TURQUOISEENS
Opaline Yellow -- Red front and Red back. ---Above -^-RF & RB Opaline Gold cock.
With Turks, I originally purchased Opalines, (originally called 'Pied' back in the early 1990's) from two different breeders, from these birds, with hardly any red, my aim was to produce a 'Red Fronted and Red Backed' bird. This can only be achieved by selecting the best coloured birds from each brood, an outcross is required every second year to change blood, but be careful, as this can send you backwards, if you pick the wrong bird.
Opaline Yellow nest.
Above -^- RF & RB Opaline Gold hen
Late April. -- Nest of (6) Opaline Yellow Redfront Redbacked chicks. Turned out to be my best to date. Both Parents are excellent birds. Young now very well coloured, 5 month on, and with lots of red.
Opaline Gold cock and Opaline Yellow hen -- hens generally have more red than cocks.
Never cross brother and sister, but it is essential in my opinion to sometimes cross father to daughter/grand-daughter, to keep ALL the good points.
Cinnamon Gold Opalines --- Double DF on left and Single DF on right.
I have progressed well, but it has taken me about 12 years, to get the birds you see here. I could have bought the colours I have now back in the middle 1990's, but it would have cost a fortune, but I wouldn't have had as much enjoyment.
Below centre -- Normal cock 'Dark' Red Fronted Opaline dominant -- the blue flights are more electric blue. With the Yellow opaline hen this year they have produced 5o% Dark and some Olive looking birds -- but have cinnamon flights (see pics. - below the cock - centre)
Cinnamon Gold Opaline cock - Double Dark Factor -(grey flight feathers)
I'm now venturing into Full Red Fronted/Red Backed Cinnamon Opaline Yellows, using my Opalines and an outcross purchased 2 years ago. I have DF and DDF's also, so am expecting wonderful colours yet to come.
More Cinnamon Gold Opalines
Just a point worth remembering, -- pairing two excellent turks together to get improved percentage of 'RED', then out of every 10 young produced, 2 will be better than the parents, 2 will be worse, and 6 will be about the same as the parents, -- Thank heavens birds don't know ANYTHING about statistics.