CSU - Chicken State University- Large Fowl SOP

[Zanna]

In my Hovabator, the tall basket won't fit...so if i use the plastic I use the same type only shorter in height and slip them inside a onion bag. Also there are wire mesh office drawer baskets that are ready made and cheaper than the wire hardware cloth. I slip them inside a bag also. They have a mesh bottom which doesn't inhibit the humid air flow and are dishwasher safe.
My Columbian Wyandotte pullets and hens have yellow legs especially when they free range. Laying an average of four eggs a week, the leg color fades to cream when they begin molt while laying.
Out of 75 CW chicks so far this year I have saved back 5 pullets and two cockerels. In another pen containing Black daughters from the CW rooster and a Blue hen, I am getting a small percentage of black chicks with yellow shanks and feet. These chicks will be allowed to reach 3 months before I first cull unless there are noticeable faults.

I use the wire mesh office drawer baskets and just flip them upside down in the hovabator rather than making a lid or using a bag. The chicks can't move around a ton but I would think they could not in a bag either and I have not had a problem yet. I use up to three so that leaves four compartments for keeping track of single matings.

 

[1muttsfan]

Carotinoid pigments are stored in several areas of the body. These including the skin (in yellow skinned breeds), blood, and in the body fat of non-laying birds. In laying birds, it goes directly into the egg, and none is stored in the body (Genetics of the Fowl, F.B. Hutt). So hens on feed with not as much carotinoids, or those great layers who use a lot, will mobilize some from their body stores. White-skinned breeds still store pigment in the blood and body fat and can mobilize it from there if needed.

 

[Lacy Blues]

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The cockerel on the left has the broadest back and tail of any in the flock, but his back is too short. This is the guy who keeps mounting my boot. At least he is nice about it He will make the initial cut just because I like his wide back and tail. He may not make it into the breeding program due to the short back. The pullet on the right has a wider tail than most of the other pullets and does not have any sign of a "waist" or cushion development at this point. Some of the others do, and I do not want birds with cushions:



Sarah

If you have a female with a nice long back, I'd definitely use him. If not, keep him til you do. Perhaps he will get longer as he matures?

 

[bnjrob]

Purple barring is an issue in literally all of these birds. They all have a green sheen, but they also all have varying degrees of purple barring. Purple barring is a defect in black birds. I am hoping it goes away by the time they are in adult plumage, but so far it has been persistent:




I am new at this chicken-evaluating business, so I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

Sarah

I would say go for type and not worry about the purple just yet. After you breed them and see what the chicks come out like, then you might start worrying about that purple a little more. In the antique book Laws Governing the Breeding of Standard Fowl, written by a poultry judge in the early 20th century, he noted that in- and line breeding would eradicate purple barring as evidenced by his experience handling Black Langshans. If you need to get rid of some males sooner rather than later, pick the best ones for size and vigor, then look at their backs/tail angle to help narrow down.

Try turning your photos into black and white. That way you can get rid of the coloring and look strictly at their shapes. Make notes on who you like and don't like, and then before you cull, study them to make sure that they didn't hold themselves funny in the photo to make them look like they have a worse flaw than they really do. Black and white photos help you disregard any color issues and help you focus better on size and type.

 

[ronott1]

I found this information very interesting. I am curious about the part about pulling the yellow color from the legs to color the yolks though. Hens that don't have yellow legs can still lay eggs with yolks that are just as yellow, so in their case, from where are they pulling the yellow?

They probably do not pull the color from the legs. The pigment is not available for coloring the legs.

It seems like this would be a case on needing better nutrition, not something to be "expected". If the egg yolks are not a dark yellow on white legged chickens I would look into getting them more green leafy vegetables in their diet. My yellow legged hens keep the yellow color all year long.

 

[fowlman01]

Well, I've looked and I have NO idea where they may have gone but I can't find the pics of my Buckeyes from the 2011 Winter show. So, I'm having to go from memory (which is NOT the best) but here is a pic of a cockerel that I think is last year's son from the cockerel I mentioned:




I took this pic to point out the beetle green smut showing up in the wing bays and the pinkish legs. The one I took to the show the year before didn't have that but I think the tails was about the same length. I saw where Walt is gonna be away but hopefully you'll see this when you get back and can comment.

