Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[BGMatt]

Hello! I was wondering if anyone could help me with picking out a breed of chicken for my first bunch of show quality birds? Me and my best friend are going to be buying hatching eggs, but can't seem to find any breeds we like that would be good for beginners.

We are looking for anything big (rooster 8-10 pounds, hens 6-8 or something similar), easy to breed, somewhat easy to handle, pretty (by this we mainly mean not plain black or white birds) and in a colour in the SOP... please help us, we need to find a breed soon!

Thanks,
David.

Attend your local shows and see what's available that catches your eye! Don't rely on others opinions on what's "good for a beginner" either, pick something that really appeals to you, you'll be happier, enjoy the birds more and stick with it longer.

I would however caution against starting with hatching eggs, especially if desiring show quality birds. That goes triple for a beginner. And then twenty times that if you were thinking of shipping eggs. Risky hatch rate, no guarantee of quality (even the best breeders only truly get about one in ten to be a real good show quality bird). You would be time and money ahead to find a breed you like, find a reputable breeder and buy a couple pair or trios.

Edit: With the parameters you mentioned, might be worth looking at Brahmas, Rhode Island Reds, Blue Langshans (I love all three but you mentioned not solid white or black), Salmon Favorelles, something like that.

 

[thedragonlady]

I have been thinking of getting NPIP certified and would love to hear the pros and cons from those of you who are certified.
I would appreciate to hear from the people who are not certified to hear why you choose not to get certified.

I have been going back and fourth on the idea of getting certified for the past 3 years. My biggest drawback is that I need to get under 100 birds and that will be challenging for me. I currently have 160. My goal is to get down to 130 before winter, but that is about as slim as I can get before having to make some really difficult choices.

The other major drawback is the setup of my facility. From what I understand, the testers only test birds 4+ months which means any un-tested birds need to be kept separated from the tested flock until they testers come back (12 months later). The logistics of this are nearly impossible. How do you guys manage this?

There is NO demand in SC for young birds who are untested, to be segregated from tested birds. They will be tested on the next test.If you want to show, or ship eggs, chicks, or grown birds legally to other states, you must be tested, or on NPIP.

 

[thedragonlady]

Well, if you are shipping birds, it's a plus as some States won't welcome shipped birds unless the flocks they came from is NPIP. Plus, I a told it makes it easier at the shows when you can just show your NPIP instead of having the birds blood tested. Tho I have only heard this last, not confirmed it.
Best,
Karen

You are not supposed to cross state lines without tested birds. Testing at shows can make a mess of your birds, if the testers hit a bleeder.Don't get caught crossing into Florida, or NC without testing. They will throw thr book at you.

 

[bnjrob]

Hello! I was wondering if anyone could help me with picking out a breed of chicken for my first bunch of show quality birds? Me and my best friend are going to be buying hatching eggs, but can't seem to find any breeds we like that would be good for beginners.

We are looking for anything big (rooster 8-10 pounds, hens 6-8 or something similar), easy to breed, somewhat easy to handle, pretty (by this we mainly mean not plain black or white birds) and in a colour in the SOP... please help us, we need to find a breed soon!

Thanks,
David.

To start with, if you are getting hatching eggs, then there is a much greater chance of getting chickens that have more flaws, making breeding to the SOP and showing them harder. Chicken genes can come out in all sorts of ways and if you're just going to get a few dozen eggs or less and hope for show quality birds, you may be disappointed. Better bet would be to buy some juveniles or adults from someone so that you can see what you're getting.

What is your definition of "easy to breed"? If you are talking about color, then chickens of one color - black, white, red etc. are going to be easier to breed for color than a chicken with more than one color and things such as barring, mottling, spangling. Of course you have already said you want "pretty" chickens, so if you don't think that chickens that have only one color are pretty, you've just severely limited your options for "easy breeding" if color is what you mean by easy breeding. Chicken breeding to the SOP is hard enough without trying to add in multiple colors or a pattern of color.

If you mean "easy breeding" as how easy it is to get a "show quality" bird with few faults to consistently reproduce "show quality" chickens with little work on your part - you may as well not even bother with this project because breeding birds to the SOP takes thought and care and just letting Mr. Rooster and Ms. Hen have sex in the barn is not going to get you what you say you want. A lot more goes into serious SOP chicken breeding than you might realize.

What exactly are you meaning by "easy to handle"? Any chicken can be easy to handle if you work with it. Are you able/willing to put in the time it takes to work with the birds to get them "easy to handle"?

Chickens have different purposes - egg laying, meat laying, and dual-purpose birds. If for egg laying, what are acceptable numbers of eggs laid per year in your mind? Are you particular about a size of egg laid or a color of egg laid? Are you looking for breeds that have a better feed to meat conversion? Are you wanting a chicken that can be used for meat and eggs? The utility (or lack thereof) of the bird is important in helping make a decision on what breed you'll get.

If all you want is something to take to shows - go to a show, buy some birds someone is selling, and then show those birds. That's the easiest way to get a show quality bird with the least amount of work and in the end, probably the least amount of money.

