SM 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



cock or cockerel should approach the ideal 

 exhibition standard in every respect, and be of 

 the light, bright kind of top-colour, but per- 

 fectly sound in wing-ends. Mate with him two 

 rosy-winged pullets excelling in style and 

 reach, with good prominent shoulder-points, and 

 short in back. Also select two perfect-coloured 

 pullets, with sound salmon breasts and clear on 

 wing, with other points identical, the same as 

 the other two. As stated for Black-reds, the 

 percentage of -first-rate ones, either cockerels or 

 pullets, would probably be smaller; but there 

 would be several available for successful 

 second-rate competition. At the same time the 

 breeder cannot expect, either way, to produce 

 first- or even second-raters at the percentage he 

 can in Black-reds. He will do very well if one 

 in every half-dozen proves available for show 

 purposes. This naturally forces up the price of 

 a really first-class Pile, and ere this ^,'50 has 

 been obtained for a cockerel at one of the 

 Liverpool exhibitions, and also at Kendal. 



Piles have one great drawback. They want 

 washing so frequently, especially if kept in a 

 smoky district, and washing, if long persisted 

 in, deteriorates the quality of the feather. 

 There is, however, no alternative. 



Duckwings next demand attention. They 

 are lovely coloured birds, more easily bred than 

 Piles, and command fair sales at good prices. 

 Up to the present only the Golden 

 Duckwing variety is tolerated in the show-pen 

 Bantams. in this country. The male is easily 

 described. In ev'ery respect save top- 

 colour and wing secondaries, which are white, 

 he is coloured as a Black-red. He must have 

 the same cherry-red face and appendages, in- 

 cluding the most important factor — a red ear 

 (not one trimmed up with scissors). In shape, 

 style, reach, eye, and quality of feathering, he 

 must be identical with the Black-red. Then for 

 bright crimson on shoulders and back, sub- 

 stitute a deep straw colour, more or less shaded 

 with maroon, which gives a very bright brassy 

 look right across the back of the bird down to 

 the tail, shading off to a creamy white on 

 saddle, matched by the same colour on neck. 

 The hackle feather both on neck and saddle 

 should be as free from dark striping as pos- 

 sible. The secondaries of wings should be a 

 clear white running right through to end of 

 feather, and free from chocolate marking on 

 the outer edge of the top feathers. A great 

 many otherwise good birds fail here. 



The pullet for exhibition is distinguished 

 from the Black-red by the substitution of a 

 lovely pale slate or steel-grey colour ; this is 



exquisitely and finely pencilled over in the best 

 specimens, but coarseness will show itself in in- 

 differently bred birds, and the fatal blotchiness 

 will in such also appear on wing-ends. Some 

 strains will show a tendency to shaftiness of 

 feather, which is also a defect. The back and 

 wings should show a delightful softness and 

 evenness of marking all over. The legs, as in 

 the cock, should be willow. One of the most 

 difficult points to secure in her is the deep 

 salmon breast, with a soft, even body-colour of 

 the lighter shade. With a light body-colour 

 the breast is apt to run pale. If very pale, then 

 it militates greatly against a show bird, but a 

 fairly deep breast is no serious drawback. 



With regard to mating, cockerels are in- 

 variably produced from the Black-red cross, 

 whilst pullets may be either pure Duckwing- 

 brcd, or, like the cockerels, be the 

 Breeding result of a cross. To produce 

 Duckwings. cockerels you require a typical 

 Black-red cockerel, similar in every 

 respect to the one described for Black-red 

 cockerel production. He should be mated to 

 smart, reachy, good-shouldered and short- 

 bodied, pure Duckwing-bred pullets, with nice 

 silvery-white hackles. These should produce 

 excellent coloured Duckwing cockerels, but the 

 majorit}' of the pullets from this cross would 

 be Black-reds, and these must not be allowed 

 to mix with the pure Black-red pullets, or the 

 result the following year to the Black-red 

 pullet pen will be disastrous. 



If these Duckwing-bred Black-red pullets are 

 sound and even in colour, they can be mated 

 back the following season to a silver Duck- 

 wing cockerel, with a view to the production of 

 hrst-class exhibition pullets. The other way to 

 breed pullets would be to mate up perfectly- 

 coloured show pullets to a light-coloured 

 Duckwing cockerel — pure Duckwing-bred on 

 both sides. The silver Duckwing cockerel, 

 useful as he is as a pullet breeder, is entirely 

 at a discount in the show-pen. 



Duckwing cockerels can also be produced 

 from a deep rich top-coloured cockerel mated 

 to Duckwing pullets ; if the}' are a little ruddy 

 and shafty on sides all the better. In mating 

 up your pens, always look for shape in your 

 pullets and colour in the cockerels. 



The Brown-red is a very taking variety, 

 but is not making much progress, and has 

 never found so much favour as the three pre- 

 ceding. These birds are in too few hands, 

 and suffer considerably by reason of their 

 want of distribution. Pullets seem in advance 

 of cockerels, and I have seen some lately 



