Yes, by all means, try to breed a barred bird with true slate shanks. \"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.\" I\'ve got $100 for the first person that achieves a line of crisply barred, truly slate shanked Ameraucanas. I\'m putting my money where my mouth is, and I will be the first to congratulate that person. John, you and I will have to agree to disagree on this issue. Here are my thoughts, not that anyone gives a hoot. We don\'t need more varieties, we need better varieties. Likewise, we could use more dedicated, knowledgeable, and productive members instead of merely padding the membership list numberwise by catering to every whimsical notion that comes down the pike.
Take Jean out west for example - she seems to be doing great things with her birds. Paul, Barbara, Jerry and many others have worked hard, but we still have too few dedicated breeders for the sixteen recognized varieties (8 large, 8 bantam). None of us have unlimited time, money, and facilities, so when we all go in different directions very little gets accomplished.