Breda Fowl thread

[maryellen21]

Thank you so much! !! I'm so happy with them.

 

[boskelli1571]

As requested - here are my 2 blue girls..

 

[Sylvester017]

As requested - here are my 2 blue girls..

They are so-o-o regal and impressive! Isn't BLUE just absolutely gorgeous! Your two girls in the above photo -- the one on the right (picking at her feathers) has absolutely beautiful edging on all her blue body feathers -- she also has the more desired darker look than the paler hen in the bottom photo. The paler hen also has less black hackles. I now understand why GaryDean26 said they preferred the darker blues from the paler blues -- the deeper blue has more consistent dark "edging" throughout the blue body feathers and does seem more striking. I had never seen a comparison before so your photo is very valuable for that reason. It's not to say that the pale hen shouldn't be bred but it is safe to say the darker edged hen would pass on prettier genes to her offspring.

I thought the one blue hen we had also showed a good body lacing/edging with full black neck hackles -- she was young in these photos so the cute triangle crest was not at its full peak yet -- I never tired looking at her laced feathers and visitors found her the most striking bird in our flock. Wish I could've had offspring from her because she was also a good layer:

 

[boskelli1571]

They are so-o-o regal and impressive! Isn't BLUE just absolutely gorgeous! Your two girls in the above photo -- the one on the right (picking at her feathers) has absolutely beautiful edging on all her blue body feathers -- she also has the more desired darker look than the paler hen in the bottom photo. The paler hen also has less black hackles. I now understand why GaryDean26 said they preferred the darker blues from the paler blues -- the deeper blue has more consistent dark "edging" throughout the blue body feathers and does seem more striking. I had never seen a comparison before so your photo is very valuable for that reason. It's not to say that the pale hen shouldn't be bred but it is safe to say the darker edged hen would pass on prettier genes to her offspring.

I thought the one blue hen we had also showed a good body lacing/edging with full black neck hackles -- she was young in these photos so the cute triangle crest was not at its full peak yet -- I never tired looking at her laced feathers and visitors found her the most striking bird in our flock. Wish I could've had offspring from her because she was also a good layer:

I see what you are saying about the less black hackles and the penciling. The darker hen is actually the smaller of the two and is a bit more reserved. They always roost together but are the last ones in the coop. I have to pick each one up and plop them on the perch......

 

[Sylvester017]

I see what you are saying about the less black hackles and the penciling. The darker hen is actually the smaller of the two and is a bit more reserved. They always roost together but are the last ones in the coop. I have to pick each one up and plop them on the perch......

From what I understand from RFR of CA where we got our Blue pullet, they said Blue seemed to be their smallest Breda, Cuckoo were their tallest Breda, and Mottled had the best conformation. I will assume a beautifully laced Blue will always be on the smaller side and I'll be pleasantly surprised if a beautifully laced Blue ever turns out to be a larger bird. Temperament, health/hardiness, and good production will be my primary concerns before color.

My DH loved his Blue pullet since blue was his first choice for a Breda so I will wait on chicken danz to see if she can produce a Blue pullet for me. Blue may not be the largest Breda but certainly has been the most striking in our flock. I'm sure Mottleds and Splashes are very beautiful also in appearance but a mostly white bird just doesn't do well to keep a "clean" white appearance when free-ranging in our yard. I had a white bird before and the dingy yellow or stained white feathers significantly detract from the bird's appearance. I think the green sheen on the Black Breda hens is gorgeous! But having a Black Silkie for 5 yrs in our brutal sun turns her beautiful black feathers to streaked rusty reds so I won't be getting any all-black birds unless our global summers tame down soon.

SOLID BLACK SILKIE FEATHERS TURNED TO RUSTY STREAKS IN OUR BRUTAL SUN.




Our new Cuckoo has less chance at being dingy in appearance because of the cuckoo pattern. She is very much the same personality as our Blue now that we've socialized her and she is very respectful to the oldest Silkie just as our Blue Breda had been. These girls are very lovely in so many ways!

CUCKOO BREDA PATTERN LESS LIKELY TO SHOW DINGINESS


As for perches, every hen has her preferences. Silkies are pile-on-the-floor cuddle sleepers so they have slept in our nestboxes for 6 years and we don't mind -- better than on the dirty poopy floor of the coop.
SILKIES -- NESTBOX SLEEPERS



Our Blue Breda liked to be high up. Evenings (in-house as a pullet) she would perch on my computer bench next to me which also allowed me to accustom her to petting while she was in a mellow mood. Then I would pick her up and take her to the dog kennel for the night (no roost bar). This Blue is still a young bird as can be seen by the small wattle development yet she already displays beautiful lacing/edging.


