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Really? Because previously in this thread itself, it was discussed for a good while with the vice President of the PBC that what said is the old standard, and in fact the proposal IS to be gold laced. I haven't seen ANY birds yet without lacing.
ETA - If it shouldn't be gold laced, then why are people using Gold Laced to cross out?
If it shouldn't be, they should focus on solid colored birds or red crested reds to eliminate the pattern gene.
Correct, based on the information we now have coming out of Europe they are Gold laced mottleds. The standard listed is an old standard that was written with limited information at the time, we are reworking it. The birds that were first imported were not out of the best specimens and the information that we got at the time suggested we should outcross to Orloffs, however it was found to be the wrong direction to take. Further, the gold lace outcross will work better in the long run whenever a line needs to have new blood added. By the time we got the correct information about this color pattern there was some discussion about renaming the birds that Sportsterjeep is talking about; calling them Harlequins. That discussion had people pretty deeply entrenched on both sides and as far as I know nobody decided to start raising "Harlequins".
I personally wouldn't be against outcrossing to Houdans EXCEPT that finding a line that produces properly mottled birds consistently is going to be even harder than finding a good line of well marked gold laceds. Further you have to worry about the fifth toe. I know a guy who started to experiment with the cross but as far as I know he never saw the experiment through - can't recall if he lost his full blood Tollbunts or if he got rid of the projects to save on feed. First generation birds came out nearly solid black.
Finally, have a look at Tollbunt Wyandottes - another European creation. Although lacing on Wyandottes is different than on Polish you can clearly see (especially in the hens) that it is a mottled gold lace pattern.
Some birds from Europe: