The Orpington fowl is more impressive in the flesh than in photographs that accompany the various books on pure breeds of poultry.
With its abundance of feathers, the large fowl Orpingtons fill their show pens and are a sight to behold. The bantams – a miniature version of this magnificent breed – are still relatively big birds and equally eye-catching and impressive.
My first flock of hens were some Warren Browns, and were essentially spent stock from a local egg producer. My first cockerel was a traditionally
Grant Brereton, a leading authority on poultry plumage genetics examines the Barred Wyandotte, providing us with some tips on their genetics and breeding.
The word ‘gene’ is enough to put many people off when it comes to poultry articles. However, let me assure you, I don’t intend to
I have read with great interest the breeding articles by Stan Simister (Creating a Strain), Derek Alsop’s response and more recently, Robin Ramus’ Federation Interview
There are some truly striking traditional British chickens. However, the Sussex, Dorking, and Orpington win favor with me as all time favourites.
Anyone writing an article on the subject of poultry plumage has to begin with the 2 pigments that account for all the beautiful colours and
Breed InFocus Wyandotte chickens have no less than 13 standardised colour varieties in the British Poultry Standards and boasts the most clubs of any poultry
Ancona Chickens take their name from the eastern Italian City of Ancona. It is thought they first reached the shores of England in 1851. There are several views about the origins of the Ancona, some believing that it is very similar to the original Mottled Leghorn.
The lavender variety of poultry is very beautiful. The effect is born from the lavender gene being present in a black fowl and reducing the quantity
Crossing genetically gold and silver birds can result in a useful sex linkage. Still, it only works one way around, and there are often questions about the offspring they produce.
When assessing your rearing stock and noticing an obvious fault, it can be very disheartening. An otherwise-fine specimen is ruined for show and breeding. However, If
Black crossed to white? A common question in relation to breeding is: what will be the outcome of crossing a black to a white fowl? The answer
When learning about how Gold and Silver genes work in poultry, it can be very gratifying to realise that much can be made of the sex-linked
As I alluded to in a recent article on the subject, there are many factors that got me interested in colour genetics of poultry. One of
Whether you are an experienced poultry breeder or relatively new to the hobby, there are some common factors which have to be learnt in order to
Grant Brereton, a lifelong poultry breeder, is an internationally acclaimed authority on poultry plumage genetics and has written a book and several e-books on the