That covers three weeks out of 52 I'll be getting an extra 50 eggs/week if I keep a flock of a dozen or so back to try to work on them, which may be worth it, because they are really growing on me. This year I'm not too worried about extra eggs - next year I really get to put my "You never have...
If you are leaning toward Faverolles or Dorkings I would nudge you toward Dorkings. I've had Faverolles and they weren't as resilient as I wanted them to be, plus they free ranged for fun - not really to eat. However, that could have just been the strains I had and not a reflection of the whole...
Thom is where I got the flock. I went out there a few times and helped people pick up a few breeds (our little "group" ended up with his Double Mutant French Copper Marans and quite a few of the Single Mutants. We also got some of his Gold Laced Standard Cochins and a few others). I've always...
My position is enviable and unenviable. I was _not_ planning on raising Araucanas. This started out as just buying up a bunch of extra roosters to put in the freezer next week. I know the guy who had the flock, and after I had bought out every rooster he asked me if I wanted the hens, too. Who...
I had no intention of being mean to Master Breeders, or anyone who shows. But a lot of people who keep geese don't show them, either because they are raising for meat or pet, or because there aren't any shows around they can attend (nothing local, they can't take the time off, etc). The focus of...
Understandable.
Out of curiosity, how do you fix droopy ear tufts? Do ear tufts start droopy and end up stronger as they age? Or do they start off strong and droop as they get larger? Or is "what you see, what you get"? Are droopy tufts a sign of tuftless + tufted breedings or something else...
That's a really good point. Climate plays a really important role in deciding what breeds to get. Or it -can- since someone in sub-zero temperatures could make a giant-combed Minorca work, someone in the rainiest area could make Silkies work, and someone in the hottest, most miserable place in...
I agree wholeheartedly with saving the one you love rather than trying to love the one you save.
You will be putting a lot of money, effort, and time into whatever breed you decide to save. If you aren't truly passionate about it then you may regret that you didn't go with what you loved to...
I assume the commercial strain of Rhode Islands would have come about when hatcheries decided what they had was a Rhode Island Red and dubbed it a commercial strain. But I could be wrong.
"Semi-autosexing" refers to anything that isn't a 100% autosexing breed. Welsummers are semi-autosexing...
Considering how popular Production Reds had become at that time, I'd like to think that they would know the difference between a Rhode Island Red and a Production Red. But since I don't have any genuine Rhode Islands here to test the theory I couldn't swear by it.
If you ever get the chance to...
Unfortunately I can't. I don't have the space to work with Rhode Island Reds or New Hampshires - as much as I might want to. Here is a quote about sexing them:
Rhode Island Red and New Hampshire: The presence of a white or light spot on the wing front of Rhode Island Red or New hampshire...
Thanks for the breakdown, Lanae.
Nate, a Rosecomb Barred Rock is 100% not a Dominique . Back in the late 1800s, early 1900s there was a Rosecomb version of the Barred Rock: a large, meaty, dual-purpose bird with the Barred pattern (not the Cuckoo) that had a Rosecomb instead of a Single comb...
Eesh, there are tons that are - or were at one point - semi-autosexing.
True Rhode Island Reds could be sexed by wing color at around 90% accuracy, New Hampshire Reds using the same method at around 80% accuracy. Silver Grey Dorkings (also Silver Grey Leghorns and, I believe, Silver Phoenix)...
I think Greenfire has Legbars right now.
I'm interested in the semi-autosexing breeds/colors: Barred Rocks, Silver Grey Dorkings, Norwegian Jaerhons, etc. I place a big emphasis on autosexing abilities in chicks. Some strains of semi-autosexing breeds are 93-95% accurate, with many of them in...
I am a weak person.
I broke down and finally bought the Araucana flock someone was selling (NPIP certified flock, closed lines). Moreso, I bought an assortment of 45 cockrels and pullets that are at the POL. They were funky and I have an extra pen this year (which means if I keep the Araucanas...