Articles > The Opal Factor & Black Checks
The Opal Factor & Black Flecks
- The Opal
Factor
- Black Flecks
- Aspects of Colour Breeding
Chart
The Opal Factor
Breeding reds from two blues is genetic impossibility, but there are fanciers who claim to have done it. The
following should explain the situation. Sometimes a blue pair will produce a young cock which looks somewhat like a
red check but is actually an opal. If you compare the opal check with a true red check you will notice a
difference. Also the opal will not have black flecks as seen in some red checks. The opal colour is also found in
hens and is usually a soft powder blue and there is no dark bar on the tail. Racing ability does not seem to be
affected.
On looking through past racing records I note that an opal cock
won the 320 mile race for me in 1982. Further down the race result sheet was another opal cock owned by
someone else. The opal colour in hens certainly enhances the show potential. I had a beautiful opal hen that
won many best in show awards. Opal is a recessive colour. When mated to blues or blacks, only blue and black
progeny will result. The young will carry the opal factor and when mated together will give opals of both
sexes. It is an interesting colour for experimentation. A blue pair could produce reds if there has has been
some hanky-panky. My birds never do that!
Black Flecks
You will have noticed that some red cocks have black flecks on their feathers, mostly wings and tail, and these
flecks increase with each moult. The explanation is quite simple and has to do with X and Y chromosomes and whether
or not there were blues in the ancestory. Black flecks means these red cocks are carrying the factor for blue
colour.
The business of X and Y chromosomes is more complex and we will
leave that to be discussed under another heading. You may have noticed too that hens don't get these black
flecks. If they do have flecks, they will be brown. Its all about sex-linkage and those X and Y chromosomes again. Aspects of Colour Breeding Chart
|
| Pairing |
Young Birds Produced |
|
| Cock X Hen |
Cocks |
Hens |
|
| Blue X Blue |
Blue |
Blue |
| |
|
|
| Blue X Mealy |
Mealy |
Blue |
| |
|
|
| Blue X Blue Check |
Blue, Blue Check |
Blue, Blue Check |
| |
|
|
| Blue X Red |
Mealy, Red |
Blue, Blue Check |
| |
|
|
| Mealy X Blue |
Blue, Mealy |
Blue, Mealy |
| |
|
|
| Mealy X Mealy |
Mealy |
Blue, Mealy |
| |
|
|
| Mealy X Blue Check |
Mealy, Red, Blue, Blue Check |
Mealy, Red, Blue, Blue Check |
| |
|
|
| Mealy X Red |
Mealy, Red |
Mealy, Red, Blue, Blue Check |
| |
|
|
| Blue Check X Blue |
Blue, Blue Check |
Blue, Blue Check |
| |
|
|
| Blue Check X Mealy |
Mealy, Red |
Blue, Blue Check |
| |
|
|
| Blue Check X Blue Check |
Blue, Blue Ch |
Blue, Blue Ch |
| |
|
|
| Blue Check X Red |
Mealy, Red |
Blue, Blue Check |
| |
|
|
| Red X Blue |
Blue, Blue Check, Mealy, Red |
Blue, Blue Check, Mealy, Red |
| |
|
|
| Red X Mealy |
Mealy, Red |
Mealy, Red, Blue, Blue Check |
| |
|
|
| Red X Blue Check |
Blue, Blue Check, Mealy, Red |
Blue, Blue Check, Mealy, Red |
| |
|
|
| Red X Red |
Mealy, Red |
Mealy, Red, Blue, Blue Check |
Reference: Squills 2002. International Year Book.
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