The breeding of White Pekin Bantams does not differ a great deal from the other varieties as far as type and general confirmation go, but there is a wide variance in methods employed to obtain colour. I shall try to outline the methods I use in breeding whites.

One mating is all that is necessary to produce both males and females of exhibition quality for the male and female correspond in most aspects in a masculine and feminine way. When putting a pen together I like to select females first and then select a male to fit them. Naturally I pick those for each pen which are uniform in quality and nearest standard requirements. Pick the females that are vigorous, well rounded and not possessing flat spots or straight sides, in other words, avoid the angular bird, and also those that rear up like an Indian Runner Duck. The females should represent a round figure, with raised cushion, neatly curved downwards in tail feather having soft quills, and plenty of breast carried well forward. The cushion should be carried above the head as much as possible. The females should be broad and carry the same width from front to rear when viewed on top without tapering to a point at any point on the tail. The fluff should be plentiful and soft, standing out from the body in globules, rather than possessing that pasted promade hair effect that follows the hock out to a point in the rear. The hock feather should be soft and loose with a tendency to curve slightly in. Stiff hocks are a serious defect. There should be no break where the feathers follow down the leg to the foot, but should be continuous in growth from the body, blending into the leg and foot feathering. Wings should be short and well tucked up, thus showing off the fluff to greater advantage and creating the impression of even greater massiveness than actually exists. The wings should not project beyond the body rear. While it is desirable to have the wings tucked right up, I dislike those that cling so tightly to the body so that when the bird is viewed from the top, they appear notched in. the primary and secondary wing feathers should curve in slightly to fit the contour of the body. Some breeders go daffy over long foot feathering. While the toes should be profusely feathered to the outer ends, with the exception of the inside toes, I do not like extremely long toe feathering. What I favour best is illustrated by holding a deck of cards firmly in one hand and spread them with the other using one corner as the centre of the spread of the circle. This is think will give the proper length and spread and is not too long. Next comes the head, pick the birds having strong female heads denoting vigour, with well set five point combs with fine texture and medium height. The eye should be reddish bay and the lobes brilliant red, free from creaminess or white. The eye should be surrounded with fleshy profusions to rings to set off the head. Avoid flat sided heads. It is part of the Pekin makeup to have the large outset eyes and thick beak. The Pekin female should be of medium length in the leg with great depth of body swung down between these legs in balanced proportion to the all over length of the bird from breast to tail. By this I mean she should not be short on the leg so she doesn’t appear longer than short and vice versa. What I strive to attain is a well balanced bird, all sections in relation to each other. From the side I like to have a Pekin appear as though it would fit into a circle and touch all sides. In selecting a bird to fit these qualifications, do not neglect to take into consideration feather quality. They should be soft, well rounded on the ends, and possess body. I do not go a great deal on “thin” feathers. I like them “heavy” but soft. I try to avoid feathers that are square across the ends and those that are stringy and pointed. Extremely great length of feather is not necessary if the feathers are broad and have fine texture and rest upon great under fluff. Now I have described the qualifications of a desirable female.

Next comes the selection of the male in comparison to the females. After the lengthy discussion on what the female should be, it is not hard to describe the male. I go through all my male birds carefully and try to pick a male bird that is a real guy – a male that is good enough to deserve such a pen physically, and one that possesses as near as possible in a masculine way what I have described in the females. I have heard breeders say that they wanted to mate up so many pens in the coming year, or that they want so many females for this pen or that. I do not do it like that for I go by quality and if thee is but one female to my liking, she goes into the pen and the others go into the setting hen division. I would rather have two pair matings that were good, rather than a dozen pens of mediocre or poor birds.

Now, getting back to the subject of the male – try to avoid any defects in the male that the females have, for to breed two birds together with the same defects, you are only prolonging the life of that defect. The comb on the male should be neat and not beefy or course. The blade should follow the head and not point sideward. The legs of both male and female should be deep yellow, avoid willow legged birds and also those possessing creamy white plumage. Due time should be given all moulting and young birds to allow sap in feathers to dry up before discarding them, for nearly all white feathers appear creamy while growing, and it is wise to allow feathers to become completely mature before casting out any birds, for they may turn out pure white. The colour problem is one that you cannot be too careful with. For a well feathered bird that is crippled with type, is not worth a dime if it contains creamy white or lemon on top. I have made quite a few experiments on colour ad have proven and disproved a few popular theories.

What I have written may not meet the approval of all breeders and readers of this article, but we all have various points that we ride to death and these happen to be mine.

By Art V. Granger