Black Rose Comb hen, good enough to show?

[rodriguezpoultry]

That's true NYREDS, I had forgotten about that. Not because I never lose...but because of the "going-ons" behind the scenes...LOL

 

[Black Feather]

It's hard to say 100%, but I think she could do ok. I like that he back doesn't have a sharp break from back to tail which you see a lot of in the show room. She's fanning her tail nicely too...that's a BIG deal with Rosecombs.

A moderate quality bird can do OK if it is in really good condition. Check the tips of her wing and tail feathers to see how they look....are they chewed up, or are they still nice and smooth.

Maybe I'll take a break from my spring cleaning to get some pics of some of my birds and get some comparison shots for people to see.

Cheers,
Urban Coyote

 

[L&Schickens]

Thanks UC. myabe I will get some eggs and or birds form you one of these days. I would love to mix up my flock and bloodline in these for sure.

 

[Black Feather]

Ok, here are a few pics of my birds.

When getting ready for a show I take a close look at the birds overall condition. Is the bird in good weight? Does it look healthy and active? I also look at the wingtips and tail tips.

The condition of your bird can make a HUGE difference at a show.

Here are some pics:

This wing may look good to some people, but to me it's in middle of the road condition. The white arrow shows a feather in excellent shape. The blue arrows show areas that have been 'chewed up' by general wear and tear. Once bathed this will look better, but the edges of these wing tips will be rough.

Here is a tail pic. This tail is in slightly better condition than the wing tips of the bird above. There is however one big chunk taken out of the top tail feather where the arrow points. It's a bit hard to see in the pic, but it's there. If you can believe it, this can make the difference between Champion Rose Comb Clean Leg, and just being Best of Breed.

This tail is actually in very good condition. Give this bird a bath and I could take her to a show tomorrow and probably do quite well.

Here is a body shot of a good quality bird in good condition...same bird that has the tail just above. The feathers are in good condition and have good green shine.

Ok, here are three head shots from different birds. You guys tell me which ones you like best.

Here are some body shots of different hens. You guys tell me which ones you like and don't like.

Here is a dear old hen. She's in rough shape as she's never been one to take care of herself, but her type is excellent.

Here is a blue roo who carries the white gene.

Urban Coyote

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Just a shot in the dark, but from the head shots I like the third birds better and from the body shots, I like the fourth photo (the one above the dear old momma).

Reasons: Body shots:
The first and third birds have a "loose" wing feathering, not as tight and compact as the fourth photo. The second bird has a good feathering, but her back seems long to me.

I'd like to see a more fanned out tail on the 4th bird, but again, this is NOT my breed...bantams are NOT my forte...if I'm completely off the charts, please let me know! LOL

 

[Black Feather]

Oopps....forgot to post some black roo shots.

I only have two black roos that I'm breeding from this year. One is a 2 year old and the other is a year old.

Here they are.

This is the young man. His ear lobes are not in the greatest of shape right now due to winter stress....actually, neither is the 2 year old roos.

This is my 2 year old boy.

UC

 

[NYREDS]

L&Schickens :

Thanks UC. myabe I will get some eggs and or birds form you one of these days. I would love to mix up my flock and bloodline in these for sure.

Bad idea. The absolute best way to screw up a breeding program is to blindly mix different strains together.
There's a great little book which is unfortunately now out of print & hard to find. It's by Ralph Sturgeon & titled "Start Where You Are With What you Have". You have Rosecombs that should give you a good start on the breed. You'll have a greater liklihood of success if you line breed from them.​

 

[L&Schickens]

I just love this forum.

I will do my best with what I have then.
I just took some new picutres of 2 of the hens and the roo and when I get them loaded I will post them.
They are no way going to be ready for a show any time soon if ever. They are very "out of condition". I am more worried about proper "Type" now then showing these guys. Maybe next years babies will show promice.

 

[L&Schickens]

So I took in the 2 that I thought were the best and cleaned them up a little. I did spray them for bugs when I got them two weeks ago, but that was it. I didn't realize how dirty they were. So, I spent some time "Washing" them with a wet cloth and cleaning up their feet. Overgrown twisted nails and possible scaley leg on them show signs of neglect for these poor Rose Combs. Ho well. They have free range and a clean cage now. I am sure they are happy to get out into the sun every day.
Anyway, please ignore the feathers. They are not in condition at all, espicaly after I got done cleaning all the poop and dirt off of them.

And some of the roo too. I think he must be at least 4 years old. I took a half inch off his spurs and they are still very long.

 

[Black Feather]

Hen #1 looks like she has the better head of the two of them, and hen #2 looks like she has the better body type. The ear lobes of hen #2 concern me as they attach to the head in a way that makes them look like they are going under the chin of the bird. They are also very cup shaped. This is the type of hen that does not tend to have nice sons. Hen #1 would produce better males.

What I really like about them is that they fan their tails out very nicely...that's not something you see in hatchery rosecombs, or poorly bred birds. Somewhere in their background someone knew what they were doing.

I would definitely hatch as many chicks from these guys as I could. I think this line could do very well with some work.

Do you know anything about the bloodlines and where they came from, could you find out?

UC