THE INHERITENCE OF INDIGO

About five years ago now Randy purchased a tape from James Turner on color and factors. It was a very good tape and on it he showed some of the more exotic colors and factors that we were both interested in. We saw some very nice Andalusians on the tape and James referred to 007 which was one of his better spinners. We were very interested in them and we got in touch we James and he sent us a box of birds and we were on our way. From these eight birds of different factors we have been able to produce some very nice spinners. Every bit as good as the quote "Normal" birds. We both have birds of color in our kits and have been successful in the competition with them. Basically this is an article to expound on the Inheritance of Indigo.

Indigo is a dominant factor that makes some very interesting variations. Some of the individuals that it makes are not as attractive as others and may not be worth the time put into them. I have not made to many of the variations because to tell the truth I do not like them, but once in a while they pop up and I fly them to see if they are any good and if they are they can be used.

First of all the Indigo factor, in my opinion, looks best on the blue family. This is where you see the factor at its best. When you make an indigo blue bar. The birds has kind of reddish blue bars, and has no tail bar. That is how you can really see the factor. In the tail bar. When you make an indigo check you get a birds that has the reddish blue check, and again there is not tail bar. Probably one of the nicest individuals is the T Patterned indigo. They are almost bronze on the wing shield and again have no tail bar.

My favorite that comes with the Indigo factor are the Andalusians. These are why I brought the Indigo factor in the first place. We got our first ones from James Turner the past president of the NBRC. These were three of the nicest birds we have ever received from anyone. He had already done the homework before hand, and we have just done some more refining and putting our families in them. There was hardly any work to be done. They are truly fine pigeons. The Andalusian is a steel grey and sometimes they look laced. If you have ever seen Cochin Chickens they have the same coloration in them. Also the Modenas have it also. I know there are a lot of breeds that have it.

Andalusian is the spread of the indigo factor on a blue base pigeon. Andalusians are really black (spread blue) with one gene for the Indigo. In making the Andalusian all you have to have is one. When you mate him to a black you will have a fifty percent chance of getting Andalusians. Although sometimes it does not seem that way. When you choose a mate for an Andalusian use blacks that do not have good color. When you do you get silvery Andalusians. When you use really fine shiny blacks you will get more of a gunmetal gray coloration. If that is what you like the go for it. White flights, beards, badges, and bald heads can be made with the Andalusian and looks great. Also you can make Andalusian grizzles, and we hope that we can eventually make an Andalusian Mottle. We have not done it yet however.

When you mate two Andalusians together you will get some pure Andalusians. This means that they have two genes for the Indigo factor. If they indeed come from spreads they will look like a lavender with a black streaked head. These when mated to anything will give you Indigos. When they are mated to blacks you will get only Andalusians. If you mate these together you will only get pure ones. If you have an Andalusian Pure you can make as many Andalusians as you have mates to do it.

I honestly do not know what a pure Indigo in check and bar looks like since we do not breed for this.

I have also bred some dilute Andalusians, they look like duns. They are very hard to tell from a dilute black. You would have to mate it to a black and see if you get Andalusian to prove. I do not know any other way.

Recessive red does not mask the Indigo very well, it shows through a little, the recessive reds do not look as nice as the ones without it. I have a pair that throws a lot of them. They are good rollers to I don’t worry to much about it.

All in all it is a very easy factor to work with and one that is very rewarding in the air. The reason is because there seems to be quite a number of good blacks around. But remember that if you are looking to make some beautiful Andalusians, please stay away from the real dark shiny beatle green blacks. They will make andalusians to dark you will hardly be able to tell them from poor blacks. Also there is a tendency for Andalusians to be flecked like red checkers carrying blue.

If you T patterned birds, you can really make some outstanding birds by breeding Andalusians to your blue T patterned checkers. You will get some very neat bronzed birds. The more bronze in the check to begin with the more bronze in the Indigo Check in the end.

Hope that this interests you because these are some really great looking and performing birds. We have been very successful in flying these in competition. Many are as good as any of the "Normal" birds.