CSU - Chicken State University- Large Fowl SOP

[fowlman01]

OK.....post your comments please!!!

You did very well.

w.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Originally Posted by vmdanielsen




Rooster 3 3 years old( Hank) 8 lbs

This is the first rooster I bought. He is in the mixed flock because I did not intend to breed him as he is related to almost every chicken I have. He is redder than most buckeyes I have seen. He is very broad across his back and his chest. He produced excellent roasters.He has a good bar of slate, nice shanks(or are they to short?). He has developed some white in his tail with age. He has good length of back, though he doesn't have the downward grade as wanted.


I'm not sure but his shanks might be a bit short (on second glance). I don't really know Buckeyes at all, a had a couple a while back but they were just for my yard flock, not trying to accomplish anything with them.

I just wanted to say that I wouldn't hold back from using him on the basis of his relation to your other birds. Father to daughter/grand daughter, uncles to nieces, etc., are all perfectly acceptable. Remember, they are not human. If he has traits that you want to fix into your Buckeye flock, I would suggest using him. The only mating that I know of that is hotly disputed in some circles is a brother/sister mating. He has good size so he could make some good eating birds for you when you cull.

If you have some females that have points to strengthen his weaknesses... ?

 

[Tailfeathers]

Walt, and whoever the other person was that mentioned it, I had intended to post a pic of that Buckeye cockerel with the "too long" sickles but forgot about it before I left my desktop today. I'll try to remember tomorrow.

God Bless

 

[vmdanielsen]

Originally Posted by vmdanielsen




Rooster 3 3 years old( Hank) 8 lbs

This is the first rooster I bought. He is in the mixed flock because I did not intend to breed him as he is related to almost every chicken I have. He is redder than most buckeyes I have seen. He is very broad across his back and his chest. He produced excellent roasters.He has a good bar of slate, nice shanks(or are they to short?). He has developed some white in his tail with age. He has good length of back, though he doesn't have the downward grade as wanted.


I'm not sure but his shanks might be a bit short (on second glance). I don't really know Buckeyes at all, a had a couple a while back but they were just for my yard flock, not trying to accomplish anything with them.

I just wanted to say that I wouldn't hold back from using him on the basis of his relation to your other birds. Father to daughter/grand daughter, uncles to nieces, etc., are all perfectly acceptable. Remember, they are not human. If he has traits that you want to fix into your Buckeye flock, I would suggest using him. The only mating that I know of that is hotly disputed in some circles is a brother/sister mating. He has good size so he could make some good eating birds for you when you cull.

If you have some females that have points to strengthen his weaknesses... ?

Lacy, thank you for your comments. They are much appreciated.

I have no objection breeding him back to his get( this term is used in horse breeding, is is applicable with fowl as well?). When one keeps breeding back to the same sire, one can also breed back the faults and lessen the gene pool. How many times would (should, can?) breed back to a good bird? I could use him for a late hatch. When does a rooster's virility lessen to the point where fertility is an issue?

This bird is stocky and as I stated, fathered great roasters, but is he too stocky to be considered a well shaped buckeye? While I do eat my culls, I do want to maintain breeding fowl as close to the standard as I can.

I am still working on better hens. This seems harder to do, maybe because Ineed more of them and if I was holding them to a higher standard I would have too few for breeding next year.

I will say that because of this thread, I have decided to keep a hen that has no "cushion". She does however have a funky eye color(tannish). Most of my hens do have a cushion.

How many birds do most of you hatch in order to get, say, 5 good breeders for the next year?

 

[vmdanielsen]

You did very well.

w.

Thank you. Could you comment on my birds? My comments are those of a novice. I really would appreciate comments about my birds from All of you with more experience. Thanks!

