Australorps breed Thread

[Gramma Chick]

Quote:
I like Max Too !
Dont take it personal when no one responds ..I have seen this thread go for days - a week with no one posting at all .
I miss your little chick flying avatar ...didnt realize you were the same person till I looked at your profile .
Thats how we learn asking questions .

We are all about the same age ! I am 58 ...The new york thread I am on most of the time ..they are all whipper snappers ..I am the oldest one ...there .
so Gramma Chick fits
Can you feather sex a Australorp ? or Aus mix ...?
I think I have a hen ...but not sure if you can tell this early

Hope you aren't asking me that! Remember I'm the one that bought two 8 week old "pullets" and that's how I now have Max!!!

---No I wasnt Asking you ...LOL

Thank you for the kind words. Think I was having a bad meds day and just misinterpreted a later comment. I apologize to all for any drama I may have caused.

That baby is so cute and makes me want mine to come now instead of April. I hope one of the wise ones on here answers your question, I would like to know if feather sexing works on Aussies as well.

BTW-the chick avatar is my Noodle that was hatched from the eggs we took away from my neighbor's crazy duck and shoved under my broody Aussie Momma that I lost last fall. (shhhh! I'm a chicki gramma a couple years older than you

ALL OF YOU -are closer to me in age than on the new york thread ..some there are in their 20-30 s

 

[tigercreek]

Stan,
Yep, some good advise. That is why I am waiting for the 3-8 hatch to see what kind of colors I have and then I will adjust accordingly.
My contacts "downunder" have advised me that you get better and darker lacing with blue, black combos, verses the blue spl combo or the spl black combo. Stating that the blues are lighter without the dark lacing if I use the last two combos. I am definitely in the learning stage here. I will be tickled pink to just get some blues and splashes on this first run. I need some numbers to figure out which way to go! Not to mention, "whose your daddy" and keeping those records for future breedings!
Kurt

Going to have to think on that one from the 'down under folks'. I know there is a lot of experience there, but I don't understand how those genetics work differently than they so up above. A single dose of the blue gene is a single dose, doesn't matter which half of the world you are on. I was told the same thing by a couple of people about the lacing in the blue rocks - said you would get darker and cleaner blues with blue over black. Didn't work out that way for me. When I asked about it, I was advised by genetic knowledgeable breeders that it did not matter. I never sod find a key to producing a greater number of the darker blues. When I used a splash over blacks, I got a combination of light and dark chicks. When I used a blue over black, I got a combo of light and dark chicks in about the same ratio. I guess my first question about your set up is, how will you know which bird sored which chick? If you get a nice, dark blue pullets, did she come from the splash or the blue????......stan

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

Stan,
You hit the nail on the head with your last statement, whose your daddy! With 5 breeding pens i did not want to build another, and the blue and splash cock grew up together. Once I separate them they can never be together again. I am definitely going to have to split them up and concentrate on whose your daddy. At the present I was just trying to make some more blues and splashes. It does complicate the way I have bred in the past properly with fathers, grandfathers with daughters, and sons and grandsons to mothers.
It looks like I need another breeding pen doesn't it.

Kurt

 

[tigercreek]

Stan,
You hit the nail on the head with your last statement, whose your daddy! With 5 breeding pens i did not want to build another, and the blue and splash cock grew up together. Once I separate them they can never be together again. I am definitely going to have to split them up and concentrate on whose your daddy. At the present I was just trying to make some more blues and splashes. It does complicate the way I have bred in the past properly with fathers, grandfathers with daughters, and sons and grandsons to mothers.
It looks like I need another breeding pen doesn't it.

