A White Odyssey- or more rightly ‘A Study in White’

By The Cuckoo Stud

(prompted by Rob Callinan and encouraged by Simon Beven, with much support from Dallas Smith)

My Gran used to say – “you put a touch of blue into your whites to make them whiter and brighter”

Now we ALL know she was talking about the washing she was doing, but - - - - - - - -

A number of years ago I had a conversation with Rob Callinan regards Whites and foolishly brushed that conversation aside as at the time I had little interest in the colour.

However the conversation kept popping back into my head getting me thinking along several lines. About a year later I had another “White Orp” conversation with a different breeder (Yvonne) and thought harder on the “White” subject (remembering that conversation with Rob and his insightful comments). This second conversation had me seriously thinking about the aspects of colour, type etc. Then after having another ‘White Orp’ conversation with yet another breeder (Simon), I formulated a ‘Theory’. 

I proceeded to swap 2 Cuckoo pullets for 2 White hens (these Whites were originally from Rob Callinan’s lines). 
So I proceeded with my ‘Study in White’

I thought that if I bred my ‘typiest’ Blue Cuckoo cock-bird (a pale washed out bird only good for breeding) with these 2 White girls I might just up the type in the next generation of White. I was confidently assuming these White girls were White dominant.

All the chicks hatched ‘looked’ White. I grew out every one of these girls (no boys this first time around), noticing that all were slightly ‘typier’ and some were considerably larger than their mothers. As they feathered out these larger ones were starting to exhibit a few random black feathers. I chose 2 White and 2 of these ‘flecked’ girls to breed the next generation from, and patiently waited for them to experience the first moult.

I then put these girls, first the White then ‘flecked’ (so as to differentiate) to another Blue Cuckoo cock-bird who although displaying excellent markings was also paler than I would have liked and was only kept due to his wonderful temperament.

An even ratio of (all White) cockerels/pullets hatched and as they grew out I mercilessly culled leaving only the largest and typist birds standing. Discovering as they grew that the young from the ‘flecked’ were slightly larger again and much typier than the previous generation. With those from the White not showing much (if any) improvement at all and subsequently culled.

I proceeded to breed brother to sister with excellent results.

The Whites I displayed at the 2010 Orpington National Show were these offspring, with one taking Dallas’ eye, and making me smile each time I looked at the bird. He is close to what I believed I could start to achieve by introducing (early in the piece) the typiest of my Blue Cuckoo into the Whites I had acquired. Fortunately these cockerels and pullets have now grown their tails fully out = pity the show wasn’t a month later!

In the meantime, while waiting for those first ‘flecked’ and White birds to grow out I had contacted breeders of Whites in SA and also the West Coast. Acquiring fertile eggs from each breeder, albeit late in the season.

The SA eggs (not packed as per my request) = 24 eggs set - only 4 pullets hatched end Nov 2008 with all but 1 dying before 12mths old; they just failed to recover from the heat due to those terrible fires of 2009.

The West Coast eggs (carefully packed as per my request) = 24 eggs set - 18 hatched Christmas Day 2008 = 2 cockerels 16 pullets. Sadly a number of them passed away due to the heat of the fires, the only survivors of that heat = four of the pullets and one cockerel.  The remaining cockerel barely survived the heat and contracted Coccidiosis so severely we thought he too would die; fortunately he survived thanks to a wonderful Vet and much TLC. Two of the pullets died from the Cocci, the two remaining girls did not show any symptoms of the disease. These 3 remaining birds were subsequently bred together after the first moult producing 2 pullets and 1 cockerel, all nice looking birds. And to date kept separate from the CallinanXBCuckoo line of Whites.

These West Coast Whites will be bred into the CallinanXBCuckoo line the 2010 season while their offspring grow out. The SA pullet (now hen) will also be bred into the CXBC line. Note that the WA birds will be kept to establish a pure WA line.

I also ‘permanently’ borrowed a White from Waninga Orpingtons. Even from a young age this cockerel exhibited good type and with legs like tree stumps both Waninga and I were hopeful for the future of our Whites. I bred this one to those Callinan hens. Unfortunately this boy also suffered badly from the heat of those fires and lost his life not long after fertility kicked in. We shared the chicks although not many hatched leaving us with 1 pullet each and a few cockerels. I chose a cockerel to keep with the pullet and the rest of the boys went to Waninga. I no longer have that cockerel as he did, in preference to going to the 2010 Nationals, set himself on fire. (another story there!) But that 1 pullet is growing well, showing a lot of promise. I am hopeful she too can be used in my ’Study in White’

So my theory of putting extremely typey washed out Blue Cuckoo into the Whites has worked producing crisp White typey birds of a good size. And I have ‘white’ Whites to add to them.

Gran would be proud

# subject to copyright laws of Australia

* note cock-bird above watermarked Waninga Orpingtons = bred by The Cuckoo Stud during this 'study', currently owned by Waninga - won National Champion lrg White 2011

White cockerel that attracted Dallas' appraisal and approval at the 2010 National Orpington Show, this bird placed 2nd to the Waninga owned bird above. Apologies given for the lack of quality of these 3 pictures.

Note that Whites that have Cuckoo bred into them at some point in the past carry the Cuckoo gene and can suprise you years later with the prettiest Cuckoo offspring= one such Cuckoo from a White White mating from this Odyssey won (as a ckl) Champion Cuckoo at Canberra 2012, his Uncle (a cock-bird) won Reserve Champ at the same Show - both birds trace directly back to Grady (the Cuckoo featured on the 'Cuckoo Stud' page)


UPDATE = effective April 2012 =
due to space contraints and other considerations, the Stud is no longer working with the large White Orpington. Except for one White girl, all large White birds have been passed on to Waninga Orpingtons, who are continuing to develop the colour and working with 'The Study in White'