Do you have a copy of the SOP yet? Reading that book can give you a lot more insight into chicken breeding. You can see the illustrations of birds to see if any catch your eye. Then you can see what the Standard is for that bird and if you think you are up to breeding that type of bird to the SOP. Then you can do some more homework on the breed to see if it is really for you or not.

It sounds like you are getting so excited that you've put the chicken before the egg. You need to look at what your short and long term goals are with chickens and the amount of time/money you are willing to put into them (serious SOP breeding is not cheap like you may think) - doing that will help you narrow down a breed of chicken, the type of breeding you want to do, and even if you want to do this at all.

 

[bnjrob]

I can hear BOb's reply . . . . .

but I dont feel qualified to answer this one.

 

[maryhysong]

My state NPIP vet advised that the incubation for Fowl Pox is a week to 10 days. Then the birds are contagious until all scabs are gone.Mild pox on the combs and face is not the killer that Wet Pox is when it gets into the throat.So far, my fans, and my wrens, have kept that nasty bug out of here.

Thank you so far so good, as it appears to be the dry form. My 6 yr old roo did have one eye with some slight swelling yesterday but this afternoon it is nearly all the way open again and he continues to eat and drink; being older and in the middle of a heavy molt I was afraid it would hit him hard. There seem to be a few birds in each pen with a scab or two, some with none so far, and with the weather cooling off I"m hoping a good freeze will kill off the skeeters here shortly.

 

[3riverschick]

Hello! I was wondering if anyone could help me with picking out a breed of chicken for my first bunch of show quality birds? Me and my best friend are going to be buying hatching eggs, but can't seem to find any breeds we like that would be good for beginners.

We are looking for anything big (rooster 8-10 pounds, hens 6-8 or something similar), easy to breed, somewhat easy to handle, pretty (by this we mainly mean not plain black or white birds) and in a colour in the SOP... please help us, we need to find a breed soon!

Thanks,
David.

Hi,
Welcome to this thread! Glad to have you here. You live in my ol' stompin' ground. For my money, the loveliest place on earth. Dad built a house there in Cameron Park back in '63. Great memories.
Let's start with what you have. I see a plethora of different fowl in your existing flock. Is there any particular breed you like best from your existing flock? If you are just starting out, avoid the spangled, laced or barred breeds. They are difficult to learn to breed. Unless you are seeking a detailed project. How about Buff Orpington?
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/poultry/chickens/orpington/bufforp.jpg
Dragonlady breeds some lovely ones. If you can find a breed which is wildtype (BBR) and pure breeding, they are pretty... Black Breasted Red (BBR) cock with the salmon breasted, stippled hen. http://www.edelras.nl/chickengenetics/images/gen_mut/wildtype.jpg
Sounds like you like the red/gold/brown breeds. BBR is a lovely combination. The cocks have several colors and the hens set a pretty picture with their salmon breasts. the chicks are very pretty with their light brown bodies and chipmunk stripes which run from top of head down the back to the tail. From efowl.com website: http://tinyurl.com/ko2okmk
Several breeds have this coloring. It is a completely recessive color palette. There are no extra genes to modify or corrupt the color. Once it is breeding true, it just self-replicates. No need to balance colors to get the right hue. The trick with BBR is to get a strain that is already breeding true for BBR. It can be very difficult to try and winnow it out of a strain which has other colors corrupting it.
Best,
Karen
in western PA
w/ black and white Sussex.

 

[ronott1]

Hello! I was wondering if anyone could help me with picking out a breed of chicken for my first bunch of show quality birds? Me and my best friend are going to be buying hatching eggs, but can't seem to find any breeds we like that would be good for beginners.

We are looking for anything big (rooster 8-10 pounds, hens 6-8 or something similar), easy to breed, somewhat easy to handle, pretty (by this we mainly mean not plain black or white birds) and in a colour in the SOP... please help us, we need to find a breed soon!

Thanks,
David.

Check with your neighbor debs_flock. She has a lot of nice Quality birds.

 

[desertmarcy]

NPIP varies by state. So you'd need to ask either someone that has NPIP certification in your state or the state vet themselves about the age thing. Washington doesn't care about the young birds, but you have to have a minimum of 30 birds over the age of 16 weeks to even get tested, probably working under the assumption that the young birds were from the adult birds. You do have to have separate incubating and brooding rooms too which I thought was odd.

Arizona doesn't even have a NPIP program

 

[3riverschick]

One other thing, DavidILoveYou22,
Do listen to the other breeders and start with started birds.
I made the mistake 5 times of trying to start with eggs or
day old chicks. One can't see the quality of the birds-to-come
with eggs nor with day olds. I finally succeeded when a generous breeder allowed me to purchase some started Light Sussex from his
show flock. He had already culled the birds several times for
excellence so I would have a good start in the breed.
This is a good time of year to look for started birds. Breeders are
downsizing their flocks for over-wintering between breeding
seasons. Some really nice started birds out there. Another thing
is... if you start with started birds, you will still be on track to
begin hatching this Spring. Not so if you start with eggs.
Best,
Karen
In another life, living on the corner of Hillsborough Dr. and
Cedarhurst Ct. in Cameron Park.