Here is a 2013 spring pullet that is about 5 1/2 months old. She is not laying yet, but should soon. I would not show this pullet as she has too many faults in my eye, but she may make a good breeder if she lays well and has good egg color. She still has a lot of filling out to do.
It is hard to tell from pics the quality of a bird, but here is what I see in person.I am a bit of a perfectionist and really critical about my birds.
She is of good size, grew very well as a chick and carries a good amount flesh/meat. I can fit over 4 fingers ( I don't have huge hands though) between the end of the breast bone and her pelvic bones. Her pelvic bones are already spreading as I can fit nearly 3 fingers and she is not yet laying. Her back is pretty wide and tail well spread, though I would like both even a little wider. Leg color was excellent as a youngster on green grass, so I am not worried that her leg color has faded since being in a dry pen with regular feed.
I don't like that she doesn't have as clean of sweep/ curve from back to tail. Some of it could be because she is young and the problem appears worse because a randy cockerel has damaged a few of her back feathers already.
The color and pattern is where I would pick her apart the most. She has some shafting and peppering. Her lacing could be a lot cleaner and more uniform. There is too much red on the neck and head. Some of my oldest hens had just a small amount red on the neck, but hers is much worse. I will be working hard to correct these issues in the future.
She doesn't have any MAJOR faults so, I will have to wait longer and see as she matures. Overall mostly due to the color/pattern faults, she is still on the verge of being culled unless she lays well with good egg color. If she is productive, I will see if I can correct the color/pattern issues with breeding her to the right rooster.
I still have a lot of younger pullets and a few cockerels that made it through some strict culling and hopefully I will get a few better prospects to choose from. If not, I will learn from my mistakes and try to make better choices next breeding season.
Trisha
Here is another more candid picture of her.
It is hard to tell from pics the quality of a bird, but here is what I see in person.I am a bit of a perfectionist and really critical about my birds.
She is of good size, grew very well as a chick and carries a good amount flesh/meat. I can fit over 4 fingers ( I don't have huge hands though) between the end of the breast bone and her pelvic bones. Her pelvic bones are already spreading as I can fit nearly 3 fingers and she is not yet laying. Her back is pretty wide and tail well spread, though I would like both even a little wider. Leg color was excellent as a youngster on green grass, so I am not worried that her leg color has faded since being in a dry pen with regular feed.
I don't like that she doesn't have as clean of sweep/ curve from back to tail. Some of it could be because she is young and the problem appears worse because a randy cockerel has damaged a few of her back feathers already.
The color and pattern is where I would pick her apart the most. She has some shafting and peppering. Her lacing could be a lot cleaner and more uniform. There is too much red on the neck and head. Some of my oldest hens had just a small amount red on the neck, but hers is much worse. I will be working hard to correct these issues in the future.
She doesn't have any MAJOR faults so, I will have to wait longer and see as she matures. Overall mostly due to the color/pattern faults, she is still on the verge of being culled unless she lays well with good egg color. If she is productive, I will see if I can correct the color/pattern issues with breeding her to the right rooster.
I still have a lot of younger pullets and a few cockerels that made it through some strict culling and hopefully I will get a few better prospects to choose from. If not, I will learn from my mistakes and try to make better choices next breeding season.
Trisha
Here is another more candid picture of her.
