UkPigeonRacing

NeilA wrote: Fri Nov 07, 2025 5:00 pm Very interesting
What would breed a pencil as it’s not a colour where would the sooty colour originate

It's gene that's either in your birds or not. I've only bred one bird with the sooty gene it was in 2018 from a Cheq cock x black hen.
Some families such as Van Den Bosch & Meuleman it appears a lot.

NeilA wrote: Fri Nov 07, 2025 5:23 pm

king wrote: Fri Nov 07, 2025 5:10 pm

NeilA wrote: Fri Nov 07, 2025 5:00 pm Very interesting
What would breed a pencil as it’s not a colour where would the sooty colour originate

It's gene that's either in your birds or not. I've only bred one bird with the sooty gene it was in 2018 from a Cheq cock x black hen.
Some families such as Van Den Bosch & Meuleman it appears a lot.

If sooty is not a colour can a none colour it still be a gene then ? I am guessing it can
But then where did the gene come from if it’s not a colour

ALL pigeons are from just 3 base colours. Ash Red, Blue & Brown. This together with different pattern genes produce ALL the other colours.
Marking Patterns and Modifiers change how a bird looks.
Three separate genes that will darken a birds base colour include Smoky, Sooty and Dirty.
Many may not have heard of the dirty gene, but will have bred birds with it. YBs bred with black feet carry this gene.

King In one of Petes posts it says that there is a danger if putting mealy to mealy that could "result in a less vigorous offspring" does this ring true and would that make birds with black legs/feet an inferior bird or is that part of the BS analysis...?

Diamond Dave wrote: Sat Nov 08, 2025 11:36 am King In one of Petes posts it says that there is a danger if putting mealy to mealy that could "result in a less vigorous offspring" does this ring true and would that make birds with black legs/feet an inferior bird or is that part of the BS analysis...?

Dave, there is NO danger of pairing ANY colour bird to another. Any weakness will be in the birds colour (the colour gets lighter when pairing birds of the same colour) it's ability to race is not effected. Birds with black feet are as good as any others.

I’m with king on this, if Gay pieds are paired to gay pieds and grizzles paired to grizzles for long enough the offspring will end up wholly or mainly white, I don’t know if it’s connected but a lot, not all, of our birds with black legs and feet had frills as well

Interesting discussion. Thanks guys.