A Heritage of Perfection: Standard-bred Large Fowl

[MagicChicken]

Looks like I have hit the three year crash-and-burn point with my Urch line of Black Javas. After last year's dog attack I was left with only three birds that were vaguely reasonable for breeding. I picked up a trio of Black Javas from another line as backup. This spring I did a series of test crosses trying to figure out if I could salvage anything from the remaining Urch birds. I wound up with some wry-tailed birds.

Turns out all three of those Urch line birds are carrying a wry-tail gene, because I got wry-tailed chicks out of both Urch hens when crossed with the Urch line cock. Which means most of the chicks I hatched this year are also likely to be carrying a wry-tail gene. Which means I don't really want to breed any of them. None of them is promising enough to bother working through the wry-tail issue. So this is the likely end of my breeding that line.

At this point I'm planning to stick with Black Javas, but I'm planning to change lines. I've asked my friend for another trio. Some of his birds have done well at local shows. They are solid birds. But they are annoyingly flighty. The Urch birds are much calmer, and are much more fun to be around. Maybe I can reduce the flightiness of the other line over time. We shall see.

In the meantime I am eating lots of tasty chicken. Life is good

 

[bnjrob]

Looks like I have hit the three year crash-and-burn point with my Urch line of Black Javas. After last year's dog attack I was left with only three birds that were vaguely reasonable for breeding. I picked up a trio of Black Javas from another line as backup. This spring I did a series of test crosses trying to figure out if I could salvage anything from the remaining Urch birds. I wound up with some wry-tailed birds.

Turns out all three of those Urch line birds are carrying a wry-tail gene, because I got wry-tailed chicks out of both Urch hens when crossed with the Urch line cock. Which means most of the chicks I hatched this year are also likely to be carrying a wry-tail gene. Which means I don't really want to breed any of them. None of them is promising enough to bother working through the wry-tail issue. So this is the likely end of my breeding that line.

At this point I'm planning to stick with Black Javas, but I'm planning to change lines. I've asked my friend for another trio. Some of his birds have done well at local shows. They are solid birds. But they are annoyingly flighty. The Urch birds are much calmer, and are much more fun to be around. Maybe I can reduce the flightiness of the other line over time. We shall see.

In the meantime I am eating lots of tasty chicken. Life is good

That just sucks.

 

[3riverschick]

Looks like I have hit the three year crash-and-burn point with my Urch line of Black Javas. After last year's dog attack I was left with only three birds that were vaguely reasonable for breeding. I picked up a trio of Black Javas from another line as backup. This spring I did a series of test crosses trying to figure out if I could salvage anything from the remaining Urch birds. I wound up with some wry-tailed birds.

Turns out all three of those Urch line birds are carrying a wry-tail gene, because I got wry-tailed chicks out of both Urch hens when crossed with the Urch line cock. Which means most of the chicks I hatched this year are also likely to be carrying a wry-tail gene. Which means I don't really want to breed any of them. None of them is promising enough to bother working through the wry-tail issue. So this is the likely end of my breeding that line.

At this point I'm planning to stick with Black Javas, but I'm planning to change lines. I've asked my friend for another trio. Some of his birds have done well at local shows. They are solid birds. But they are annoyingly flighty. The Urch birds are much calmer, and are much more fun to be around. Maybe I can reduce the flightiness of the other line over time. We shall see.

In the meantime I am eating lots of tasty chicken. Life is good

been there, done that multiple times with Golden Salmon Marans (except for the eating thang). Sorry to hear this. Hope your next line serves you well!
Onward and upward,
Karen ( now in Light Sussex)

 

[gjensen]

Looks like I have hit the three year crash-and-burn point with my Urch line of Black Javas. After last year's dog attack I was left with only three birds that were vaguely reasonable for breeding. I picked up a trio of Black Javas from another line as backup. This spring I did a series of test crosses trying to figure out if I could salvage anything from the remaining Urch birds. I wound up with some wry-tailed birds.

Turns out all three of those Urch line birds are carrying a wry-tail gene, because I got wry-tailed chicks out of both Urch hens when crossed with the Urch line cock. Which means most of the chicks I hatched this year are also likely to be carrying a wry-tail gene. Which means I don't really want to breed any of them. None of them is promising enough to bother working through the wry-tail issue. So this is the likely end of my breeding that line.

At this point I'm planning to stick with Black Javas, but I'm planning to change lines. I've asked my friend for another trio. Some of his birds have done well at local shows. They are solid birds. But they are annoyingly flighty. The Urch birds are much calmer, and are much more fun to be around. Maybe I can reduce the flightiness of the other line over time. We shall see.

In the meantime I am eating lots of tasty chicken. Life is good

I hope that your new start and effort is profitable. I hate starting over, but I do like new beginnings. I enjoy a fresh start.

