Brabanter breeding project

[playswithfowl]

I have 4 Brabanters (3 hens and a roo) that I plan to breed. But... I have just been thinking, how far would I be able to get with this breed. It seems that you can only get so far with breeding without introducing new blood. My question is how do I introduce new blood if all the known people with brabanters got their birds from Ideal one way or another? Is it not sensible to breed them since it seems that I would only be able to get so far with breeding them. I had planned to breed them for four+ years (throughout high school and possibly after too). Is this true or am I way off?
Thanks, AJ

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

check into line breeding. i know you can keep a closed flock. but I don't know How many birds you need to start with.

a good book to start with is ' The Mating and Breeding Of poultry' Harry M. Lamon Rob R. Slocum its a reprint but still very good

 

[wclawrence]

If more than a dozen people in the US keep them and breed them, they could trade stock every so often and never ever have a problem. Theoretically.

Just don't breed too close. Like brother-sister and parent-offspring pairings. Besides that you don't necessarily have to breed a new generation each year, you could have three trios and reproduce from one a year for yourself, sell the others, or whatever.

 

[playswithfowl]

So, to breed I need to have more than three hens and a roo? I don't really have the money to have that many coops/pens. I was thinking to just breed the ones that I have now and than hatch out eggs keep the best rooster in next generation breed back to the hens. Than to get eggs from somewhere else for new hens(even though anyone that I get them from has originally gotten them from Ideal poultry), and breed them to rooster. Not exactly sure how this works. Would it make more sense to just get a different breed that has more people known to be breeding them instead of just from a hatchery? I would really like to breed these birds, but if they are going to become so closely related since all the birds of known brabanter breeders have originally come from Ideal poultry. If it isn't practical to do this than I might have to just get another breed...

 

[Vcomb]

if everyone's stock came from a hatchery chances are their stock isn't as closely related as you'd think. so i wouldnt worry too much.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Just a thought about them. Couldnt you also get gold brabanters and cross them in? Maybe cross in polish or spitzhaubens or something like that.

 

[L&Schickens]

Quote:
I was going to order golds to cross with them. I also thought about the Psitzhaubens as an outcross, but decided that I would stick with getting more golds instead. But then I sold them all to AJ

 

[allen wranch]

I talked to Ideal when I first got my Brabanters a few years ago. They use breeders for a couple of years, then cull them. New breeders are then introduced for the best fertility. You could probably get new stock from them later and be OK.

However, what are you trying to breed, gold or cream ? If you want cream, I would not breed them to a gold. Gold is dominate and will keep showing up. I would trade eggs with someone for the color you want, or get the color you want from Ideal.

Even though I purchased some of the first Brabanters Ideal offered, my hens have spurs. This is a sign of inbreeding, so they were already a little close at the beginning.

 

[playswithfowl]

I talked to Ideal when I first got my Brabanters a few years ago. They use breeders for a couple of years, then cull them. New breeders are then introduced for the best fertility. You could probably get new stock from them later and be OK.

However, what are you trying to breed, gold or cream ? If you want cream, I would not breed them to a gold. Gold is dominate and will keep showing up. I would trade eggs with someone for the color you want, or get the color you want from Ideal.

Even though I purchased some of the first Brabanters Ideal offered, my hens have spurs. This is a sign of inbreeding, so they were already a little close at the beginning.

I have cream brabanters. So, If I breed the ones I have now, I could just breed them for say two years, and get eggs from someone like H&H poultry or someone else that originally got birds from Ideal but has been breeding them for several generations? Would the birds not be inbred? Should I keep any of the young from my birds? Would it be sensible to breed them if I can only keep four adult birds in my pen?
Thanks, AJ​

 

[L&Schickens]

You need to beg and plead for more and or bigger pens!!