Post by gayle on May 27, 2012 9:43:38 GMT -5
Dr Ron Okimoto quite some time ago made the point: there are some people who believe their chickens are black but really they are just dark.
Sometime you will notice this in a show, when there is a display of several black birds.
Some will be brilliant black while others are sorta dull looking.
Although most black orpingtons are sitting on the E/E locus, it takes melanizing genes/melanic extenders and black enhancers to complete the process/to obtain a brilliant Black bird. Without select breeding the melanic genes are out the window.
If your black birds are showing break through/ leakage of red or silver/white. Or if you hold your big black rooster up in the sun and it appears he is wearing a gold necklass. Or if the birds are just dull drab blah dark birds. The birds need more melanic extenders.
Dr. Ron Okimoto stressed that in 4-5 breedings this can be corrected.
So we put it to the test. About 12 years ago I had gotten some blacks which were very drab and dull looking.
I lined them up and picked the blackest rooster out of the batch, of course I kept some back up roosters. Then I lined up the hens and picked the blackest hens from the group about 2-3 hens.
Then from the hatched F1 group I lined them up selected the blackest rooster and the blackest hens. so on and so forth.
when we finally made it to the F5 group they were extremely blacker and richer colored then the original parent stock. As one breeder claims we were doubling the factor.
Also you have to breed for type also, you do not want to loose your type.
Or a rich black rooster can be bought, and breed it into the flock, that would be a quicker jumpstart into the program.
Always breed the blackest birds together. If you have dull dark birds put them in a separate pen to work on getting the melanic extenders breed back into them. Keep the dull birds separted from the black birds.
All I can say is Thank You Dr Ron Okimoto for your advice.
Sometime you will notice this in a show, when there is a display of several black birds.
Some will be brilliant black while others are sorta dull looking.
Although most black orpingtons are sitting on the E/E locus, it takes melanizing genes/melanic extenders and black enhancers to complete the process/to obtain a brilliant Black bird. Without select breeding the melanic genes are out the window.
If your black birds are showing break through/ leakage of red or silver/white. Or if you hold your big black rooster up in the sun and it appears he is wearing a gold necklass. Or if the birds are just dull drab blah dark birds. The birds need more melanic extenders.
Dr. Ron Okimoto stressed that in 4-5 breedings this can be corrected.
So we put it to the test. About 12 years ago I had gotten some blacks which were very drab and dull looking.
I lined them up and picked the blackest rooster out of the batch, of course I kept some back up roosters. Then I lined up the hens and picked the blackest hens from the group about 2-3 hens.
Then from the hatched F1 group I lined them up selected the blackest rooster and the blackest hens. so on and so forth.
when we finally made it to the F5 group they were extremely blacker and richer colored then the original parent stock. As one breeder claims we were doubling the factor.
Also you have to breed for type also, you do not want to loose your type.
Or a rich black rooster can be bought, and breed it into the flock, that would be a quicker jumpstart into the program.
Always breed the blackest birds together. If you have dull dark birds put them in a separate pen to work on getting the melanic extenders breed back into them. Keep the dull birds separted from the black birds.
All I can say is Thank You Dr Ron Okimoto for your advice.