D’Uccle genetics!

[InfamosPanda]

I have a wide variety of d’Uccles. Mille fluer, Lavender mottled, Blue Mille, porcelain and one unknown lavender hen.

I know some of my stock is very sub standard. Long necks wattles and body type as well as to much white. I want the white.

I’m mostly running into breeders that are your standard purist type. Breed to standard and standard colors type. Apparently I should replace my birds with show quality stock from reputable breeders. While I understand the importance of SOP and breeders that strive for it it’s not what I’m about. I want to aim for SOP but only for the overall breed standard. I prefer different and that’s why I have the birds I do.

I started with my original pair who are the worst representation of the breed and fell in love with their personalities. I got a few from a young breeder who started with the high white content and is building a line with them. So with those birds I’m off on the wrong foot initially I know.

I recently stumbled across a group of farmers that was tired of them breeding and hatching their own chicks. They’re a mixed bag. That flock started with a mille and porcelain rooster, some mille girls and some black mottled girls. Some of what I have is that original hatchery stock and some are nature taking its
course. I know two of the lavender girls are just lavender mottled but the third is an entirely different color.

I’m curious what I have and the different interactions in color that I’ll get. My goal for the mille fleurs is to keep the higher white content and bring them up to standard physical standard. I’m also trying to figure out if it’s possible to breed down the typical red you see in milles. What will happen when I breed the lavender mottled to a mille, or the mystery girl, or back to the porcelain?

Also open to seeing any amazing birds that aren’t standard color and how you accomplished it.

 

[Amer]

Your lavender mottled appears to have some straw colored leakage on the neck but it's hard to tell with the lavender gene.
Lavender mottled to mille= black mottled with gold leakage. Unless the mille carries the lavender gene, then you'd get some lavender mottled with straw leakage too.
Lavender mottled to porcelain= lavender mottled with straw leakage.
Not sure which hen you mean by the weird color hen.
You have a blue mille fleur. The blue gene has the usual blue black splash inheritance so bred to the mille fleur you'd get blue mille fleur and mille fluer chicks. But two blue milles bred together gives blue, black, splash chicks.
What struck me as more unusual than her is the porcelain with very little black spangling on her body. I'd almost call her a "mottled lavender columbian" color. But really, that's the same as saying a porcelain with less black than usual.


All that said, there is a phrase called "build the barn before you paint it." It's much cheaper and easier to start with correctly typed stock and breed for more white than to start with stock with the color you want and breed for correct type. Color is much easier to select for than good type.

 

[Amer]

You also seem to have two lavender mottled. One is mostly lavender with a little straw color while the other has straw color on the head, neck, upper shoulders, and upper breast but not on the rest of the body.

 

[InfamosPanda]

Your lavender mottled appears to have some straw colored leakage on the neck but it's hard to tell with the lavender gene.
Lavender mottled to mille= black mottled with gold leakage. Unless the mille carries the lavender gene, then you'd get some lavender mottled with straw leakage too.
Lavender mottled to porcelain= lavender mottled with straw leakage.
Not sure which hen you mean by the weird color hen.
You have a blue mille fleur. The blue gene has the usual blue black splash inheritance so bred to the mille fleur you'd get blue mille fleur and mille fluer chicks. But two blue milles bred together gives blue, black, splash chicks.
What struck me as more unusual than her is the porcelain with very little black spangling on her body. I'd almost call her a "mottled lavender columbian" color. But really, that's the same as saying a porcelain with less black than usual.


All that said, there is a phrase called "build the barn before you paint it." It's much cheaper and easier to start with correctly typed stock and breed for more white than to start with stock with the color you want and breed for correct type. Color is much easier to select for than good type.

It’s what I have and half of them were free. I’ll add new blood once I get some breeding done this season. Gonna hold back a bunch after the big swap this year. I know this is a long term thing and know I’ll have to add to get to where I’m going.

Thanks for the insight. I have three that I’m not focusing on. Two mottled with gold leakage and the original porcelain rooster. The original black mottled was spoken for so I missed out on a start to a clean line but what I have is enough to keep me busy for a while.

Gonna have to make one change as of right now. Blue mille needs to move.

The one lacking black spangling, could that be an underlying blue Mille that’s a lavender?