Bill C
13 posts
Nov 18, 2005
9:18 PM
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I have three cock birds I am going to focus on this spring, Checker, RE-red and Self Black males. I have a badge hen, Black hen and a Grizzle hen. I was told a grizzle bird will ultimately over run your birds if you inbreed from them. Is this true. The grizzle hen is the best one I have out of the hens. I will eventually get some nieces to breed back to the males or even a daughter.
I have seen that the grizzles I have, has produced more white in birds each year to the point I can end up with some all white birds. For my own reasons I dont want too much white in these birds because the whites I have are not as fast as the checks and blacks.( sounds like I answered my own question if it is true that grizzles make more white with each generation?) Can this be a problem down the road? I am thinking of using another check hen instead of the grizzle hen? Thanks for your input. This is not a color breeding problem, just That I was told grizzle can domintate your stock? Bill
Last Edited by Bill C on Nov 18, 2005 9:21 PM
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Mount Airy Lofts
50 posts
Nov 18, 2005
10:56 PM
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Bill,
I have alot of grizzles in my family. It can be dominant if you let it be.
The best luck I have to containing this is breeding grizzle onto a hard color like Blue (Black) or Ash Red (Lavender). Altho this results in alot of Torts. These torts usually turn out to be the better performers so it works out very well. If a tort is stocked, it has the high protential of breeding 50% in both tort or blue (black).
I think the biggest problem with grizzle is getting it to the point of breeding Pure White which is usually just Very Light Red Grizzles. This usually occurs in Red Grizzles or Ticks. In such cases, these birds usually don't have the mental make up to handle the roll and hence roll down. I think there is something to having too much white on a bird... just like there is something having too little white on a bird.
Finding a middle is where I want to be. I have found that breeding grizzle to Blue or Ash Red have been key.
Grizzle in my family is where the frequency can be found. I can't see myself without Grizzle, just like I can't see myself not having Ash Red or Blue. Tapping this and balancing it with quality is the goal in my breeding program.
Just like any dominant traits, you just have to be selective in what you pair up. The theory - Too much is just as bad as too little holds true in my books.
Thor
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J_Star
116 posts
Nov 19, 2005
5:39 AM
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My personal view on this is it's the gene pool in the family not in the color. I have a well inbred family with all the normal rollers color and the majory of the birds roll the same, no matter what color it is. Although, the 'A' style birds are in the blue check w/f birds in my family while the others are 'H' style, but depth and speed are the same. This is just my personal views. Thanks.
Jay
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Richard A.
77 posts
Nov 30, 2005
7:04 AM
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My most success in flying decent grizzles has always been by my keeping them on the dark side, not too much white. I like the way that they look, although they cant handle the type of speed that I like to see in my birds, so, I breed them completely separate from my others.
Richard A.
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