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I read with interest the comments in
‘Various’ - August issue, made by Ross Summerell and Greg Davies on this
matter.
I notice that in other standards where there are
black and white colours the beak and legs for whites are shades of blue or
slate e.g. Polish, Hamburgh, Australian Langshan while in other varieties
the lighter colours have a white beak, red eye and white legs e.g.
Orpington, Minorca, Spanish, Rosecomb.
The point I am making is that the Australorp
Standard applies to all colours that are developed. The variation or
concession might be made in the case of the white for leg, beak and eye
colour. The purist might argue that all colours of
Australorp must have the same coloured beak, eye and legs etc and if that
is accepted then the challenge to achieve that. Ultimately that is
what breeding is all about.
If Greg Davies is correct and that cannot genetically be achieved then
compromise might be the best option.
The
Australorp Club of Australia has set the standard for the white and insists
that the beak, eye and leg colour for the white is the same as the black
and blue that is their prerogative but it may not be the universal view
across the nation. There really needs to be debate on the matter when one
considers the colour differentials mentioned earlier where there are black
and white colours in a breed.
Since
the Australian Poultry Standards doesn’t recognise the white variety it
might be useful if the Australorp Club of Australia issued an interim
standard for the white Australorp and circulated it to appropriate bodies
so that some consistency can be achieved.
The
Standard of Excellence as we once called our poultry standards is a
description of perfection and the challenge is to strive to achieve that
even though it may be nigh on impossible. That is the ultimate challenge in
breeding exhibition poultry and it should not be diminished to placate the
whims of those who find taking up that challenge too difficult. In
Australia with talk of publishing a second edition of the Australian
Poultry Standards there are increasing calls for change to standards that
have stood us in good stead for many decades first through the British
Poultry Standards and now our own set of standards.
The
problem with the white Australorp is an example of the dilemma we face.
From
the Editor:
the
discussion over the leg and eye colour of the White Australorp Bantam is
closed for now until the Australian Breed Standards Committee has reached
their decision on the Breed Standard in the Country of Origin; as soon as
this is ratified we will inform you.
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