Once our Blue was integrated outside in the coop she chose the rounded 2x3 roost pole right next to the window to rest for the night. She leaned on the wall for warmth or support or both? Anyway, some owners make a 2x4 flat roost plank rather than 2x2 narrow roosts for their hens to be more comfortable. Maybe a wider roost plank would encourage your hens to roost side by side up higher? My roost bar is only about a foot high but still enough to satisfy a hen that prefers to roost higher and is easy to jump up or jump down.

We all eventually figure out what our girls want/need because every coop is different

.

You must share more photos! I never tire of seeing girls doing chicken things -- this isn't the best photo in the world but I loved catching our active Blue straddling a container pot to forage for weed sprouts and bugs while the other chickens just foraged on the ground!

 

[nothingbutbirds]

Oh, those Blues are beautiful. I have Black and Mottled, but I wish I could find someone who would part with some Blues. I've been contacting people for ages, it seems.

 

[sharol]

Oh, those Blues are beautiful. I have Black and Mottled, but I wish I could find someone who would part with some Blues. I've been contacting people for ages, it seems.

If you will wait until spring and ship chicks, @chicken danz in Kansas has some beautiful blues. I have one of her blue hens and a black hen. They are funny quirky birds, aren't they?

Her blues are spectacular, but you would have to ship unless you are coming west sometime.

 

[nothingbutbirds]

​

If you will wait until spring and ship chicks, @chicken danz
 in Kansas has some beautiful blues.  I have one of her blue hens and a black hen.  They are funny quirky birds, aren't they?

Her blues are spectacular, but you would have to ship unless you are coming west sometime.

They're definitely something! I can't wait to get more, haha. Luckily my friend who lives just fifteen minutes away from me, has some Blacks and Mottleds. Too bad her birds quit laying for the winter.

I was hoping to purchase eggs; there's just something about hatching the eggs myself. At this point, I may have to have some chicks shipped in, because I need me some Blues!

 

[Sylvester017]

Oh, those Blues are beautiful. I have Black and Mottled, but I wish I could find someone who would part with some Blues. I've been contacting people for ages, it seems.

I love Breda so much I don't mind if they turn out purple! as long as they're Breda! The best personality and egg layer we ever had in a lightweight large fowl - we are really enjoying how docile and tame our new Cuckoo Breda is around the Silkies.

If you will wait until spring and ship chicks, @chicken danz in Kansas has some beautiful blues. I have one of her blue hens and a black hen. They are funny quirky birds, aren't they?

Her blues are spectacular, but you would have to ship unless you are coming west sometime.

I've put in an order for a Blue from Verna! -- chicken danz is one special breeder! So many breeders have stopped the BBS Breda and going to the new hottest item of Mottleds so Blue is getting rarer to find. chicken danz doesn't get a big customer base for Breda but she personally loves the Bredas and keeps a few just because she likes them so much. I love the Breda especially for their non-combative temperament. I mean, they'll defend themselves, but they really don't care to scrap with others. Sweet, funny, pesty, curious, unafraid, outgoing personalities. If they spook they settle down immediately -- unlike Silkies that spook and keep running in circles or Ameraucana that spook and keep running until they bump into something that stops them LOL! Only those of us who've had these breeds knows what we mean! Even my Ameraucana breeder agreed the Breda is a good bird to incorporate with gentle Silkies and docile Ameraucanas. I thought Breda were a froo-froo ornamental bird but we were pleasantly surprised at their size for a lightweight large fowl and at how outstanding their egg production was -- the eggs are MED to just LG but a good size for a lightweight chicken with a great temperament. Breda can very easily become a pesty family-friendly kid-friendly pet that doesn't shy away from human touch.

​

They're definitely something! I can't wait to get more, haha. Luckily my friend who lives just fifteen minutes away from me, has some Blacks and Mottleds. Too bad her birds quit laying for the winter.

I was hoping to purchase eggs; there's just something about hatching the eggs myself. At this point, I may have to have some chicks shipped in, because I need me some Blues!

