Breda Fowl thread

Sylvester017 · Jan 26, 2018

boskelli1571 said:
My current pullets are either older than or just approaching the 1 year mark. So far no signs of sickness even in the young splash, but I still keep my fingers crossed for her...
My Waltzs Ark birds will be kept separate for a good while until I know they are 'clean'.
GaryDean26 - the self blue project...that would be very cool especially if they had the darker blue with lacing. I have one gal like that and she looks beautiful - I hope she gives me some chicks this year.
Syl - I'm not up on genetics enough to do major outcrossing, but if that time ever comes I have a short list of possible 'suspects' for crossing.

I'm with you about the darker lacing looking so lovely. But I kinda like the pale blues too. It's so hard to pick a favorite when talking Breda. I didn't think I'd be fascinated with my Cuckoo but she is so stately and regal that I really enjoy her.

Those BBS sure do need something to bring up their hardiness. The list of possibilities to use for cross-breeding is a puzzler because of all the unique characteristics of the Breda all rolled up into one bird -- no comb, triangle crest tassle, vulture hocks, feathered legs/toes, cavernous nostrils -- the last thing one could add to make the Breda unusually complete is to add a fifth toe LOL -- although Maryellen has crossed a crested 5-toed Silkie with a Breda and got the cutest crested little pullets. She didn't keep the two birds and gave them to a friend. They must be the cutest little things having the docile temperaments of both Silkie and Breda in them.

GaryDean26 · Jan 26, 2018

Sylvester017 said:
I'm with you about the darker lacing looking so lovely. But I kinda like the pale blues too. It's so hard to pick a favorite when talking Breda. I didn't think I'd be fascinated with my Cuckoo but she is so stately and regal that I really enjoy her.

Those BBS sure do need something to bring up their hardiness. The list of possibilities to use for cross-breeding is a puzzler because of all the unique characteristics of the Breda all rolled up into one bird -- no comb, triangle crest tassle, vulture hocks, feathered legs/toes, cavernous nostrils -- the last thing one could add to make the Breda unusually complete is to add a fifth toe LOL -- although Maryellen has crossed a crested 5-toed Silkie with a Breda and got the cutest crested little pullets. She didn't keep the two birds and gave them to a friend. They must be the cutest little things having the docile temperaments of both Silkie and Breda in them.

The commentary on the Andalusian that I read proposed that the best exhibition color would have the pale ground color with the dark lacing. Not easy to do, but that is what made me want to achieve it.

Have anyone outcrossed the BBS Breda with the Cuckoo Breda? I now that the BBS had problems with points forming in the come area that were the starting of the V-comb. They also had problems with the tassel cresting no being present and with red showing through on the ear lobes and with red in the plumage (especially the males). I am guessing that an out crossing with the Cuckoos would bring in similar issues. Every time you cross lines you create a lot of head aches with your breeding, but that would seem to be the best out cross if anyone is seeing inbreeding depression. We never saw any problems with missing toes, low fertility, or failure to thrive in the one we breed, but the blue pullet that we brought in from another breeder did have the toe past the first join of the outside toe missing and did failed to thrive. Our Blue Breda were always the highest fertility and highest hatch rate of anything we put in the incubator. I think we did 3-4 hatches before we finally got a hatch that didn't get a 100% hatch rate. At the same time our other breeds were only getting 60-80% hatch rates. Our pullets were late layers. When other breeds were starting to lay at 5-6 months old the Breda didn't start to lay until they were 7-8 months old. I may have to check laying records to see how many eggs they were laying a year. I know they laid the smallest eggs on the property and I think their production was about average for the breeds that we kept.

Sylvester017 · Jan 27, 2018

This is our Blue Breda as a pullet and I loved how her lacing turned out -- very dark head, hackles flowing down in waterfall fashion to her laced body feathers. She had no red in her earlobes but I did notice her smaller triangle crest tassle was not as pronounced as it is on our Cuckoo Breda hen, the Blue girl did not have a pronounced V comb starting at the nostrils the way our Cuckoo hen does, and the Cuckoo had more pronounced long vulture hocks. This Blue girl and our Cuckoo girl were from RFR of CA who closed out her Blue and Cuckoo Bredas a couple years ago. I never invested in a Mottled Breda or Splash because there's more white feathers in them than I care to have that'll turn dingy yellow in our brutal SoCal sunshine. Both Blue and Cuckoo were late-start layers but once they started they were very good pullet layers w/ the Cuckoo being a larger bird and laying larger eggs (but pink instead of white).
RFR of CA Blue pullet

RFR Blue pullet

Blue head -- RFR

Hard to see in these quick shots but the RFR Cuckoo crest is more triangular and more V comb flesh shows at the base of the beak in contrast to almost none on the Blue

RFR Cuckoo head

RFR Cuckoo Breda hen inside coop pen with young Chicken Danz Blue pullet outside the pen -- I lost this dainty Blue girl before POL.

