I know absolutely nothing about genetics; however, I am very much interested in a breeding program that would produce a porcelain in the Belgian d'Anver breed of bantams. Could someone help me get started in the right direction, please? Thanks.

Jerry, The Porcelain is a dilute MilleFleur. Best to purchase a Porcelain d'Anvers. Bred to MF, will produce both, then the Porcelains are bred together. They will not produce a MilleFleur, only Porcelains, and you can work with them. I have a wonderful little book by Veronica Mayhew, England, on the Belgian Bantams. She has been a leading breeder for many year. CJR

Cjeanr left out one generation of crosses. Lavendar is the mutation that dilutes the color. It is recessive. Lavendar X non lavendar produces hybrids that are all non lavendar in color. You have to cross the hybrids together to get the lavendar birds back (3/4 will be non lavendar and 1/4 with be lavendar). As Cjeanr says the lavendar birds will breed true and lavendar X lavendar crosses will produce all lavendar birds.

The easiest way to breed Porcelain Belgians is to buy some good stock.

The color is a complex genetic color and would be hard to reproduce. It could take you years to get decent birds. You need wheaten at the E locus and recessive mottling along with some columbian restrictors that we haven't identified. Let's say that milli fluer is based on 3 genes ey, mo, and Co (there are probably others). If all you have are milli fluer and some self blue Belgians (E, Mo+, co+ and lav). If you cross the milli fluers to the self blues you will get birds that are mostly black. If you cross the hybrids together you will again get mostly black, but of the 1/4 that are not black you may get some porcelain colored birds. The expected is only around 4 out of 1000 that would breed true for the porcelain pattern based on just 4 genes, and there are more than 4.

1/16th of the progeny from the hybrid cross will be non black and mottled and you can keep these as breeders, 1/16th will be lavendar and non black and you can keep these, and 3/16th will be non black and columbian restricted and you can keep these. If you are lucky you will get some overlaps. Breed these types together and you will eventually get what you want, but it may take years.

This would be a great cross to learn some genetics, but you will be producing a lot of culls that you will have to deal with in some fashion. Most people don't eat their bantams.

Rokimoto, Very glad to have this additional information. I have some MilleFleurs--not Belgians--not OEGB, and am in my second generation. First 5 are two cocks and 3 hens, all nice red with very nice flowers for their age. Now, I have 9 of their youngsters with two different backgound colors--the nice red for 5 of them, a cockerel and 4 pullets--- and a Buff Columbian color,(looked like Columbians before any "flowers" started appearing) with flowers coming n nicely on the 2 females, but the two cockerels are less promising and showing no correct hackle markings and their rear undercolor is barred or mottled! (there may be Porcelain in the background of these birds, as I received one egg marked Porcelain--and it was not! It was a cluckoo barred male with red back! So, even though these eggs were all marked MF, they could have been mismarked-or just still showing their background mixes. Yes, they were made with breeds we do not have in the U.S., so I cannot find the genetics of their background. These are about 8-10 generations from the original crosses,(I have seen others from this breeder that would be considered excellent for the breed!) but I expected to do more work with proper type than basic color--understanding that the MilleFleur always takes several years for the males to reach best markings, and that for exhibition, there is always need for selection of best color and markings. The culls can be given away easily, for backyard pets--they are absolutely gorgeous bantams, just not correct for their variety for the breed. I need to know whether to keep the light colored ones of this generation. I believe I will--and cross just one or two pullets (with good flowering) with the red cockerel. Takes time-I know it will be years before I am ready to show these to anyone, had hoped it might be just the past year--and this one! CJR

Mottling (the white tips and black next to the white) should be recessive and should breed true. It sounds like a buff may have jumped into your breeding pen. All chicks from your original 5 birds should be mottled. Most gold diluters are dominant. There is recessive cream (ig) but it is a very major diluter and turns gold to a weak silver straw color. Buff birds have dominant gold diluters. Two have been found dominant dilute (Di) and champagne blond (Cb). I found a dominant diluter in New Hamps, but I don't know if it is one of these.

The literature states that mottling (the white tip) gets more white (larger area) with each molt. So if your birds have very small white tips on their bantam feathers you can expect the white to increase as the birds age.

The milli fluer pattern seems to be based on wheaten (some say recessive wheaten, ey), recessive mottling (mo) and some columbian like restrictors. I'd guess that your dark reds have mahagony (Mh) and normal milli fluers probably do not have Mh or have gold diluters that give the gold instead of red color.