Euskal Oiloa ( Basque Thread)

[ronott1]

Yes he has some filling out to do for sure. I have hatched some hefty boys this year!!!

The Breast structure is very nice on him so I am sure he will fill in nicely.

I bet he is very friendly too.

 

[Flat Rock farm]

"gmb" on the EO Forum has him and she says yes he is very friendly, one of the things that saved him from the freezer!!

 

[CackleJoy]

Some of my new flock

This is my gingery-est of the girls to-date. I have some 4 wkrs that arn't showing their colors very well yet. I don't know if the black in her mantle is bad or not but I think she's the best I've got to work with. Input on that black?


I really like this one, she is almost buff with ginger lacing. A very pretty girl, I will probably use her until I have more to choose from.



This one is almost Mille Fluer. Should she go in the breakfast makers hen house? How strict are you all in culling?


A baby roo so far they pretty much look the same to my untrained eye. I will need some pointers on what to keep in about 16 weeks.


I'm afraid it's another MF pullet. So far out 10, I have 4 roos & 2 mf pullets. The last pullet's gingery-ness is TBD. Would you use the MF hoping to grow out some gingers & replace them?

Let me know what you think. I am really enjoying these birds! It appears that you could almost separate them into two distinctions, the ginger color and the spotted.

 

[Laingcroft]

If you want to move forward you have to cull EVERYTHING that does not fit the standard with the possible exception of solid red hens with good type or exceptional hens that have only one fault, like white legs. Just be aware that you should then cull EVERYTHING that doesn't meet the standard in their offspring or you won't make any progress.

By cull I don't mean get rid off completely if you don't want to, just DON'T put them in the breeding pen or collect/hatch those eggs.

I culled all white legs with one exception because her type and color is so good. I kept the best of her offspring to go forward and removed her from the breeding pen. I cull all the white sports, all mille even just a spangle or two, all smutty hens, all willow or poor yellow legs, double spurs, spurred hens and poor type. I have only just started looking at the eyes, being less tolerant of pinched tails and egg production (size, shape, frequency).

Looks like you have some good ones to move forward with. A trio is all you need to get started.

 

[CackleJoy]

If you want to move forward you have to cull EVERYTHING that does not fit the standard with the possible exception of solid red hens with good type or exceptional hens that have only one fault, like white legs. Just be aware that you should then cull EVERYTHING that doesn't meet the standard in their offspring or you won't make any progress.

By cull I don't mean get rid off completely if you don't want to, just DON'T put them in the breeding pen or collect/hatch those eggs.

I culled all white legs with one exception because her type and color is so good. I kept the best of her offspring to go forward and removed her from the breeding pen. I cull all the white sports, all mille even just a spangle or two, all smutty hens, all willow or poor yellow legs, double spurs, spurred hens and poor type. I have only just started looking at the eyes, being less tolerant of pinched tails and egg production (size, shape, frequency).

Looks like you have some good ones to move forward with. A trio is all you need to get started.

Thank you for the detailed response! I was out looking at legs and so far they are a nice rich yellow. I don't have the 4 wkrs in natural light yet so their legs are still a mystery. I'm afraid the two gingery hens are all I have in the red tones and may have to use them regardless of irregular color patterns. I think I need to see a correct bird and have the standard type explained to me. Anyone want to offer pictures?

 

[Laingcroft]

LOL There are pictures all over this thread and the EO Forum.

Here is a link to a Spanish website with a couple of pictures.

http://www.eoalak.com/es/content/marraduna-0

MaggiesDad and Hapless Runner have nice birds pictured on here. There are others too, but I can't remember off the top of my head.

 

[CackleJoy]

LOL There are pictures all over this thread and the EO Forum.

Here is a link to a Spanish website with a couple of pictures.

http://www.eoalak.com/es/content/marraduna-0

MaggiesDad and Hapless Runner have nice birds pictured on here. There are others too, but I can't remember off the top of my head.

Thank you,
It's hard to know without someone saying "And this bird has a straight back which we don't want whereas we do want a downward slope" or some other such thing. In a couple weeks my DH will be gone on business and I will be bored (hysterical laughing, 4 children) so I'll hunt up proper type then. It will be a fun project.

 

[HaplessRunner]

As I reported the results of my first experience in showing chickens, I indicated that I took time to discuss the draft SOP with APA judge and obtained his comments on both the SOP and cockerel that I showed.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/510045/euskal-oiloa-basque-thread/3440#post_12381312

There were three APA judges at the Virginia Poultry Breeders Association show on November 23, 2013. The judge that evaluated my EO cockerel and the draft SOP was Paul Gilroy. He was happy to provide some input. Several folks that I met at the show indicated that Paul was a well known leghorn judge.

He reviewed the draft several times and offered only one comment on the SOP that was very minor and really more of a recommendation.

• Paul recommended that we include an illustration of the "ideal type" that we want the EOs to be compared against. This would be especially helpful for those who are not familiar with the breed.

Paul liked my cockerel, pictured below, and indicated that he would have liked to have seen some pullets too. Unfortunately, I did not bring any pullets to the show and this cockerel was the only EO in the show.

Here comes the judge, here comes the judge, getting ready.

The results are in!

Best in Breed/ Best in Variety (of one competitor

)




As you will note the draft SOP was attached to the cage for viewing and review. I did not include the write up for the Gorreia since I do not have that variety and none were shown. I felt that this would be more of a confusion point than helpful given there was only a marraduna basque cockerel in the show.

As far as interest goes, I chatted with 10-15 people who stopped to check out the EO. Many folks liked his size and robust build. Almost everyone I talked with had never heard of EOs. With respect to breeders, the reactions were mixed. Some were interested but most were not.

All in all, it was a lot of work getting eleven chickens ready for my first show. But I absolutely enjoyed the show and the results. While the success that I had at this show I will gladly attribute to "dumb luck" especially with my ameraucanas, I like to think that I am starting to develop "an eye" for what looks good. I have always been a visual thinker and getting pictures in my mind of what things should look like has always come somewhat easily to me.

My recommendation for those who have EOs is to show them. This helps accomplish many goals.

• It advertises the breed - the more folks who desire these chickens, the more likely we will broaden the base and the number of breeders
• It builds a base case to support APA application - a long history of shows and educating APA judges along the way cannot hurt!!

A lot of work but a great experience and a great show. Enjoy!

 

[poplar girl]

I like the look of your cockerel Happlessrunner. He has nice color and type from what I can see.

The EO SOP is up for review on the EO forum as we speak. A more detailed description of type (back and body) and plumage has been suggested.
As well I did try out a change in the marraduna color description to shades of buff and after attending a show in Alberta last weekend and speaking with the two APA judges i am convinced that buff is not the correct color for what we want in marraduna. The current draft will be amended although deciding on the proper descriptor is a challenge as I don't believe there are any recognized breeds in North America of the same color.

 

[HaplessRunner]

I like the look of your cockerel Happlessrunner. He has nice color and type from what I can see.

The EO SOP is up for review on the EO forum as we speak. A more detailed description of type (back and body) and plumage has been suggested.
As well I did try out a change in the marraduna color description to shades of buff and after attending a show in Alberta last weekend and speaking with the two APA judges i am convinced that buff is not the correct color for what we want in marraduna. The current draft will be amended although deciding on the proper descriptor is a challenge as I don't believe there are any recognized breeds in North America of the same color.

For what it is worth, I updated the draft SOP with your most recent edits prior to the show. You may want to try the Online Auction Chart to find a color that gets close to what we are looking for. It is good for eggs and other descriptors and gets us away from our eyes and monitors since each person sees things differently.