32 / 68
West of England Tumblers – Page 32 – Purebred PIGEON
Breed of the Issue - West of England Tumblers
Torts
ASurprise inEveryNest!
Sandy Oelschlegel - Vonore, Tennessee
I
have two varieties of West, and they could not be
more different. The white self is hatched, pretty
predictably, white. There are colored feathers in some,
but they generally molt out. The other variety I have is
Tortoise Shell, and with them I find a surprise in every
nest.
The Standard states that markings include the “base
color to be splashed somewhat evenly with grizzle and
white throughout head, neck, chest, body, and wing shield.
Flights, tail, and muffs colored and interspersed with griz-
zle or with grizzle and white.” That description leaves a lot
of room for variety!
I have found that the amount of grizzle and white on
the offspring of a pair of Torts can be vastly different than
the parents. I find that fascinating, and amusing, and it
keeps me interested throughout the breeding season.
The pictures show some of the surprises in the nest
this year.
In Pair 1 the parents are a nice balance of dark and
light Tort and the young show a nice distribution of dark
and light color but as a bonus, these 2 nestmates are dilute
as you can see by the softened color.
Pair 2 photos show parent that have been selected to
be balanced between the dark and light In this case, the
young hatched are mostly dark with lot more white on the
front than the parents.
If you like surprises and variety, try breeding Tortoise
Shell!•
Pair #1 adults
Oelschlegel Pair #1 young
Pair #2 adults
Pair #2 young