Java Thread

[rsf31tmp]

if you don't mind, could you tell me some of the things that are wrong with the Auburn Javas? I am very new to this....what are we needing to fix?

 

[saladin]

Lol. The color to start with. I guess someone needs to define what 'auburn' is. I never viewed 'auburn' as being multi-colored; always sounded like one color to me.

How much does he weigh? Mary Ann said they tend to come smaller than the blacks or mottled.

 

[saladin]

I don't see Auburn as a black-tailed red. I could be wrong but that is a funny name for a long standing chicken color. I see Auburn as a deep red color (wine-colored?). If it is a black-tailed red (which I'm not sure it is) then what makes it different than a RIR?

For sure it is not going to be golden in hackles and saddle as are the 'auburn' Javas we see that have come about by to closely inbreeding.

 

[rsf31tmp]

Well My Rooster is a desendant from the Museum of Science and Industry birds in Chicago. He is pure Java, with the grey shanks and yellow bottoms of the feet. He is not pure Auburn....but we are trying. I think we had a pure java son hatched yesterday. We will see.

 

[rsf31tmp]

my newest pic of him

 

[saladin]

Quote:
Understand all that; I wasn't questioning purity (though I'll tell you anything that comes from a Museum makes it debateable immediately). I'm not one that uses the word 'pure' very often. I've been around way to long to put much stock in that kind of an idea.

Chicken breeds are defined by Type not Purity.

Type is about size much more than the color of the bottoms of a chickens foot. Weight is a crucial part of Type.

Always remember: There is more to a chicken than the color of his legs and earlobes. Best advice I was ever given.

 

[saladin]

Don't take any of my remarks offensive. That is not my intention.

I'm just asking questions and making comments.

I happen to know the source of the Javas on Garfield Farms and the Science Muesum. I've been at this a long time.

 

[saladin]

Auburns began to 'appear' when inbreeding was practised too closely. These recessives rose to the top.

Now with that said the question must be asked: From whence did they come?

Options include:
1. Auburn existed in the past. Maybe this is it?
2. From outcrossing that occured through the years to other breeds to ensure the viability of the Java after populations became so small.


We'll never know the answer for sure. BUT, I can guarantee that #2 is a whole lot more likely than #1.

The chances a recessive can go underground for over 100 years and then reappear: I can't fathom such a thing. Life just doesn't happen that way. That's 100 or more generations anyway you cut it.

 

[javachick]

Saladin

I have wondered about the Auburn Javas myself. I don't mean to hurt anyone’s feelings...
But my history with them was when I received my 2 dozen Black and White Java chicks from Garfield Farms Museum and hatched by the Chicago Museum of Science two years after I ordered them. I had several of the Black roosters started developing red in their neck feathers. They were very pretty, so I question a poultry judge about it at one of the kids’ 4-H shows and he told me that it was suspected that one of the sources Garfield Farms Museum received Java eggs from used RIR to strengthen their Java Lines. True, not true I don't know.

However I started culling any rooster with red neck feathering and any Black Java Chicken I had that I knew did not have White Java genes, with reddish colored eyes. I want true to type Black Java Chickens and try hard to stay true to the breed standard.

Personally, I thought the color that would most likely appear is Blue Javas... Black + White with the right percentages would produce Blues. There is history of Black Javas and history of White Javas but nothing about red/auburn Javas until recently and wouldn't the bird you would be breeding for look a lot like the RIR for an auburn java?

I really hesitated on posting because I don't know a lot about the Auburn Javas but I truely wondered about the genetics as a breeder.

javachick

 

[rsf31tmp]

good questions and I don't know the truth. But I love my Rooster and his color.

I am no expert!