In
accordance with the request of our good friends, The Feathered World,
I have endeavoured to assist Mr H Hoyle in the production of a coloured plate
of the ideals to be arrived at in the production of Belgian Bantams, or "Barbus"
(Bearded). The Barbus for exhibition purposes are now confined to the two breeds,
d'Uccle and d'Anvers, the former with feathered legs and the latter with their
legs devoid of feathers, and the various colours at present exhibited are as
follows:-
D'Uccle: Millefleurs, Porcelain, Cailloutés and Blancs. D'Anvers: Coucou, Noirs, Blancs, Millefleurs, Caille, Cailloutés and Bleus. I adhere to the native language for the colours, because in some cases there is no single English word which is adequate, although, of course, noir (black), blanc (white) and bleu (blue) are exceptions.
The general type of the Barbus of both varieties should be the first consideration, and the main points are a very prominent chest, short back, tail approaching the vertical, and with ample pointed-ended sickles in the case of a cock, short leg and well-rounded body, a wedge-shaped comb of helmet fit, no visible wattles, and last, but not least, the peculiar neck hackle and muffing, which latter are very important and characteristic. The peculiar backward sweep of the neck hackle, forming a kind of collar, which is so desirable, is more often found in the d'Anvers than the d'Uccle, and should be carefully fostered. In the case of d'Uccles the beard should fall lower, more like that of the Faverolles.
If Mr Hoyle's beautifully coloured picture does not appeal to those who can admire the wondrous productions of the Great Creator through ourselves as humble instruments, then we must indeed be ungrateful and unresponsive beings.
Look at the Porcelain hen and just imagine such a breed being allowed to die out; and yet there is imminent danger of this happening. I myself have only one cock and one pullet of this breed, and from this pair I hope to build up my strain once more. I know of no other specimens, and if there are any in existence I will be delighted to have the information.
What
is the Poultry Club doing for rare and beautiful breeds of this kind which are
fast dying out? I have not a single specimen of the white Barbu d'Uccle or the
white English Booted Bantam left, and know of none. May I refer readers to the
quaint photograph of a trio of the former, illustrated on this page, and now
all gone! Are individuals to go on guaranteeing or filling up entries in Barbu
classes to the end of the chapter?
Again, look at Mr Hoyle's picture of the millefleur cock and compare it with the birds winning to-day. The latter show far too much black, particularly in hackle, or have the bad fault of a "split wing", by which expression I mean black and white markings of a nondescript character running well up their secondaries. Now, all you novices, mark my words, and do not breed from a pair of birds both showing "split wings", or you will regret it.
I deprecate criticisms of judges because I have only just escaped a frightful time at Mr Inman's show at Bradford, when influenza came and "befriended" me, and saved me from judging Belgians there.
For the remarks that follow I have the excuse of 36 years of breeding and exhibiting Bantams, but with a very little experience (deplored on my side) in meeting and discussing the matter with judges and fanciers.
My opinion is that many, many bantams are given prizes today when they ought never to have them. Coarse, clumsy specimens, useful in the breeding pens, I admit, if properly mated, but simply ghastly as exhibition bantams. I think the fault is largely a result of the bantamising of larger breeds and judges' weaknesses in showing preference towards new introductions of this kind.
I always feel dismay when I see Indian Game and Malay Bantams in show pens; to my mind, the whole style of these birds is contrary to what a bantam should be, but - my word! - if the editors dare to publish these remarks, don't ask me to enter into a correspondence to prove them! I feel that the strong limbs and general lines of some of the larger breeds of fowls do not fit into the small compass of the real Bantam.
Readers may ask what this has to do with Barbu bantams, but this is where I want to fit in my warning. It is comparatively easy to sacrifice size and quality to get feather, and it is also easy to breed coarsely marked millefleur and porcelain, but the result is to spoil the breed and to ultimately lessen their attraction.
Personally, I consider these two varieties are the most beautifully coloured and marked bantams in existence, with one exception, viz., the Crele Old English Game cock, which runs them closely.
