Any ABA Judges Out There? I need showing opinions on these BB Reds.

[Tuffoldhen]

You asked for showing opinions from judges that's what your getting.

 

[MAllen]

Quote:
and if you're just looking for someone to talk down to I suggest you look somewhere else. I asked for help, not cheap shots about learning the language.

I think if you take another look at the photos of the rooster you'll find that the leg color and the comb are both correct.

Your OP said the male has green legs-go back & check. I assumed you meant green when you said green. IF he has green legs they're wrong. If they're slate they're right but he's still not a very good bird. Yes he has a rode comb but it's not a well formed ROSECOMB rose comb. His lobes are too small & have too much red in them [also true of the female. The female, does not have good BB Red colour. She's frosted around the edge of her feathers or so the picture appears.
Sorry you're so thin skinned. The smiley is meant to convey levity.
Also sorry if you hoped to hear you had wonderful birds, you don't. They're cross bred Banties, nothing more.
As to what you'll "tolerate” it’s an open forum & like other forums you run the risk of sometimes getting an answer you don't like. There's an old saying "if you're not sure you want the answer don't ask the question".

Very much to the contrary, these are the things that I wanted to hear about the chickens. I needed to 'hear' this in order to know where I need to go with them and I appreciate you taking the time to point out the faults as they apply to the chickens. Pointing out mine is an exercise in futility, there's just to many of them. I knew the rooster was not up to standard. This line has been free breeding for many years.

Now, as for the rooster, how do I fix the faults? The legs are blue/slate not green, my mistake. For the comb and the lobes, would I cross a rooster such as this back to a Rosecomb hen? Or would it be better to cross a hen of this color (not the pictured one, but one with a rosecomb) back to a Rosecomb rooster? I've gotten some good info on this from here, http://www.rosecomb.com/federation/articles/makingbbred.html , I'm just not sure where to start. Seems like the color is there so I assume fixing the comb & lobes is the best starting point, and I know the tail needs some work, but I think a cross back to Rosecomb would help with that as well.

 

[Pathfinders]

It's an old saying, but true: build the barn, then paint it. Work on getting the type on your birds correct, then work on getting color correct. You have enough to do to get type right to keep you busy for a while.

Since you seem to want to keep these birds and work with them, I would strongly suggest buying the very best cock bird with excellent type and color that you can find. Spare no expense. Put him over all the rose combed females (get rid of those with single combs.) Then hatch as many chicks as you can for the next year, setting every single egg. Cull hard for type, then color. After a couple of years you will theoretically have made some improvement. Then you may wish to bring in a pair of females from the same line you got the cock bird from, the very best you can afford. Keep working with them, and in about five year's time you will have birds you can show and do well with (in theory.)

But it's a lot of work. Personally, I'd start over with good birds from an established breeder, rather than trying to work with birds that are crossbreeds. But that's just me.

Best of luck to you, whatever you decide.

 

[Black Feather]

I think Pathfinders has stated it correctly. The birds look very much like a cross of Old English Game (OEG) and Rosecomb. Both of these breeds come in the color Black Breasted Red. The head of the roo looks more Rosecomb, but the body is more toward the OEG type.

I think you may want to decide which breed you like the look of better....the OEG, or Rosecombs. Do a little research online to learn about each breed. There is also a lot of information already on this forum about each breed as well, so do a search and see which catches your fancy the most.

I think one of the issues is that each of these breeds has already been bred to such a high level of quality that starting out with a mixed breed flock and trying to refine it into a show line will take a few years in the least, and many years if you are just starting out and don't know a lot about line breeding or inbreeding to improve your stock. It's a long difficult process. The rewards are great, but the time and effort are also great.

You would probably end up much more satisfied to purchase a number of high quality show birds from an established breeder of your selected breed and color, than trying to create it on your own. You'll probably spend less money too purchasing the most expensive show quality birds now and working with them, than you will spend in the long run raising hundreds of chicks to try and get those show quality birds. Just a thought

Each method has it's own advantages and pitfalls. Whatever you choose, good luck!

UC

 

[call ducks]

urban coyote and pathfinders you hit the nail on the head , to the OP try and find show lines it is will worth the money you pay for them

 

[NYREDS]

While in theory you could do as Pathfinders suggests & perhaps in a few years [I think more than 5] end up with birds worthy of showing. However, as Urban Coyote points out both BB Red Rosecombs & OEGB already exist in high quality. For $100 or maybe less you could buy a trio or better yet 2 pair of well bred birds & be generations ahead. Believe me you'll spend way more than $100 breeding the flaws out of what you have now.

 

[Msbear]

UC is an breeder of excellent rosecombs and will be much help in the future if you choose that route

I also breed rosecombs and love them. They are excellent foragers, very family oriented birds and have a strong, striking appearance with delicate facial features.

Your roo is a beautiful bird. I like him. Some rosecomb breeders use oegb, dutch, leghorn and other breeds to begin a new variety/color. This could be a way to begin your own line. Your birds look healthy and vibrant and you may have some show worthy in a few years or more if you get a couple well-bred bbreds to toss in with them. Show what you got til then so you can compare them up close with excellent birds. It may take you a few years to develop an eye of what to look for anyway.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I am not sufficiently knowledgeable about either rosecomb or oegb breeds to address the other issues, but as to the comb, male birds pure for rosecomb have decreased fertility. A double dose in females does not have that affect. I highly question that only the females have both types of combs. I would assume that the neighbor simply does not keep the males with single combs, just the females. Anyways, by keeping and breding a rosecombed bird with a single combed bird, none of the males will be double gened, so fertility should not be an issue.

I'd suggest talking to the neighbor and asking the history of the birds, his goals, what he started with, the combs and other questions that may come up.

 

[EweSheep]

i agree with Pathfinders and UC. I'd rather start all over rather than trying to fix the future generations and it would take me a long time to get THAT good! However if you are working with a rare breed, it may be the route to go and you will not show your birds in a long time until the goal is achieved or nearly achieved.

If you really want to know how good your birds are, go to a APA show and see what you will get. Be open minded about what the judges say about your birds and why they are being placed if you get less than 1st place or champion.

Personally I do not own OE's but I have seen some really good ones. Even your rooster is handsome but there is work needed to get there. The hens need more refinement, delicate features rather than coarse looking head. I like to see pullets and hens in feminine looks that you can spot them a mile away knowingly they are females.

Good luck with your endeveror and hopefully you will see where you need to go.

 

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

Quote:
All I know is my husbands always says...I don't know why we don't continue to try to raise some of those birds Erin has. They are "strikingly" beautiful....blah, blah, blah! My answer is this, I cannot raise both sebrights (sons choice) and black rosecombs (hubbys choice) as I do not have the space. Look at my sig line as I have enough going on. So in my case the son won (secretly Dave likes the fiestiness of the sebrights, I don't).

Now that I have went on and on, I just wanted to say...do the math. 5+ years of housing, feeding, watering, etc vs. the cost of 2 quality pairs. The quality always wins. We have a bachelor pad for a few roos that hubby cannot bare to dispatch of

You could always keep you roo and two best hens so you can work on this project for fun

Best of Luck