Gaditano
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Registered: 01-2006
Location: Tucson, Arizona USA
Posts: 1622
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Bronze Mottles
There's been a lot of questions about how to breed these good Bronze Mottles. Well, I found this info on the West of England forum written by Bob Christman.
GENERAL COLOR DEFINITION
An internet dictionary defines tortoise shell as follows:
1. the hard, mottled, yellow-and-brown shell of some turtles and tortoises, used in inlaying and, especially formerly, in making combs, frames for eyeglasses, etc.
2. a synthetic substance made in imitation of this
3. a mottled, yellow-and-brown color pattern
4. any of several common, black and yellow-brown butterflies (genus Nymphalis) with markings resembling those of tortoise shell
5. a cat with a mottled coat of black, brown, red or yellow, white, etc.
In Wests a tortoise shell is the intermixture of different shades of bronze, grizzle and white on a kite based bird.
GENETIC MAKE UP
Genetically tortoise shells in Wests are grizzle kites. Kites are the result of a combination of kite bronze and blue T-pattern. The richer more bronze looking kites have other factors enhancing their color. One gene for recessive red enhances the bronze color. Most of the better kites also seem to carry the dirty factor. Grease quill also typically enhances the color in the kites by adding good luster. Many of the kites also are sooty. Whether sooty enhances the kite bronze is not known for sure but it at least does not seem to be detrimental. In addition there are probably other unknown factors also enhancing the bronze appearance. All the factors that enhance the bronzing in the kites also appear to enhance the color in the tortoise shells.
BREEDING TORTOISE SHELLS
Tortoise shells are commonly bred by mating tortoise shells to kites or by mating tortoise shells to tortoise shells. Because the better colored kites and tortoise shells carrying recessive red, they will also produce red selfs and red mottles. Most torts lighten (increase in amount of white) when molting from their juvenile plumage to their adult plumage. In contrast there is a smaller number of torts that darken (decrease in amount of white) when they molt to their adult plumage. I suspect that the torts that darken with the molt are sooty and those that lighten with the molt are not sooty. Sooty birds typically darken noticeably with their first molt and continue to darken with age.
Suggested matings in order of preference:
Medium tort to medium tort
Light tort to medium tort
Light tort to dark tort
Light tort to kite
Medium tort to kite
Dark tort to dark tort and dark tort to kite matings should normally be avoided. These matings typically seem to result in mostly more dark torts.
Some breeders prefer the tort to kite matings. I prefer the tort to tort matings especially the medium tort to medium tort matings because I seem to get a higher percentage of properly marked torts from this mating then any of the others.
Torts can also be raised from red selfs and red mottles (that came from tort matings) to torts. However I would not recommend that mating because 1) it is not possible to evaluate how good the color is for torts because the color is hidden under the recessive red and 2) you will most likely raise an even much larger percentage of recessive reds.
--- Alan Bliven - Circus Lofts
Member of the National Pigeon Association, Flying Oriental Roller Society, Horseman Pouter Club of North America, Voorburg Shield Cropper Club and the Tucson Pigeon Club |
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1/2/2009, 7:12 pm
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