The millefleur hen should be a deep even chestnut brown, with a black bar, and a clear white tip to each visible feather. This is a brief description, I know, but I give it as the simplest and most useful for the novice. The ground colour of the cock varies somewhat, deepening into mahogany shade on the wing bar and red on the back, with orange towards the tail and on the neck hackle.
The mating of millefleurs is interesting, and in my opinion not difficult if you are inbreeding.
Mate coarsely-marked cocks with finely-marked hens, and vice versa, and apply the same rule to dark and light ground colour, and try and keep your exhibition hens of an even shade all over, in cream for the porcelains and brown for the millefleurs:
The porcelain is really a light edition of the millefleur, with a cream ground colour, varying in shade in the cock, but even in shade in the hen, and with a light blue bar and clear white tip. If you do not believe my likening the porcelain to the millefleur, then wash one of the former and examine it while wet and be convinced.
All real barbus improve in type and feather after the second moult, and even four-year-old birds should not be despised. I would recommend beginners not to breed from strange birds less than 18 months old, as until their second moult you cannot be certain of their markings. As an example, a hen with which I won the Crystal Palace d'Uccle class had practically no white tips at all in her first season, and was black-tipped almost all over until her second moult, but I knew her parents and was prepared to keep her. She later became an almost perfect show specimen. So now, you novices, keep your millefleurs if they are anything like, and remember also that sometimes a bird with a lot of white blobs all over improves at the second moult.
In blue d'Anvers balance the shades in the sexes in the same way, and try to keep a fine, clear lacing in the hens, and if you get a very light blue use it with your white d'Anvers and not with the blues. A mealy blue is an abomination as well as a delusion and snare in breeding, and the defect of darkness is infinitely preferable. I have found blues most susceptible to the weather and sun, wind and rain are sure to produce a brown or bronze shade. The blues should be shaded during moulting and exhibiting, but this applies to nearly all colours if you want to exhibit in proper condition.
In mating blues I always like a dark cock with a good blue hen, but light
cocks I avoid. If you want some good fun in crossing, try a blue cock with a
black d'Anvers hen. From such a mating and with the single pair I once obtained
blues, cuckoos, blacks, whites in d'Anvers, and some Barred Rock Bantams, and
nearly all won prizes or cards at various shows.
In breeding black d'Anvers I have been more successful in cocks than hens, but
I do not like double mating and do not think it is necessary.
In breeding whites I always eliminate any cocks showing red striping or sandiness on top, as they never breed a decent-coloured son.
The cailloutés should have a brilliant beetle greenish-black ground colour, with a small clear white tip to each feather. They are a very showy bird in either d'Uccle or d'Anvers, but one should always eliminate birds showing red feathers, which are liable to turn up persistently in hackle, saddle and wing bar, and with birds of splendid type and feather, but cook and eat these ruthlessly is my advice. In mating cailloutés choose dark birds for one side, and never use "gay" birds on both sides.
Coucou d'Anvers are, or should be, marked like a Barred Rock; they are difficult to breed, either coming too light and mossy or with an unsightly distribution of black feathers, particularly in the tail and wings.
In the caille d'Anvers cock the under parts should be nankin, with ochre lacing and clearly defined shafts, the neck hackle brilliant black, with fine buff lacing and yellow shafts, the back black with golden lacing, broad at the base and narrow at the point and ochre shafts, the tail black with brown lining.
As regards the hen, her top should be a dark brown cloak, with light brown edging to the outer half of the feathers of the wings and shafts distinct all over; her muff and breast a delightful -shade of nankin, with lighter buff lacing faintly defined and distinct shafts in the centre. This breast deepens into the top colour by charming shading blended together under the wings.
Hatch your Barbus late in the season, July, August or September, and use a Cochin Bantam hen and not an incubator. Do not forget to soak the mother's legs in paraffin and dust the hen and chicks with insect powder once week. Do not show them until they have had one adult moult. I don't believe in young bird classes for Barbus; they are unfair to judge and exhibitor.