Arkansas Blue egg layers

[ackie]

I have horrible luck with completely docile birds haha. I would love to incubate some eggs, though I would feel awful if I killed them all.

 

[ronott1]

I have horrible luck with completely docile birds haha. I would love to incubate some eggs, though I would feel awful if I killed them all.

Do not worry about it!

 

[1muttsfan]

There's lots and lots and lots of eggs. If you have bad hatching luck, just consider it practice.

 

[ackie]

In that case, I would love some. This sounds really cool. I have never had eggs shipped to me before.

 

[ackie]

Okay so in terms of breeding.
Say you get a dozen eggs and magically they are 11 hens and 1 roo.
can you safely breed those hens with that roo?

phrased better: how do I ethically continue this line from the eggs I get

 

[ronott1]

Okay so in terms of breeding.
Say you get a dozen eggs and magically they are 11 hens and 1 roo.
can you safely breed those hens with that roo?

phrased better: how do I ethically continue this line from the eggs I get

Yes you can. The next generation breeds back to the parents.

Look up breeding schemes. After several generations it is good to try for some from a different flock but inbreeding is not much of a problem. With these though you need to work with the BBS(blue black splash) coloring. after several generations, you need to go back to a black rooster to keep the blue looking good.

 

[ackie]

that's really cool

 

[1muttsfan]

A lot of breeds are pretty limited in numbers, and some breeders also have a tendency to keep their lines fairly restrictive genetically. I have not had an outside source for eggs for several years, as there are so few people breeding these birds. They have stayed vigorous and hearty. I have placed a few small flocks locally, and hope to be able to get some of that stock back in a generation or two.
I always keep either a black or blue rooster, as breeding splashes together tends to wash the color out, as Ron said above.
I hope you are fortunate enough to get 11 hens and a rooster! You might want to consult the threads about hatching shipped eggs, they can be very helpful.

 

[ackie]

A lot of breeds are pretty limited in numbers, and some breeders also have a tendency to keep their lines fairly restrictive genetically. I have not had an outside source for eggs for several years, as there are so few people breeding these birds. They have stayed vigorous and hearty. I have placed a few small flocks locally, and hope to be able to get some of that stock back in a generation or two.
I always keep either a black or blue rooster, as breeding splashes together tends to wash the color out, as Ron said above.
I hope you are fortunate enough to get 11 hens and a rooster! You might want to consult the threads about hatching shipped eggs, they can be very helpful.

I intend to! How much does shipping eggs tend to cost? (I'm in Atlanta but a rough guess is great) And when are eggs available?

 

[1muttsfan]

I think the last time I shipped eggs it came in somewhere around $15. They need to go priority and still would probably take at least 3 days to get from here to there.

Right now my hens are on a laying hiatus, they have been molting and a few of them still look like old feather dusters. My three youngest birds are a little bit too young to be laying yet. in addition, I replaced my old rooster with a young one recently, and I think he's still a little young to be doing breeding. So I may not have eggs available to ship this fall. It is not a good idea to ship eggs in really, really cold weather as you risk them freezing during transit.

I'll start watching the eggs for bullseyes, and if I see good fertility I'll let everyone who expressed interest know.