Kurt

You might need a few more pens of you are going to go forward with two separate lines. I would combine the lines and go with a 3 pen maternal rotation. You would still have the blue gene in there, you just would not get just so many. Always keep a few blue hens and a blue or splash cock for replacements and you could go for a number of years without breeding closer than second cousins. Then a few years down the road, you can decide which you want to concentrate on. The TC chicks are from crossed lines anyway, so I don't think that there is any advantage in keeping them separate. I know I couldn't afford to grow out more than 3 pens of chicks. From the 3 breeding pens I have now, I have almost 100 eggs in the Bator due to start hatching Saturday.. I almost have a single brooder ready!! Don't know where I will put them all, but I want to grow out close to 50. this year....

 

[MeanV2]

You might need a few more pens of you are going to go forward with two separate lines. I would combine the lines and go with a 3 pen maternal rotation. You would still have the blue gene in there, you just would not get just so many. Always keep a few blue hens and a blue or splash cock for replacements and you could go for a number of years without breeding closer than second cousins. Then a few years down the road, you can decide which you want to concentrate on. The TC chicks are from crossed lines anyway, so I don't think that there is any advantage in keeping them separate. I know I couldn't afford to grow out more than 3 pens of chicks. From the 3 breeding pens I have now, I have almost 100 eggs in the Bator due to start hatching Saturday.. I almost have a single brooder ready!! Don't know where I will put them all, but I want to grow out close to 50. this year....

Stan,
That is exactly why I toned down, decided to concentrate on Blacks, and only set up 3 breeding pens. That and the fact I am looking down the road at what I want to grow out and what I want to eventually keep. Space and pens become scarce in a hurry. I will still have more building to do this year! I could fill 50 acres with chickens but then I need to be real with myself.

Tell me again what the lines the TC roo I have is out of? He has great type, color, feet, eyes, etc. The worst thing about him was a extra point or 2 on his comb. I will try to breed that out and hopefully maintain and even improve on everything else.

Dan

 

[tigercreek]

Stan,
That is exactly why I toned down, decided to concentrate on Blacks, and only set up 3 breeding pens. That and the fact I am looking down the road at what I want to grow out and what I want to eventually keep. Space and pens become scarce in a hurry. I will still have more building to do this year! I could fill 50 acres with chickens but then I need to be real with myself.

Tell me again what the lines the TC roo I have is out of? He has great type, color, feet, eyes, etc. The worst thing about him was a extra point or 2 on his comb. I will try to breed that out and hopefully maintain and even improve on everything else.

Dan

I have had to scale way back too. I'm going to try to just keep the 3breeding pens myself. You can get a bunch of chicks in a hurry with 3 trios or quads! I'm getting around 25-30eggs a week. In three weeks time I have close to 100 chicks. I don't have a problem with the breeders, but where am I going to put 100 chicks to grow them out so I can make my picks. I wanted to be able to have a good assortment to pick next years breeders from. If I keep 1 out of 10, I'm needing to grow out 90 to 100 chicks! It's scary when you do the math...
The TC birds are out of a Sherman line cock and pullets from Superior Farms. I don't know the line that Superior bought, they were going out of bis when I got them. I have asked around and not many people want to talk about it. Bob Gilbert probably knows and will most likely tell you.

 

[cracrzy4chicks]

Ok just got some pics. I could not get good photos of the blues unfortunately but I will post them anyway. Doesn't show off their colour well but here they are. Also got photos of the blacks.

Blue Australorp Pullet 1


Blue Australorp Pullet 2 - My Favourite of the blues however not a great photo.


Black Australorp Pullet 1 - My Favourite overall


Black Australorp Pullet 2 - Worst in quality however still beautiful in my eyes. She will make a great egg layer.


Let me know what you think of them!

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

CB,
Very nice. I sent you a PM.
Kurt

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

Stan,
I sent you a PM. I just got off the phone with Chet and he gave me some fixes that I have to start working on.
Kurt

 

[getaclue]

Coop expansion was finished last night. I went to the Inverness show early this morning, and met with Matt1616. Yes, he had a trio for me. The whole family is in love with our new BA's. DH is talking incubator, eggs, hatching chicks, utilize the garage for them. I was so surprised I was speechless, and I haven't been that quiet in years. I will post pics soon.