True Blue Whiting info please?

[shortgrass]

if they are flighty and like to range  do yall think a 10 x 5 coop and a 20 x 20 run will be big enough for 20 hens?

No, most definitely not It will work for the first couple of weeks, but they will most likely start fighting in a coop that small, and will likely end up over the fence of the run...

My 18 layers have a coop that is 7x9 and their run is extra large, 150 feet by 50 feet, and they still go under and over the fence occasionally...

My free range flock won't even go in that coop lol; 4 sleep in a tree and the other 20 or so split themselves between a camper and another small coop, 6x6 and 8x10, and they outgrew their 150x20 run at about 12 weeks, or as soon as they noticed they could fly

It will depend on breed, but less than 3-4 sq ft per bird is actually quite cramped and can lead to issues.

 

[bowmanpoultry]

well the top of the run will be covered. if I let them out some during the day I wonder what the chances of them all returning are. my wyandottes and dominiquer always go back in their pen at night and I just close the door. these chickens sound wild like games. how similar are leghorns and games?

 

[shortgrass]

Well, I have no experience with games, but as far as them returning to roost, as long as they know it as "home", they should stay by it for the first few days before venturing too far away, and in that time, you might have to " herd" them into the coop at dusk for the first few days.

I've noticed that they really stick together with their own breeds, and it helps if they are brooded together as well, makes them bond more as a "family".

I have a young flock that follow the older hens' motions as well, so they are essentially trained by watching where the big girls go to lay and roost, so that can help too.

 

[MeepBeep]

OK I stated this earlier in the thread "photos can be quite deceptive without a color balance or known color reference in the photo" and it appears my point has been proven...

Tonight I browsed their site and I would swear they did a huge contrast and brightness correction to their egg color photo? Anyone else have an opinion on this?

**EDIT nope I was not seeing things they doctored up the colors of their images, hmm....

The below images are not altered by me in any way they are the original images at the original size(s) as downloaded directly from the Murray McMurray Hatchery at two different times...

Old original Image uploaded to McMurray website on November 20, 2015 at 19:16:32 GMT (Hidden image data says it's from an iPhone 6 plus taken on October 1, 2015)

New 'photoshopped' Image uploaded to McMurray website on December 6, 2015 at 15:56:35 GMT (All hidden image data stripped from photo)

They bumped the heck out of the brightness on that doctored photo...

 

[shortgrass]

You know, I noticed the picture ofvthe BIRDS had changed, but I didn't even notice the eggs... But you're right, it looks different than I recall....

They obviously had cropped the flock photo, but editing the color? That seems strange, since they seem to have edited the eggs to a GREEN egg.

I don't know if its necessarily deceptive, but it IS strange. Lol maybe they've been getting complaints about the poor picture quality and are trying to improve them?

Put a white egg in a basket and the blue/green ones next to it and snap a pic, McMurray, how hard can that really be lol?

 

[enola]

The best, perhaps most accurate way I know to take pictures of colored eggs is to put them on a white back ground in natural light.

 

[MeepBeep]

The best, perhaps most accurate way I know to take pictures of colored eggs is to put them on a white back ground in natural light.

IMO the best way to photograph egg color is to photograph it with a knowing color reference in the same picture...

The cheap way to do this is to get paint sample card of the same or close colors from a local paint store (Walmart ones would work well as almost everyone has a local Walmart they could visit and get the same card) and use that in the photo... That way the egg and the sample card are photographed in the same lighting and with the same camera settings, any color shift in the photo can easily be referenced to the known color on the sample card and adjusted properly by anyone that has the same paint card...

I noticed the picture of the BIRDS had changed

They lowered the resolution of the group shot and photoshopped the lighter eggs into the single bird picture... Again images unaltered as they appeared on site...

Original image resolution 3748 x 2032

New image resolution 1200 x 651

Original

New

 

[MeepBeep]

That seems strange, since they seem to have edited the eggs to a GREEN egg.

If nothing else it appears they edited them down to a real diluted and pale mint blue/green or mint blue color...

Interesting as the one question on the page asked

Q: "If they are called Whiting True Blue, why is the discription of the egg "green" in the breed profile?"

A: "They do lay a blue egg. Thanks for catching the mistake. We will get that changed!"

If 'true blue' eggs were the goal and the new photo better represents what the eggs really look like they missed their goal of a 'true blue' egg color and diluted the color in the breeding process as bluer eggs can be found even in run of the mill mixed breed Easter Eggers...

 

[Sierra987]

I have a few Whiting hens purchased locally. Blue egg layers, green egg layers and a Rhode Island (Production) Red. I purchased these at point of lay from a woman who purchased the chicks when a local store cancelled their order. They were raised free range and were pretty flighty when I got them but settled down as they started laying. The flightiest one is still better than my hatchery Partridge Rock. They wouldn't be happy in a tractor ( but none of my hens would be) and long as they have a little room they're fine. They stay in a 4' fence for the most part except if you move them around and they want to go back to the old spot but even then they don't go far and usually put themselves back where they belong. The blue egg layers are a separate line from the green egg layers with the green egg layers being a little better but both are very good. This is their second winter and they're just now starting to look like they're going to molt. The blue eggs I get are pale but definitely blue, not green. The eggs are typically 60 - 70gm. My blue egg layers have slate and willow legs, modified pea combs, muffs and a beard. My green egg layers have yellow legs, single combs and are clean faced. Obviously this is a little different than what McMurray has but I've been very happy with mine and will probably get a few new chicks this spring.

 

[Sierra987]

Here is a pic some point of lay Whiting blue egg layers that were for sale at the local Murdochs this past summer. Again these are not necessarily the same as what McMurray is offering but come from the same background.