What is a 'Sport'?

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

This has been rattling around in my brain for a bit now, and I'm just curious to see what those of you in the know have to say. Why are some varieties called 'sports'? I know that when people are talking about 'sports', they're often talking about the colors that pop up unexpectedly in a line, like White sport Legbars out of Cream Legbars. Is it simply that they're an unexpected result from a crossing that makes them a 'sport'?


A little context for why I'm thinking about this. I have Fawn Silver Duckwing OEGBs and hatched 5 in the spring, resulting in one Khaki 'sport', as they're called. But my understanding is that Khaki is a normal result of crossing Fawn to Fawn, just like getting Splash from crossing Blue to Blue; about 1/4 of the offspring are supposed to be Khaki when breeding Fawn to Fawn. So, I guess my real question is... Why are Khakis considered a 'sport'? Or, maybe, if Khaki is a 'sport', why aren't Splashes called 'sports'? Or, alternatively (and probably the most likely), am I just putting way too much thought into all of this as is my usual?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Must be a lot of BYCers are out trick-or-treating.

Here's a comparison of a Fawn SDW and the Khaki 'sport' if it makes any difference to the questions. The chest and wing bar area on the Khaki are only slightly distinct from the white of his wings and hackles (just a hair more than the picture shows; he washes out a bit in pictures), but his tail shows his khaki color pretty well.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

The American Poultry Association (APA) Standard of Perfection (SOP) calls for Wyandottes to have rose combs. It’s not uncommon to get hatchery stock Wyandottes with single combs. These single combed Wyandottes are called sports. They are single combed sports of the rose combed Wyandotte. So pretty much a sport is a chicken that pops up from parents that conform to the SOP, but obviously carry some recessive genes, that when everything aligns a sport pops up.
I hope this makes sense.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Makes sense, yes. That's pretty much what I thought a 'sport' was from seeing the term used every now and then. Thanks.


I'm still puzzling on the Khaki 'sports', though. My understanding is that the Fawn color is caused by carrying only one copy of the 'dun' gene, I^d. Wouldn't Khaki (I^d / I^d) then be an expected result from crossing two Fawns (I^d / i+), not the result of hidden recessive genes as the term 'sport' implies?

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

@nicalandia can help you with the plumage color genetics.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Thanks!



Doing some searching around BYC has confirmed that Splash is sometimes, quite rarely referred to as a sport, depending on the breed, in which case it does make sense that Khaki is referred to as a sport as well. Whether it's correct to refer to them as such, I don't know, but I have seen a couple posts do so.

And also that the variety naming choices, especially in OEGBs, are, well, poorly thought out sometimes and we as hobbyists just kind of have to roll with whatever the APA and ABA decide.

 

[aart]

Thinks 'sport' is more a of colloquialism for any animal with different coloring than normal.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Hmm, a good point. In which case, expecting a definition with very distinct boundaries for the term may be asking a bit much.

 

[aart]

Hmm, a good point. In which case, expecting a definition with very distinct boundaries for the term may be asking a bit much.

Yup.
I've heard it applied to deer, ground hog, squirrel, sparrow, and finch...
...all were almost white or very much lighter than 'normal'.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Oh, wow, that's really interesting! I've never heard it used for anything but chickens, so I had no idea!