Just a note to update my progress with the BT Red Japs. This summer I crossed the offspring from the RIR/BTW and the RIR/Black Jap with BT Buff Japanese. Some of the babies from these 3/4 Jap crosses have grown into beautiful birds, especially the males. A few look 95% Japanese with pretty good red color. The two best of these are already mated to the BTB Japs in hopes that another generation can be raised through the winter, better reinforcing the Jap type. Plans are in the works to mate the red females from this latest cross to a Black Jap to produce better type and dark red/black chicks. It is ever a balancing act to get the Jap type and the dark red of the RIR on the same bird.

As of November 2000, I have hatched the third generation. The second generation birds are maturing, and the progress is dramatic. Many are a brilliant red; not the deep brick red the standard calls for, but halfway between the Rhode Island Red and the New Hampshire. The type is definitely better this year, and the color is nice. There are more males than females this time, as opposed to more females in 1999. I welcome any calls or requests from those wishing to join me in this effort.

John

As of January 2002, I am still working with the BTR Japanese. It will still be several years before they meet the standards, but they are ever-improving and fun to work with. The biggest challenges are color and uniformity. This is to be expected with an outcross to another breed. The color problems seem to come from the Wheaten factor that comes with the BTW and BTB. I do get Partridge and Wheaten Japanese as by-products, but the quality on those is generally not the best. The better Partridge males breed back to BTR to deepen the color.

I love the RED Japs. I was surfing the net & found a picture of one in the Jap Bantam club of Great Britain site. I would be interested in getting some RED Japs, Let me know how. I live in Ohio.

As of December 2004, I have thrown in the towel on BT Red. I developed a serious problem--the birds with good type were Wheaten and Ginger red, the birds with good color were awful things. I decided to go with Wheaten and Ginger Red. With all the colors I raise, I couldn't justify the hundreds of birds I'd have to raise to further the efforts when the Ginger Red is such a striking bird. The Wheatens are eye-catching too. They're beautiful birds!