I have been ordering juveniles shipped USPS (not chicks or hatching eggs) for years so that way I can get just one bird at a time and already out of the chick stage. As juveniles at 3 or 4 months old chickens handle the shipping journey better than chicks or hatching eggs. I wouldn't mind chicks or hatching eggs but a lot of breeders prefer not shipping day-olds and can't guarantee how preserved the hatching eggs will be handled by USPS -- although our USPS has been quite good the last couple years. As for laying, our Blue Breda started laying non-stop in Nov last year through to Sept this year when she passed due to heat-related complications this summer. We lost a lovely Ameraucana to heat stress too. My vet encouraged us to increase vitamin supplementation for the chickens since average layer feed never gets consumed enough for proper nutrition. We've added Selenium, Brewer's Yeast, and Bee Pollen to cooked organic brown rice as well as steady supplementation with Rooster Booster vitamins and Rooster Booster Multi-Wormer supplementation. This is in addition to garden produce, cooked meats/fish, or canned protein supplementation -- especially during molt, brooding, or egg production.

 

[nothingbutbirds]

I love Breda so much I don't mind if they turn out purple! as long as they're Breda! The best personality and egg layer we ever had in a lightweight large fowl - we are really enjoying how docile and tame our new Cuckoo Breda is around the Silkies. I've put in an order for a Blue from Verna! -- chicken danz is one special breeder! So many breeders have stopped the BBS Breda and going to the new hottest item of Mottleds so Blue is getting rarer to find. chicken danz doesn't get a big customer base for Breda but she personally loves the Bredas and keeps a few just because she likes them so much. I love the Breda especially for their non-combative temperament. I mean, they'll defend themselves, but they really don't care to scrap with others. Sweet, funny, pesty, curious, unafraid, outgoing personalities. If they spook they settle down immediately -- unlike Silkies that spook and keep running in circles or Ameraucana that spook and keep running until they bump into something that stops them LOL! Only those of us who've had these breeds knows what we mean! Even my Ameraucana breeder agreed the Breda is a good bird to incorporate with gentle Silkies and docile Ameraucanas. I thought Breda were a froo-froo ornamental bird but we were pleasantly surprised at their size for a lightweight large fowl and at how outstanding their egg production was -- the eggs are MED to just LG but a good size for a lightweight chicken with a great temperament. Breda can very easily become a pesty family-friendly kid-friendly pet that doesn't shy away from human touch. I have been ordering juveniles shipped USPS (not chicks or hatching eggs) for years so that way I can get just one bird at a time and already out of the chick stage. As juveniles at 3 or 4 months old chickens handle the shipping journey better than chicks or hatching eggs. I wouldn't mind chicks or hatching eggs but a lot of breeders prefer not shipping day-olds and can't guarantee how preserved the hatching eggs will be handled by USPS -- although our USPS has been quite good the last couple years. As for laying, our Blue Breda started laying non-stop in Nov last year through to Sept this year when she passed due to heat-related complications this summer. We lost a lovely Ameraucana to heat stress too. My vet encouraged us to increase vitamin supplementation for the chickens since average layer feed never gets consumed enough for proper nutrition. We've added Selenium, Brewer's Yeast, and Bee Pollen to cooked organic brown rice as well as steady supplementation with Rooster Booster vitamins and Rooster Booster Multi-Wormer supplementation. This is in addition to garden produce, cooked meats/fish, or canned protein supplementation -- especially during molt, brooding, or egg production.

I'm okay with the risks of shipping eggs, I've shipped eggs myself, and ordered eggs multiple times. Most of them were rather successful. Young chicks-I would be more hesitant. I like to pick up birds if I can, but as much as I love Bredas, I wouldn't travel the same way for them, as I have for d'Uccles(Pennsylvania to Tennessee has been the longest trip so far). If I can find eggs, I would much rather go with that, but if I really have to, juveniles will be an option before, say, day-olds(I've avoided that so far). There is someone, about two hours from me, but they haven't had any extras due to fertility issues. All of the birds around here seem to be laying weird, but with the weather patterns, I can't blame them. Going from -10 to 50 in two days probably throws them a bit out of whack, especially since it's kind of a continuous pattern. I usually add stuff to my birds diet, besides their regular pre-mixed feed. Especially my breeds with extra feathers(crests, feathered feet, vulture hocks, beards muffs), I provide them a higher protein food, vitamin supplements, and extras like meat, and stuff from the garden as well. My bantams lay through the winter, but my large fowl usually don't, except maybe the Chanteclers. I haven't had the Bredas long enough to tell for myself how they produce, and I can't tell their eggs from my Leghorns, lol. They're getting their own breeding pen come spring when I get myself a male-I have all hens right now.