Someone, I'm pretty sure it was Robbie, pointed out that Spitzhauben and Brabanters are already pretty close :) and I agreed, and set about in a round-about sort of way to recreate those looks, except in the colours I wanted. Just using the chickens I had. SOOO, I bred 'Speck' back to his mother, and got ONE pullet, only one she ever hatched, or at least, the only one that lived to adulthood, AND she's just like Speck! Rest were all over the map like before, males, and probably Eagle's chicks to boot. 'Squawk' is that pullet, now 2 year old hen, and looks just like her dad/brother except for a lower tail/longer back (carries similar to a quality leghorn) and a lot less red barring. But, it's there. Whoo hoo, progress! Bred Speck to Squawk, and got some lovely mottleds, and lovely barreds, and lovely silver partridge and WTFs, but all taken by predators. You'd think those colours would be good camouflage in the forest. They aren't, predators spot them just fine. Anything with white on it goes first, brown and red next. Solid colours fare the best, especially black.Also about the same time, Speck fathered chicks with Owl2/Nurse, a standard, blue Columbian and blue partridge, silkie/EE/?? mix hen. From that pairing I got a blue mottled pullet suitable for my project, only one that survived predator onslaught of 2015, probably only because she was hatched, brooded and raised inside. He also fathered chicks with my leghorn/EE/EE mixes that are suitable for future breeding (black with one mottle gene), and some that "look" white, but aren't really white at all, and may be used. The only project chicks that survived last year were ones brooded by me, or ones that looked black, and a cull barred cockerel or two just because. Speaking of which, I have a barred rooster with half decent type for a barred chantecler project if anyone wants to start one :/ But anyway, I digress.
This project is technically in year two. Predation so far this year has been very low. Speck and Squawk and a couple other hens in project have given me several workable chicks this year (and several culls of course), and so far have not been eaten by predators (fingers crossed) but I am now more concerned than ever about bottlenecking--almost all my main breeders are VERRRRY closely related, "I'm my own grandpa/brother/mother/cousin" related, and if a gene or two can mutate to produce Speck, they can also start producing problem genes as well, and although I've not yet seen any problems in such closely bred birds, that doesn't mean the problems aren't there. And if there are problem genes already in the mix, I may not know it for years, but meanwhile I am intensifying/breeding IN these problem genes. I know from experience (inbred layers when I was a kid and again later on) that they can all look/feel/lay/breed etc. just GREAT and then all of a sudden you have birds start dropping dead at age 4, or birds that lay 12 eggs and then quit and die (like 99.9% of Owl the roosters offspring), or birds highly susceptible to illness or nutritional deficiencies or hatch defects or easily broken bones, or, or, or... As a matter of fact, Squawk the hen experienced a vitamin A deficiency early last year that scarred one of her eyelids. Other, unrelated birds suffered similar effects (old feed), but it reminded me that what I was attempting was not necessarily sustainable. SOOOO, I bought some Performance poultry birds this Spring for potential future outcrossing. Specifically, anconas, silver dorkings and silver spitzhauben. Of which I have few left--one ancona pullet, two dorking pullets and one spitz (unsure of gender), all the rest have succumbed to illness (4 spitz) and predation (4 anconas, 3 dorking, 5 Spitz!!!),So, we'll see if and where that goes when it comes down to breeding time, which won't be until late fall at the earliest, and that's IF I actually decide to outcross to the new breeds. It's still up in the air, because 1., none have all the traits I want, or even several in one breed: 2., The hardiness of the PP birds is in doubt: and 3., I am unsure of the effects of adding back in partridge (silver dorkings) or adding in more silver AND spangled (Spitzhauben).
SO. What ARE the traits I want in my 'breed'? Well, they have, and continue to evolve as I get chick colours and shapes that I like. Right now I want long, slim, black mottled birds with red barring on hackles and tail, 5 toes, yellow legs, medium leg feathering, medium-large tinted or white eggs in quantity, small-medium crest or head poof or (preferrably) medium forward-pointing crest. Horizontal carriage with males having no greater than 35 degree tail angle. Long, gawky legs would be cool, so I might add Moderns into the mix at some point. I don't want much, do I?
Especially considering I have no idea what I'm doing, really, just breeding together birds by eyeball and instinct. I've had, and continue to have, and WILL continue to have (only in year 2 remember) some
moments, but all the 
moments more than make up for it. This is FUN! And the oopsies taste good LOL!SOOO, here are some of my project birds to date. NO, there is no Mille Fleur, speckled, jubilee, mottled, flower breeds in there anywhere, just mutts of the above breeds I mentioned, that I have bred by happy accident or design.
I'd like to start with Mama One and Eagle so you can see where it all began, but those pics are on my other computer so I'll have to add them at a later date. So here is Squawk and Speck:
