Old and Rare Breeds

[saladin]

I have some questions on showing. What are the different levels of it, I have herd of juniors?? is this a certain age group or what and what is aosp and the likes mean?? Thanks for any help.

Juniors means those 16 and under. You are either a junior or adult exhibitor.
AOSB: Any other Standard Breed.

Before Showing I would encourage anyone to go to several APA sanctioned shows and buy a Standard.

 

[fowlman01]

I did notice the trend with less hair we moved toward hardfeathered birds. LOL.
doc

Yes....along with some cognitive loss....I meant to post that picture in another thread.

w.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

About the breeding pens being set up. I have them set up in my mind but that's about it for the most part. We have about 2' of snow and more falling right now. We tried to have a rooster coop like we normally do, but some of them got out and others wouldn't stop fighting so that failed. Normally, I start hatching around the end of February anyway, so I still have time

 

[hallerlake]

About the breeding pens being set up. I have them set up in my mind but that's about it for the most part. We have about 2' of snow and more falling right now. We tried to have a rooster coop like we normally do, but some of them got out and others wouldn't stop fighting so that failed. Normally, I start hatching around the end of February anyway, so I still have time

It's still pretty cold here (by our standards), and summer heat is rarely an issue in Seattle. I usually start incubating in March. I have four Spitzhauben cockerels I'll be choosing from between now and then.

I've heard that one shouldn't hatch eggs from pullets and cockerels, only hens and roosters. Is this true or an old wives tale? I understand not hatching their early eggs, but once they've been laying a while, why not?

 

[Heidi Thatcher]

Some say the first eggs will produce crap chicks, weaklings or runtlings, however you care to look at it. Personally, and I hatch a lot of first eggs from some of my breeds depending on their rarity, I have seen zero noticible differences in point of lay eggs to established lay. But I guess all it takes is one person to have a bad issue to turn the whole thing around if they voice it enough. Thats just what I have found though.

 

[OSUman]

There's probably another reason for that then the lack of viability of the chicks, for some breeds you dont know what you have until they are a year or even two for some. I heard of an old Brahma breeder that would only use 2 year old hens for breeding because he wouldn't know what he had until then.

I've heard that one shouldn't hatch eggs from pullets and cockerels, only hens and roosters. Is this true or an old wives tale? I understand not hatching their early eggs, but once they've been laying a while, why not?

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

It's still pretty cold here (by our standards), and summer heat is rarely an issue in Seattle. I usually start incubating in March.

Here on our side of the state, we got down to -4 the other night and in the summer we get over 100 in the summer. Because of the heat, I try to be done by late May. Normally we hatch for our personal use until April, then we start selling eggs and hatching chicks to sell locally/raise up to sell started birds.

 

[Heidi Thatcher]

I can hypothetically see that for some show lines, but for backyards I wouldnt worry with something like that. Or perhaps I would agree with it for White Faced Black Spanish, or perhaps even Redcaps or Buttercups. Breeds with very slow maturing attributes. Genetic anomalies would show up well before 2 years if that were the concern, as would coloring. There must be some more obvious reason a Brahma breeder would wait until 2 years, please enlighten me.

Personally, and this is just me, I would never wait until 2 years. Especially with more rare breeds. With commons, leghorns and cochins and the like, I suppose it wouldnt matter since they are easily replaceable should something happen. But to chance "holding into" a bird for 2 years before even thinking of hatching anything from it? The birds could be killed, stolen, etc and there would be no progeny to carry on.

But, to each their own. Thats what makes the world so interesting and fun!

Always learning new things and finding new ways to do something.

 

[gallorojo]

If you can manage to wait 2 years to breed your birds your breed will be all the better for it. There is simply a major difference in MOST if not all breeds between a 6 month old bird and a 2 year old bird. I can understand not waiting if you only have one or 2 and you need to get chicks out as an insurance policy, fine, no problem. You often just don't know what you have if you breed young birds. Not to mention non standard attributes such as laying ability, broodiness, disease resistance, temperament , etc. . How can you tell what to breed for I'd you want to say select for or against broodiness and you only hatch from pullets? By using mature fowl for breeding, you automatically select for disease resistance, hardiness, and production over the long term. Which are the very characteristics most worth saving in the old breeds anyway, right?

 

[Lacy Blues]

About the breeding pens being set up. I have them set up in my mind but that's about it for the most part. We have about 2' of snow and more falling right now. We tried to have a rooster coop like we normally do, but some of them got out and others wouldn't stop fighting so that failed. Normally, I start hatching around the end of February anyway, so I still have time

You put all your roosters together in the winter? I'd like to do that for the sake of warmth but I'm afraid they would all kill one another. They have pens where they can see each other when outside and if I move anyone to a new pen, they fight through the wire. I have wire that is 2x4 welded spaces and I doubled it, with the other wire going the other direction so the spaces are about 2" square. I've used smaller wire but they either get their toes caught in it and then subsequently skinned or get hung up by their spurs. I haven't seen any bad injuries so far with the spacing like this but if I was to put them together... sheesh!

How long do you typically allow the fighting to go on before they either stop or you separate them back out?