All other colors (AOC) in Nuremberg

 The AOC-class was used even in the class for aviaries. German Beauty Homers “vielfarbig” carry the Almond gene. “Vielfarbig” means a mix of different colours, however usually on a cream, brown-bronze or yellow base. The requirements are not identical with those for classical Almonds, therefore the shield often is mixed with whitish feathers. Most of the shown birds, however, were more silver sprenkled, another almond variety and a standard colour of the Oriental Roller. The breeders will have to decide to introduce more yellow-brown colour to get them accepted as “vielfarbige”, or to suppress yellow and brown-bronze and to breed the silver sprenkled kind. Thuringian Shields were shown in Spread Reduced (grey dark laced) combined with blacks and the breeder explained at a placard how they were raised in combination with a black strain.

Bown checkered Runts were shown, however, one of them so light, probably khaki checkered. Montauban were present with dun pieds, however in the general class also a lot of dun pieds were shown and judged. A lot of them were not pieds but mottled heads, some of them with rosewings. According to the rules they should have been entered also in the AOC-class. Three yellow checkered Cauchois were shown. Briver Blackheads in other colours pose a problem for the German Standard because from the very logic it is not possible to breed Briver Blackheads in the blue coloration, and that means also with a blue, and not a black head. The French breeders seem to refuse the acceptance of other colours, and that with a good reason. Otherwise they would have to rename their breed. The blue “Blackheads” popped out of a black strain of a top breeder and probably also will occur in some French strains. The standard properties therefore are as good as in the blacks.

What to do? One way would be to rename the breed to get an umbrella for different colours, another is to create the new breed Briver Blueheads, or better Briver Coloured Heads to allow additional colorations. Texan were shown in the ash red dark checker variety, Prachener Kanik were announced as ash reds, however the intensive red tail proved that recessive red was present. Silver Syrian Dewlaps probably are identical or related to the qualmond gene. The “lavendel” King probably was a lavender, however the German name is “silver” or in genetics “milky-silver” because usually they are Spread Milky. In addition a strawberry was shown, one expression of Spread Ash. German Modena were present with two top Gazzi khaki-bar and khaki-checker, and the Pomeranian Croppers with a dun-tiger and a red-storked bird.

The Spanish Cropper breeds are very popular in Germany due to an active club and some young and enthusiastic fanciers. They have a liking for rarities and at every show at least one puzzle for the public. Marchenero Croppers were shown in brown-bar-grizzles, brown-checker-grizzle. The “Vielfarbige” probably carry a gene of the Almond group (an allele of it), but not Almond. Heterozygous faded cock usually show bars or the checker pattern, and both were lacking in this case. Qualmond is more pepper-like in the wing colours that in this bird were more faded-like. The “silver sprenkled” Marchenero probably are qualmonds. Jiennense Cropper blue grizzle and blue checker are common colorations but not yet in the German Standard accepted colours. Red was promised at one cage, entered was a whitish bird with some red in the neck, possibly a pure faded cock.

Rafeno Croppers were announced as khaki, one of them was a khaki ckecker. Sevillano Croppers were also shown. They were announced as red, in bracket recessive red. However, they were not common recessive reds, especially one of them was very similar to brown-bronze, a standard coloration of the Anatolic Ringbeaters and similar to those birds described as Ember by the American genetic nuts (see also the former report on Ember at this homepage under the bottom Genetik – Sonderberichte – Ember). Also the “black” Granadino-Cropper in the general class should have been entered as an AOC, because the cock was more grey than black, perhaps a heterozygous faded cock, however, perhaps an entirely new mutant.

 Lower-Bavarian Croppers were recently accepted as a new breed in Copper Archangel outlook, now they were entered in addition with white flights. Amsterdam Croppers in recessive red and recessive yellow are present in Germany in a fine quality and differ from the dominant red by their intense red or yellow tail. Unfortunately the trial to get them accepted as a standard breed some years ago failed due to the complicated procedure. The breeder seems to have lost the enjoyment to try it again. Blue bronze laced Thuringian Shields and Nuremberg Swallows were shown, the latter as red and yellow checkers, colorations that may be produced by combining the properties of the standard colours blue checkers (the pattern) and red- or yellow bars (the basic colour ash red).

 Luzern Pigeon had an innovation with a lonely typical blue grizzle, and the Arabian Trumpeters were shown besides the standardized dominant red patch pieds now in mealy patch pieds. Some years ago it was still tried to get blue barless Chinese Owls accepted in the German Standard, however due to health problems of the breeder the procedure had to be stopped, now one bird was shown as an AOC. African Owls were present in the class for new breeds and in addition one Andalusian was entered as AOC as was a dark hen (blue T-pattern). Yellow Old Austrian Pewit Tumblers lacked the dark eyes which are a requirement of this breed. Ash yellow Oriental Rollers were shown and most of them seem to be the diluted form of dark Spread Ash (mahogany). Mahoganies were also show, however, erroneously announced as indigo checkers. The hens of the Ash yellows probably were dark ash yellow bars and not Spread Ash yellows. Strawberry as another variety of Spread Ash was shown with one specimen.

Finally in the class of the Anatolic Ringbeaters red pieds were show as was a blue bronze bar. A dominant opal proved to be a light blue white bar (blue bar + dominant opal), German Beauty Homers were shown in silver checkered (without ochre breast) and “mehllicht” (blue bar with ochre breast). In Germany it is an oddity that the standard colours for Beauty Homers include silver checkers with ochre breast = larked) and silver bars without ochre breast but not the correspondent colorations. Also ash red barless Beauty Homers were entered as were some rare colours of the Fantails, e.g. Andalusian with white tail. For photos compare the German language report.