries mottling or maybe its something else going on.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

The rooster is a cuckoo and hen an exchequer.
So they should be single gene barred and only carry mottling.
Hatched first one the other day. He was late hatcher and very weak so didn't think he would make it so didn't put much thought into it because figured I wouldn't see it feather out.
Second one was one of three from that pair. Other two are the ezpected black with headshot.
Just wondering whats going on. Maybe the rooster carries mottling or maybe its something else going on.

Just going to chime in here...In my limited experience. I was going to say about the first pic, it looks a lot like my Ancona chick with some mottling on top.

 

[ChicKat]

According to the pics that Jacob had sent me compared to what they're doing overseas they're basically the same color pattern give or take a few shades lighter or darker here and there.. these are what the hens can look like.

Interesting that the first hen has light edge to her feathers.There is something overseas called 'flitter' -- ever hear of it? It seems like it was found in one person's flock and went from there.