Sylvester017 · Jan 27, 2018

Our Dominique pullets have started laying their cute little 1.5 to 1.75-oz brown eggs compared to our Cuckoo Breda's 2.25-oz pink eggs

Breda hen vs Dominique pullet egg -- the golden yolks so lovely!

Our Cuckoo Breda continues to impress us with the size of her pink egg vs the Dominique pullet eggs

critterbug · Feb 10, 2018

Well, I finally cranked up the incubator and loaded my first set of Breda Cuckoo eggs. Still waiting a few weeks before adding and BBS. I switched up breeders with a different male cock on the BBS. Hoping to get rid of some of those bad traits.

Sylvester017 · Feb 12, 2018

critterbug said:
Well, I finally cranked up the incubator and loaded my first set of Breda Cuckoo eggs. Still waiting a few weeks before adding and BBS. I switched up breeders with a different male cock on the BBS. Hoping to get rid of some of those bad traits.

Looks like you've been chickeneering for a few years. Have you had Cuckoo Breda before? What color are the Cuckoo hatching eggs you set -- tinted or very white? My Cuckoo hen lays pink eggs.

I was informed the Cuckoo Breda are taller than the BBS Breda. Our Cuckoo hen is definitely taller than any of our Blue's were and the Cuckoo eggs are larger too. However, the Blue Breda is still my favorite personality and color variety. Good luck with your hatches! Gotta give us pics!

Sylvester017 · Feb 12, 2018

Chicken Danz has her website up with lots of pics -- www.chickendanz.com

Check out the beautiful Blue Laced Brahma she developed without having to use any cross-breed BLR Wyans. I'm not a fan of unpredictable Wyans so the fact she created her own Blue Laced Brahma is a great credit.

critterbug · Feb 12, 2018

Sylvester017 said:
Looks like you've been chickeneering for a few years. Have you had Cuckoo Breda before? What color are the Cuckoo hatching eggs you set -- tinted or very white? My Cuckoo hen lays pink eggs.

I was informed the Cuckoo Breda are taller than the BBS Breda. Our Cuckoo hen is definitely taller than any of our Blue's were and the Cuckoo eggs are larger too. However, the Blue Breda is still my favorite personality and color variety. Good luck with your hatches! Gotta give us pics!

This will be my first year with Cuckoo breda. Eggs are medium sized white on the Cuckoo. My Cuckoo cock is quite a bit taller than any of my BBS. My cuckoo hen's size is about the same as all my others. Of course they are both still young, so size may increase over the summer.

Sylvester017 · Feb 12, 2018

critterbug said:
This will be my first year with Cuckoo breda. Eggs are medium sized white on the Cuckoo. My Cuckoo cock is quite a bit taller than any of my BBS. My cuckoo hen's size is about the same as all my others. Of course they are both still young, so size may increase over the summer.

I wasn't sure I'd like a Cuckoo Breda and only got cuckoo to distinguish her from our Blue Breda -- but her body type, tassle, vulture hocks, very fluffy toes, were so much better than the first Blue pullet we had. Of course, the feathered toes break off if Breda forage and dig outdoors but all grows back after molt. Our Cuckoo hen definitely got taller and more regal in her stance her second year plus her eggs went from 2.0-oz to 2.25-oz this year -- she also went broody a couple times (which I don't mind to give her body a rest from laying such big eggs). Whereas, the Blue Breda egg size stayed pretty much at 1.75-oz -- but to the Blue's credit, she started laying as a pullet continuously for 10+ consecutive months. I think the prolific egg-laying exhausted her body and lowered her resistance/immunity -- I lost her during one of our summer heatwaves. It was a brutal summer in which I also lost our fluffy Blue Wheaten Ameraucana too.

Cuckoo Breda photos don't do them justice. They are so much more impressive in person!

First year pullet