 

[NanaKat]

Originally Posted by vmdanielsen Rooster 3 3 years old( Hank) 8 lbs This is the first rooster I bought. He is in the mixed flock because I did not intend to breed him as he is related to almost every chicken I have. He is redder than most buckeyes I have seen. He is very broad across his back and his chest. He produced excellent roasters.He has a good bar of slate, nice shanks(or are they to short?). He has developed some white in his tail with age. He has good length of back, though he doesn't have the downward grade as wanted. I'm not sure but his shanks might be a bit short (on second glance). I don't really know Buckeyes at all, a had a couple a while back but they were just for my yard flock, not trying to accomplish anything with them. I just wanted to say that I wouldn't hold back from using him on the basis of his relation to your other birds. Father to daughter/grand daughter, uncles to nieces, etc., are all perfectly acceptable. Remember, they are not human. If he has traits that you want to fix into your Buckeye flock, I would suggest using him. The only mating that I know of that is hotly disputed in some circles is a brother/sister mating. He has good size so he could make some good eating birds for you when you cull. If you have some females that have points to strengthen his weaknesses... ?

Lacy, thank you for your comments. They are much appreciated. I have no objection breeding him back to his get( this term is used in horse breeding, is is applicable with fowl as well?). When one keeps breeding back to the same sire, one can also breed back the faults and lessen the gene pool. How many times would (should, can?) breed back to a good bird? I could use him for a late hatch. When does a rooster's virility lessen to the point where fertility is an issue? This bird is stocky and as I stated, fathered great roasters, but is he too stocky to be considered a well shaped buckeye? While I do eat my culls, I do want to maintain breeding fowl as close to the standard as I can. I am still working on better hens. This seems harder to do, maybe because Ineed more of them and if I was holding them to a higher standard I would have too few for breeding next year. I will say that because of this thread, I have decided to keep a hen that has no "cushion". She does however have a funky eye color(tannish). Most of my hens do have a cushion. How many birds do most of you hatch in order to get, say, 5 good breeders for the next year?

Those are very good questions that many novices would like to read the answers....

 

[Pathfinders]

Rooster 1(Johnny) 1 Year old, 7.5 lbs

Ginny has asked me to comment on this male as he is descended from a hen she hatched from eggs I sold her several years ago, so here I go. (Note, this is being done on only one cup of coffee, so if I miss something, don't string me up please.)

Visually I like this cock bird a good deal. His color is quite nice, with no speckling or bleeding through in the body or the hackles. I believe she said he had good slate bar, always a good thing. I like that his tail has retained a good green gloss, some birds trend towards maroon, which is less than optimal. His legs seem a little short, but that's not a huge problem, given his breadth. I like his front especially, he's nice and broad in the chest, which is a very good thing. His wing carriage seems correct, although Ginny did say he's got some odd thing happening with the feathers there, not sure what that's about. I guess I'd see if he threw that in his offspring, and if he did, I might take him out of the breeding program if so, as that might be a twisted feather sort of issue.

His weight is low, he should weigh 9 pounds. So that's a problem. If he were pen bred to large hens, and the offspring were bigger, that would fix that issue.

His comb is a little large, but believe me, getting a perfect pea comb is HARD! His wattles seem correct, as does his eye color from what I can see. All in all I would probably keep this bird in my breeding program if I had large/heavy hens to breed him to, and if he felt right when I evaluated him using the ALBC charts (I hate doing photo evals, but this is the best I can do here.)

Hope this helps.

 

[delisha]

What do you get when you breed Hanks descendants to Johnny? I like them both for different reasons. I would think 150 chicks might get you three great birds.

 

[1muttsfan]

As far as inbreeding crosses, the most important thing is to cull, cull, cull. For breeding, keep only excellent birds with no serious faults in conformation and temperament. Inbreeding does increase the possibility of fixing bad traits, so removing all of those birds is an important part of the process.

 

[fowlman01]

Thank you. Could you comment on my birds? My comments are those of a novice. I really would appreciate comments about my birds from All of you with more experience. Thanks!

I am on my way out to a judging weekend, but before I leave I will say this. Your birds look very good overall, the only concern I would have is the size of the males.

Walt