Lavender patterned Isabel duckwing barred - lavender brown cuckoo barred - project and genetic dis

How are the May babies looking?

KikisGirls said:

How are the May babies looking?

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Hey there Kikisgirls --
For some reason, I don't get notified with updates...therefore apology for the delay in response. :O).

Chicks are doing fine---getting BIG! --- Interesting, yet expected plumage developments, no lavender fading. When time permits, I will put up an update on their plumage progress.

Okay, Okay, I did it. Saw this "chicken activity center" at TSC last spring for 99.99 - and although I have wanted fun things for my chickens to do ... the price was too steep. Fast forward to the beginning of this week and it was on sale for 29.99 - so I splurged and got it assembled yesterday. That picture is newly installed. It's so big that it has to be at least partially assembled inside the coop. Maybe if you had two people it would be movable. Now imagine the same activity center covered in chick poop -- and realisim strikes. LOL

These are from today -- had some of the juvies striking a pose, couldn't quite believe it...they are so ultra friendly now and come running to the entrance when I arrive. All the chickens do -- it must be those pieces of tomato from the garden and the old strawberry hulls have really impressed them with my role. Treat provider.

Could put up a thought balloon, "am I cute or what?" Light flash on the right is the sun on a waterer surface.


Shoe inspection time..... there must be some extra grass seeds stuck on these sloggers...

To refocus on the topic...these are three males...no autosomal red as of yet. They are so BIG - yep these are the May chicks. Among the things I'm pleased with are the barring, the straight combs and the fact that there doesn't seem to be lavender fading even though no cross backs to the gold/brown plumage have occurred in my project. This project has been a straight line....
Two females doing the shoe inspection -- Nice barring on these girls. The blurry one has darker neck-hackles and the one at the shoe-- just beginning to show that warm cream color. Again - very clear barring on these juveniles.

The last chick to hatch that came out all gooey from the remainder of sticky whites (I think that is what does it) - my incubator wasn't humid enough I think....She's noticably smaller than the other hatchlings. On about her third or 4th day, she actually had pasty butt...and I hadn't noticed. Somehow she managed to dislodge it -- but a clump (big) of poo was stuck on her little butt. Getting it off removed some of her down. Seems too that the others kind of crowded her out at the feeders.... but 'yet she presisted' -- She scoots around the pen like the kid in the class that could never stay in his/her seat. ADD?
(ADHD) She's quite cute -- perhaps a banty line of LPIDs from this runty squirt?

So here's the pen with all the incubator babies. In that large sized Snap-N-Lock chicken hut, there are three roosting bars that are -- what 3-feet long maybe. If each one could hold 4 of the babies, once they discover roosting, then they would be OK for a while, bu the more they grow, the more crowded it will get. That pen is 200 sq ft... the next one over in back is 100 sq ft, and has 5 juveniles hatched by broody. It would be nice to combine them.... I do have a very nice lady who is interested in taking some of them. That will help as this bunch gets BIGGER.

They are looking good Kat!
The play center is funny. I love it!
The little mini girl is too cute.

Thanks Kikisgirls! They are starting to get their little "personalities" going on.

That pattern is gorgeous! A banty line from your little squirt?

That play center was an awesome deal. I love 70% off!

And your project birds have turned out beautiful. Such nice feathering they have.

KikiLeigh02 said:

That pattern is gorgeous! A banty line from your little squirt?

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Hahaha - have you heard that saying "Great minds think alike" ? That thought occurred to me too -- and guess what -- I often call her "little Squirt". Somehow it fits. Banty line huh? Interesting thought.

Finnie said:

That play center was an awesome deal. I love 70% off!

And your project birds have turned out beautiful. Such nice feathering they have.

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Thanks so much Finnie!! At one point in the project there was some concern that the lavender gene that suppresses the black and red coloring could also result in feather degradation, but I've seen none of that in this bunch.

Just got results from Texas A&M Vet diagnostic Lab.

NO MS

That's right no MS was detected in the cockerel that I took there. They gave me swabs to test any other birds. Cost of the test is only $35.

This means that I can happily supply tested chickens to some of you who have been following this thread. More to come.