Barless racing pigeons - Adam Archer NSW Australia

[AdamArcher]

My barless project is slowly chugging along.

This is a sooty barless cockbird I bred in the 2022 breeding season.

This is a HOMOZYGOUS barless pigeon. He is NOT bar or check pattern. The pigment is caused by the sooty gene.

[Johannes]

I’d never have known that I thought it was a poorly marked checker. Will the dark pigment fade with each moult? I say that given that youngsters born with the dirty gene have black feet which redden up with age….I think!

[AdamArcher]

No, he won't lighten with age. Sooty is separate to the pattern (and dirty). The next step is to breed some without the sooty "contamination", and ideally have some racing within a few years.

I did race this bird's blue bar siblings, but was disappointed with their performance. Hopefully a few more years of breeding helps improve things.