I'm no expert in any sense of the word, especially when it comes to bird
breeding or to hackle... but I'll chime in anyhow, based on my science
knowledge ;)
Midge saddles have smaller/shorter barbules. To keep the stem narrow
enough to be wrapped around a smaller hook, the barbs shorter, and yet the
barb density (barbs per length of stem) high, it takes several
breeding-pairs/ generations. I'm not familiar with Whiting's approach
(whether genotypic or phenotypic in nature - that is, whether they do
"science stuff" or whether they do "look-n-see" stuff), but from my VERY
limited knowledge of Whiting, I'm thinking it is a combination of the two...
As an aside, Henry Hoffman (of oregon) is really who started Whiting out
so well - and, if memory serves me correctly, Hoffman's approach was
strictly phenotypic (look-n-see approach), which explains how Whiting's
so-called "Hoffman" hackles have such wonderful grizzly hackles (Hoffman
strived to obtain the best grizzley hackles). Hebert hackle (I think
acquired in the late 90's - 96 or 97?? - by Whiting), on the other hand,
spent their efforts in developing a wider array of colors through
genotypic-guided ('science stuff') breedings. I suppose that's why
Hebert/Miner hackle products are still known for their vast array of vibrant
colors, with numerous variants. (no, this ISN'T a commercial...)
Anyhow, to maintain the color schemes in a hackle type, and then still
breed for smaller, yet barb-dense, hackle... well, it takes quite some time
and 'luck' (or sheer quantity, really). I can go into the genetics of how
it's a tetra-recessive, 4-bimodal-genes pool, but chickens don't have just
2x alleles / chromosome sets, and then there's no guarantee it's THAT big of
an improvement, as your OTHER genes' proteins (color, etc) may be off kilter
... yadda yadda, bottom line, it's a rarity to achieve just the hackle size,
but when you couple with it the barb density and color requirements, and the
need for as many - or more - hackles per cape or saddle, it's rarer still.
Again, I'm no expert, but that's what I *suspect*, based on the limited
genetics knowledge I have. Seriously, I know SOME of the science, but when
it comes to chickens, I'm pretty much clueless.
Just my 2 cents worth - I'm likely WAY off base - perhaps a Whiting Pro Team
member can chime in? Deb, DonO, etc? (not sure who's still active on here,
as work and travels have several people busy)
-Pete
On Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 11:09 PM, Wes Wada <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I was just looking at www.linesend.com, searching for the Whiting saddle
> swap, or whatever it was called. That feature is currently off the site
> (was nice while it lasted!)
> Then, I noticed that Whiting midge saddles are now at $116.00 !
> So, a question for our rooster experts...What is the difficulty in breeding
> or getting a good quality midge saddle? Is the bird part of a specific
> breeding line meant to grow a small rooster, or something? (The mind
> boggles.)
>
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