The "personality traits" are heritable. You can select accordingly, but if they are all nervous and flighty, you will be swimming up stream. If that ended up the case, you could try to make improvements by introducing a outside cock down the road. Confidence is what you are looking for.

I have watched this play out with a project of mine. I used a bird for color and tail length that was a nervous wreck. At least the majority of his sons and daughters were very flighty. They were very nervous. I also had a lot of feather picking with his chicks. I am not sure what extreme you are referring to, but this bird is on the extreme end. I ended up only keeping some of his daughters. I cannot continue to go that route. I do not want cannibals, screamers, or nut cases. I would like to use him again for the length of tail and saddles. I cannot do it though. He is not good enough to deal with his downside that is as heritable as it is. The downside is too big.

On the other hand. I used the same hens with another male from a different strain. I had no behavior challenges in the brooder, and all of the offspring were active and confident. Same females. A different Sire, and vastly different personalities in both sons and daughters.

 

[neopolitancrazy]

  ...

 The "personality traits" are heritable...

I am quick to cull what I call the "stupid-crazy gene."

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:
Thank you for the insight on the heritability of flightiness. I suspected as much.

This new line is flighty, but not insanely so. The females are the worst. They are also smart and get into places I don't want them to go and then the other birds learn their tricks and my garden is toast. These may be good survival traits for free-ranging birds but they are not so much fun for management in more confined spaces.

The new line has calmed down some over the last year. I go in at night and gently handle the birds while they are roosting, so they get used to being touched. During the daytime I bribe them with scratch when I show up in the pen. Most of the younger birds run up to me now, expecting some kind of treat. But they startle more easily than previous years' birds and they are a royal pain to catch in the daytime. They are strong and squirmy and fast, and they are ultra-determined to get/stay away. It will be interesting to see what happens with this line in future years. I hope they gradually calm down. If not, I'll be rethinking my whole program.

Behavior. Yet another complication in the culling decision process.

Good thing I like eating chicken.

 

[gjensen]

Thank you for the insight on the heritability of flightiness. I suspected as much.

This new line is flighty, but not insanely so. The females are the worst. They are also smart and get into places I don't want them to go and then the other birds learn their tricks and my garden is toast. These may be good survival traits for free-ranging birds but they are not so much fun for management in more confined spaces.

The new line has calmed down some over the last year. I go in at night and gently handle the birds while they are roosting, so they get used to being touched. During the daytime I bribe them with scratch when I show up in the pen. Most of the younger birds run up to me now, expecting some kind of treat. But they startle more easily than previous years' birds and they are a royal pain to catch in the daytime. They are strong and squirmy and fast, and they are ultra-determined to get/stay away. It will be interesting to see what happens with this line in future years. I hope they gradually calm down. If not, I'll be rethinking my whole program.

Behavior. Yet another complication in the culling decision process.

Good thing I like eating chicken.

I shared my thoughts because it is something that I experienced again this year.

I am breeding a Mediterranean Breed. We are all aware of their reputations, though for some it is undeserved. I was pleasantly surprised by the character of my birds when I received them. They are far from flighty. All that you would want from a Med, but they are bold and confident in addition to their activity level. They are not nervous. They have the activity level, but they are not jumpy. Aware, but not paranoid. They are easy to work with.

As I work through this rebuild, I do not want to lose much of what sold me on them to begin with. That is where I am coming from. I do not mean to imply that we should all go the same way. I made the decision to use a bird that does not reflect the character that my birds have, so once is enough. I do not want to continue down that road. I do not want to lose a strength that I have.

Otherwise, I would only kill birds that represented an extreme. I typically would not get worked up for or against personality. There is enough to get worked up over already.

It can be a balance of sorts. I do not like lethargic roost potatoes. I would prefer the birds to be active and assertive instead.

 

[chicken pickin]

Saving my spot so I can go back and read

 

[NanaKat]

I've been selectingfirst string birds for the Columbian Wyandotte breed pens and have been banding them.
What other qualities should I be considering?

This Columbian pullet shows the round breast I look for

While these pictures are of a Blue Columbian, they show the characteristics I look for in a Columbian patterned bird for the breed pen.

A sharp clean contrast of white and color in the primary feathers. I would like to see more of the solid color on the wing

A narrow white edge on the tail feathers. This tail will fill out.

An even expanse of white edged feathering in the cape with good color contrast ,a good eye color, a proper ear lobe, a nice wide head, with good texture on the comb and wattles.

A nice straight comb, wider at the beak and tapering to a nice tip. The comb must follow the skull.

A nice buttery yellow shank and foot with nicely shaped toes.

A nice white back with no ticking that is wide both at the shoulders all the way down the back to the tail

A tail tent with a wide teepee. I should be able to place my full palm between her legs feeling a straight keel with plenty of room for organs and egg production

Wings held close to the side with a nice horizontal line.

 

[Wisher1000]

Beautiful. Just beautiful. With those points considered, you can't go wrong. Keep up the good work!