Also, since I'm posting a pic, here are a couple of last year's pullets:

​

Happy to hear any feedback and critque of these two.

God Bless,

Royce

Sorry for the delay responding....didn't see this after I returned. The tail is a little long, but I have seen worse in Barred Rocks. As Ginny observed: There is something going on with the male. I'm not sure if it is just the picture, but it appears that is is shallow in the front end and the wings are lower than they should be. The back has a little cushion...or it looks that way in the picture, but the back is not going uphill like some of the males pictured early on. The leg color is off, but I suspect that is a feed issue.

RE: the females..they have a Plymouth Rock look to them with the back looking like it is going uphill in the pictures...along with the greater depth of the body than a Buckeye should have. Females rarely have wing carriage problems.

That male on these females might put you right where you want to be....or at least closer. Pictures are a terrible way to judge chickens.

Walt

 

[MagicChicken]

I would say go for type and not worry about the purple just yet. After you breed them and see what the chicks come out like, then you might start worrying about that purple a little more. In the antique book Laws Governing the Breeding of Standard Fowl, written by a poultry judge in the early 20th century, he noted that in- and line breeding would eradicate purple barring as evidenced by his experience handling Black Langshans. If you need to get rid of some males sooner rather than later, pick the best ones for size and vigor, then look at their backs/tail angle to help narrow down.

Try turning your photos into black and white. That way you can get rid of the coloring and look strictly at their shapes. Make notes on who you like and don't like, and then before you cull, study them to make sure that they didn't hold themselves funny in the photo to make them look like they have a worse flaw than they really do. Black and white photos help you disregard any color issues and help you focus better on size and type.

The cockerels will have to be culled long before their tail angle has developed so I'll be going by back length and slope, back and tail width, keel length and depth, and overall "jizz." (Jizz is a birder term for the impression you get from a bird based on a quick view, general shape and behavior.) I mentioned the barring earlier to document the issue. Couldn't select for/against it at this point even if I wanted to. They all have it. I put the pullets in with the laying hens last night. It's a little more peaceful in the chicken yard but the hens are annoyed at not being let out today. The initial cull starts this weekend...

 

[bnjrob]

The cockerels will have to be culled long before their tail angle has developed so I'll be going by back length and slope, back and tail width, keel length and depth, and overall "jizz." (Jizz is a birder term for the impression you get from a bird based on a quick view, general shape and behavior.) I mentioned the barring earlier to document the issue. Couldn't select for/against it at this point even if I wanted to. They all have it. I put the pullets in with the laying hens last night. It's a little more peaceful in the chicken yard but the hens are annoyed at not being let out today. The initial cull starts this weekend...

How many do you think you are going to keep for now?

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:
I moved the pullets in with the laying hens yesterday to separate them from the cockerels and buy me some time. The cockerel cull will happen in stages. I'll cull one or two in the next couple of days. Will take out 4-5 more in a week or two. Then I'll sit with them for a while before taking another 4-5. Should leave me with 3-5 cockerels. Final number will depend on flock dynamics once the numbers are a little more balanced. My goal this year was one decent trio, so I really only need one cockerel. 3-5 would give me some backup birds just in case.

One of the cockerels I thought I wanted to keep has started getting agressive with me. I'm attempting to school him. Hope he responds. If not, he's out of here.

 

[bnjrob]

I moved the pullets in with the laying hens yesterday to separate them from the cockerels and buy me some time. The cockerel cull will happen in stages. I'll cull one or two in the next couple of days. Will take out 4-5 more in a week or two. Then I'll sit with them for a while before taking another 4-5. Should leave me with 3-5 cockerels. Final number will depend on flock dynamics once the numbers are a little more balanced. My goal this year was one decent trio, so I really only need one cockerel. 3-5 would give me some backup birds just in case.

One of the cockerels I thought I wanted to keep has started getting agressive with me. I'm attempting to school him. Hope he responds. If not, he's out of here.

Yeah, backup males are a good idea. You just never know. That one may get easier to manage when the dynamic changes as you start taking males out of the picture. Might also get better once he is put with females. If all you wanted was a trio, then you have your pick of males that's for sure. Going for big with long backs should do ok for you for preliminary culling.