Glosters Consort and Corona in Denmark

The Gloster Consort and Corona in Denmark

By
Ronald Hvam

There are many similarities between Gloster Consort and Gloster Corona. Both are small compact sized birds, around 11.5 - 12cm with a short and full neck without any visual change between head and body. That way the Gloster seems both small and compact. So it's a very important characteristic. The back should be rounded, wide and so should be the breast, extending to the sides of the bird. Something many Glosters are lacking. Also it should have a short beak, short tail, and short legs with only a little thigh visible.

All these characteristics shows best in calm birds and training calm birds for shows are a lot easier. When you train the birds it's important that the birds don't hang/sit in the wire netting, as this very easily can harm the feathers. Sitting in the netting can also make the bird stressed.

The head of the Gloster Consort should be wide with visible eyebrows. The head should appear round and full from all angles. The change from the beak to head should have a nice height and wideness. The characteristic that separates the two types of Glosters is the crest. It should be rounded and be regular around the center of the crest. The center is to be as small as possible, the size of a needle head. The center of the crest should naturally also be on the center of the head A Corona with a beautiful crest, but too big a center is not a good buy. Often the feathers are damaged or greased to the center appears too big.

In breeding good Coronas it's extremely important not to use Glosters with 'horns'. A few pointy feathers are okay, but be aware of it. The feathers in the crest should be as long as possible, but not so long that they reach down over the eyes and beak At a show this will be looked at as a flaw and not be judged well. But breeding with long feathered birds can be rewarding when paired with a short-feathered bird. We see many Glosters with too small of a crest and/or a bald spot at the neck at our shows. These birds often have hard, stiff feathers and a very dull color. The reason for this is breeding with birds where the feathers don't match The only way to eliminate the stiff and maybe thin feathers is by using a different type of Gloster. It could be a brown or isabel maybe, or it could also be an intensive bird. But, in doing this you need to be careful, as a side effect could be the Gloster losing its contour. To solve this problem you might pair isabel and intensive birds with Glosters too compact. This might give isabel and intensive birds with beautiful feathers and a magnificent crest.

I guess everyone by now knows that it really is possible to breed a good Gloster Corona. A perfect crest must be all Gloster breeders’ biggest challenge.

Start with good birds.
Only breed Consort X Corona.
Do not use birds with "horns".
Only use Consorts after the breeding Consort X Corona.
Do use fine silky feathered birds like isabel and intensive.
Avoid using birds with hard or loose feathers.
Keep an eye on the feathers of the crest (not too short).
Do not use birds with an oval or parted crest.
Be patient so you don't use a good Consort bred of pure Consort in the breeding with a Corona.
Place all the young birds separate in early June, so they don't damage their crest in flights.

If all of the above are followed, its possible within a few years to breed a few birds with a very good crest, perhaps even a strain/stock. But patience is very important. Pair the birds very carefully, in doing so you have to keep an eye on them year round. So when its time for breeding, you know exactly which birds to pair. After shedding, compare the young birds with their parents. In doing so, you can estimate whether the young birds have inherited the best, or perhaps even being better than the parent birds. You don't only get good birds from breeding with the best, sometimes good birds come from parents that compensate for each other’s flaws. A few weeks after the young birds are weaned, they appear too long and narrow. Do not despair, after shedding their whole shape will change. They will also appear smaller and get the compact shape. For that reason it is very unwise to sell any young birds before shedding. You might sell the winner without knowing it.

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