Naked Neck/Turken Thread

[DesertChic]

This guy has pretty amazing cochin type .. better feathering than several of my pure cochins... good round poof tail ... i ment to get pictures of him today but got busy ... still need to go down and move pens around...

Anyone have any recommendations on barred birds?
Got 2 hens yesterday who are barred ... is it best to cross them to a barred rooster... or can i keep the bars by breeding them with solid colors? Ill start posting some pics of these guys soon.

If you want to see barring on the females as well as the males then you'll want to cross barred with barred. I have some really nice buff and red barred males, but it's been much harder to get really visible barring in the girls. Right now this is the pullet showing the best barring for me:

 

[drumstick diva]

what a pretty girl

 

[drumstick diva]

Collie, I love your baby. What a beautiful expression

 

[Kev]

This guy has pretty amazing cochin type .. better feathering than several of my pure cochins... good round poof tail ... i ment to get pictures of him today but got busy ... still need to go down and move pens around...

Anyone have any recommendations on barred birds?
Got 2 hens yesterday who are barred ... is it best to cross them to a barred rooster... or can i keep the bars by breeding them with solid colors? Ill start posting some pics of these guys soon.

Congrats on a nice find on that cochin. Sounds like he will make your NN cochin project go pretty fast.

If you want strictly b/w barring, definitely breed only to either barreds or solid blacks with no other color(leakage) on them at all. Black is allright because barred is simply barring on a solid black chicken. Leakage is difficult to totally clear from a line..

Also.. if you do a black rooster with barred hens, that will be a sex linked mating.

 

[chickengr]

Looking for some advice on a cockerel please.

I have two pens, one with my hens and their cockerel, who's about 9-10 months old, and the other is my grow out pen which currently houses about 20 3 and 2 month old birds. My hens and he free range all day and I want to start letting the 3 month olds out, but the cockerel attacks them, both the young cockerels and pullets. He has taken to patrolling the circuit around their pen waiting for anyone to come out. I like the cockerel - he's a good protector and food finder for his hens, he is docile and easily handled, and he's a pretty fibro, which I want in my flock, but he's rough on the hens. He was brutal on an older hen who wouldn't submit to him, so much so that I rehomed her. I've been putting this down to clumsy adolescence and raging hormones, but isn't he getting a bit old for this behaviour?

I have some up and coming cockerels among the little 'uns, but I fear that I would be starting the whole adolescence thang over in replacing him with a younger bird. How do you all introduce young birds? When do cockerels settle down usually and what's your general criteria for a good roo (breeding for meat production aside)?

Thank you so much for any insights, experiences or advice!

Ancel

lock him somewhere for a day and then reintroduce him with the flock. roos don't like new chickens even pullets. you can introduce the young ones while he is away. at the time you bring him back he will be the only outsider. if you need keep him away for 2-3 days.

 

[islafarm]

@chickengr thanks! I'll try that. I got it into my head that the older hens will pick on the new ones and that he would keep the peace, but now that you say that it makes sense

thanks!

Ancel

 

[supersymmetry]

Looking for some advice on a cockerel please.

I have two pens, one with my hens and their cockerel, who's about 9-10 months old, and the other is my grow out pen which currently houses about 20 3 and 2 month old birds. My hens and he free range all day and I want to start letting the 3 month olds out, but the cockerel attacks them, both the young cockerels and pullets. He has taken to patrolling the circuit around their pen waiting for anyone to come out. I like the cockerel - he's a good protector and food finder for his hens, he is docile and easily handled, and he's a pretty fibro, which I want in my flock, but he's rough on the hens. He was brutal on an older hen who wouldn't submit to him, so much so that I rehomed her. I've been putting this down to clumsy adolescence and raging hormones, but isn't he getting a bit old for this behaviour?

I have some up and coming cockerels among the little 'uns, but I fear that I would be starting the whole adolescence thang over in replacing him with a younger bird. How do you all introduce young birds? When do cockerels settle down usually and what's your general criteria for a good roo (breeding for meat production aside)?

Thank you so much for any insights, experiences or advice!

Ancel

It can be complicated, but it really depends on so many factors... This is when it really helps to have a very precise and clear breeding plan, so that it can be your guide in decision making.

It sounds like you might not have enough space for your primary rooster and hen/s. Rooster's will always be aggressive to some extent. There is the occasional extreme case, however its probably more likely that something in: housing / run / # of chickens / roosts / amount of space / cover might need to be altered. It's something that might be solved by close observation and trial and error.

In my experience, the only way for chickens to 'sort out' their behaviors is to have them living in the same space for some time (at least a couple of weeks sometimes longer). This can be problematic, especially when there is an age gap and/or there is already an established pecking order. I wouldn't introduce new birds into an existing flock until they are really able to defend themselves, (I'd wait til 16 weeks or so) AND evade challenges (I would give them plenty of space with places to 'get away' within the coop AND the run).

There are several strategies to disrupting the flock dynamic...thus allowing new behaviors to emerge: Sometimes I will move the entire flock into a completely new space, sometimes I will just remove the alpha birds for a short time, sometimes I will re-divide breeding groups. It can also be as simple as changing some of the dynamics in the housing as I listed above.

About selecting the rooster:

It is so incredibly rare to have an animal that has everything you are looking for. It's all about compromises and trade-offs, balancing the good with the bad, and there are simply some things that are unacceptable; whether it is behavior or specific genetics or other. This is why it is so important to know what you want. Having a framework for selection and knowing what is best for your long-term vision will assist your decision in the short term.

Hope this helps, curious what others think.

 

[Kassaundra]

9 - 10 months is still his "teen" hormone filled behavior. If he is really hard on the girls maybe you should isolate him for a couple of months. But unless it is intolerable it is better in the long run if they work it out themselves. Only put the new ones in when they are big enough to defend themselves and w/ hiding places, and enough room, and in groups, like SuperS. said.

 

[jarvis]

Ok so here are pictures of my 3 turkens . The calico is the one i plan on using to start this project ... hes got a bow tie ... so prety much only gunna get 1/4 -1/2 turkens from crossing him over non turken hens correct? Also gunna cross the little white hen to him. .. or one of my best typed cochin roos...

And as a random bonus .. my standard turken roo

 

[DesertChic]

Ok so here are pictures of my 3 turkens . The calico is the one i plan on using to start this project ... hes got a bow tie ... so prety much only gunna get 1/4 -1/2 turkens from crossing him over non turken hens correct? Also gunna cross the little white hen to him. .. or one of my best typed cochin roos...

And as a random bonus .. my standard turken roo

Beautiful birds! That solid black tail on a white NN looks super cool! And did that white NN lay an egg while you were holding her?