The question arose `How do I improve my Silver Pencilled and Partridge Pekin Females.' We don't have them in this country to the standard that they are required to be. Unfortunately we accept second best and a lot of people don't quite understand what is meant by `Cockerel Breeding' and `Pullet Breeding.'
We also have three other problems that overshadow the quest for excellence. They are Poultry Auctions & Private Sales, 'Trademe' and the Rare Breeds Society. Fanciers should not get these mixed with the Poultry Fancy itself as they all have their place in the Poultry World.
Unfortunately birds being sold through other avenues are, in most cases, not up to standard and the expectation is that they are. Just because they are Silver Pencilled Wyandottes that doesn't mean they are show quality and nor are they advertised as such. This does not only happen with Wyandottes and Pekins but other breeds too. The purchase of any breed of Poultry can only come with experience and the knowledge required to know what you are looking for.
Poultry Shows help immensely and talking to judges must help, not only for winning but to put you on the right track.
Silver Pencilled and Partridge Pekins are bred the same way as Wyandotte colour patterns.
`A picture is worth a 1000 words' so I have shown here both in Pekins and in Wyandottes what is necessary for you to breed both of these colours.
These are `Cockerel Breeding' and `Pullet Breeding' - breeding birds.
The hen on the left is a bird that is commonly exhibited as a Silver Pencilled Pekin Female. It fails because it has no pencilling at all. This bird is a `Cockerel Breeding' hen and all the progeny from her are good coloured cockerels only.
She should never be exhibited as a Silver Pencilled Pekin female and should remain at home in the breeding pen.
Unfortunately some Poultry Judges give these birds a prize which only adds to the argument that some judges just don't know the correct colour patterns.
Above is a `Pullet breeding pen' of Silver Pencilled Wyandottes. You will note the male has white spots on his breast. This is the sex-link that produces good coloured pullets only. Whereas the cockerels are not exhibited.
Read the rest of this article in the 2010 issue of Feathered World and see the illustrations that accompany the article.
