show quality speckled sussex ??

[Buns]

Quote:
To me #1 has the worst head by far. I would need a straight on shot to be certain though. If we are going to do this, try a straight on and a side shot. It will be much more revealing.

Walt

Wow, this is absolutely great!!! On the horse forums I have been a part of there is great hesitation to say ANYTHING negative about someone else's animal. This will truly be a learning experience for me and I want to thank anyone who takes the time to give their opinion. Just so you know, I looked and drove a great distance to acquire these birds. They are, by far, the best I could find. Hopefully I will be able to salvage the best from this flock and create something worth having.
AND I just learned what a "thumbprint" refers to!
Walt, it's too dark now to take more pics. I can do straight on's maybe tomorrow.

 

[Buns]

da feet

#1

#2

#3

 

[RustyHen]

To me #1 has the crow head, the eye is set way to far back and the crown of the head and bottom of the beak are very close together, I guess what I'm trying to say is the head is flatened and long and that is pushing the eye backward.
All of the combs seam to be off and the legs are maybe a little slate colored, maybe pics though.

 

[Buns]

Quote:
LOL! Thank you for your honesty.
Oh my... sounds as if there is no hope for this bunch at all!

Maybe when we get to some other anatomical part we'll find a worthy feature. <G>

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:
# 1 has da crooked toe on right foot. good spacing between the legs though. #3 may also have a crooked toe, but can't see it well. Right middle toe.

On the head of most chickens you want a wide skull, some breeds very wide. (Cornish, Brahma's etc). Wide is kind of hard to explain, but once you see some from straight on or from the top down it will be easier to explain.

Walt

 

[RustyHen]

Quote:
LOL! Thank you for your honesty.
Oh my... sounds as if there is no hope for this bunch at all!

Maybe when we get to some other anatomical part we'll find a worthy feature. <G>

PM d you

 

[lauralou]

Buns, thank you so much for offering up your birds for critique! It's awesome to be able to ask for another angle and get it. I think that maybe I see what we're talking about with the head of Hen #1. It does resemble the drawing of the crow head rooster in the SOP. Can't wait for the different angle picture.

Hen #2 I don't see the thumbprint. I'm not very familiar with that defect. Perhaps a bit of a twist on the comb. Otherwise, she's lovely to my eye.

Hen #3. I see nice head and neck, comb not so nice. It's that middle point...

I wish I had enough experience to give tips on how to breed these ladies, but I don't. I would really like to see shots of the rooster's head, to see what you have to work with there. We are all going to have to work with what we have, so I'm curious about which defects rule a bird out of a breeding program. Say for example, ugly comb, but nice long back and good tail angle. Doe the comb rule the bird out as a breeder?

Crooked toes: I've heard that this can be caused by problems during incubation. I've never seen it, and I have attributed this to the fact that I don't use an incubator. I have broody hens. Do the experts think that it could be a genetic flaw and something we need to consider in our breeding programs?

Also, are these beaks horn? I'm still a little confused on the color "horn". I have a set of bull horns hanging on the wall. My mother brought them home from Texas in the late 60's. So I thought I totally got the "horn" thing. But maybe I don't...

 

[math ace]

Quote:
Lauralou,

I am not an expert, but I do have experience with crooked toes.....

Sometimes they are the result of improper incubator temperatures. Those types of crooked toes would not be genetic.

Sometimes they are the result of vitamin deficiencies. These types of crooked toes would not be genetic.

Sometimes they are the result of chicks doing dives into the incubator fans OR getting their toes caught in the hardware cloth in the brooders.
These types of crooked toes are NOT genetic. LOL I have had each incident occur

Sometimes genetics is the issue. You won't know until you breed them and see what happens.

 

[math ace]

Quote:
To me #1 has the worst head by far. I would need a straight on shot to be certain though. If we are going to do this, try a straight on and a side shot. It will be much more revealing.

Walt

Walt, it's too dark now to take more pics. I can do straight on's maybe tomorrow.

What happened BUNS ? ? You said you would take more pics of the head and all I see are FEET!

BUNS, aim HIGHER with the camera! You are shooting too LOW!

 

[math ace]

Quote:
I have a few pullets with this brownish color bleeding through on the shanks and toes....
and mine have more brown bleed through - - - It is up the entire middle of the leg shank.
On Buns photo, the brown I am talking about is right above the center toe.

Is it a problem? If so, how big of a problem?