What is a sport?

[kinnip]

I've seen this term several times in reference to breeding different strains of Marans.

 

[rebbetzin]

This probably has nothing to do with your question, but your headline reminded me of something my husband once said regarding the "sport" of hunting with helicopters and high powered rifles.

He said that is NOT sport...

Going bare naked into a bear's cave armed with only a spatula, now that is SPORT!!

 

[Vcomb]

most of the time when i've heard the term sport used, it was to describe either a bird that came out colored differently than 99% of the rest of that flock. example, a flock of all black jersey giants producing a blue. aside from that its usually used to describe the splash phase of blue colors that aren't solid blue (ex. the splash version of a blue silver duckwing is a sport. )

 

[kinnip]

Thanks Vcomb. That's kinda what I thought. It's not a very intuitive term.

 

[Vcomb]

no prob. I agree, it doesn't seem to be much of an intuitive term. it took me quite a while to figure it out myself. its also used, for example, to refer to a fawn silver duckwing who has 2 copies of the gene for fawn which thus makes it look almost all white, sort of a splash type bird.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Is this a term only used by Maran breeders, because I call on off color chick..... an off color chick.

 

[Vcomb]

nope its a term used for all breeds.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

really? I've never heard that term used ever.

So its used to describe the "tween" ages in birds. Kinda like the "uglies" that Silkies go through before adulthood?

 

[kinnip]

It's more like a polite way of saying they got all the wrong genes for their colour/breed, like Danny DeVito in Twins. For example, the Marans breeder I go to has a few chicks that come from Black Copper lines, but lack any black. He called them "oddballs", but I think "sport" is a bit more civilized. Wouldn't want to hurt any little bird feelings.

 

[Vcomb]

Quote:
Yep, just another way of saying "the oddball" is one of two ways its used. An example would be a line of, oh, let's say B.B. Red (fill in any breed here) that someone bred a brassyback into. A few years later that line of B.B. Reds may produce a few brassyback "sports".

Usage #2. The other is let's say I breed a pair of blue reds. Now we know in solid blues that they produce blue, black, and splash. So in the blue red you would be getting blue red, b.b. red, and "sports".