This is a handsome fella.
If I can find a good trio of birds, I feel certain I could produce and set solid white birds within 5 years. I'm in the market for such a trio and will proceed to do so with dispatch.
I don't have the training or experience in chicken genetics required for the...
I wouldn't object to a reliable partner with whom to work on the whites. I know there are some pure whites in the US...just a matter of separating them from their current owners. I have one part of the puzzle (which I will not disclose here and now) but I still need some good stock to bring...
Doesn't seem to bother them...with in 5 minutes of being released from the 'keep', they are mounting hens and carrying on as if nothing has happened to them. I can't say they feel no discomfort anymore than a horse feels nothing when it's feet are trimmed and hot-shod but they live through it.
It depends. If they are long and mature, they can be cut at about .25 inch from the shank and usually there is blood and needs to be cauterized.
Some folks twist them off with a vice grip or similar tool. I generally cut them with a small carborundum tool, then cauterize. In time, they...
I'd cut off those spurs too! I have had a few serious injuries to hens over the years due to spurs that was totally my fault. Those things are just to easy to eliminate.