Breda Fowl thread

[Sylvester017]

I guess our re-homed Cuckoo Breda is not missing us very much -- she sleeps with her new owner's dog -- that dog defends his flock like a real guardian breed would!!

 

[chicken danz]

Yep I still have my adorable One Wing in the house. She's such a funny bird! I swear she understands anything I say. I redid my front flower bed this year so now when the weather is decent she has a nice place to go. I also fenced it so it's safe for her.
My breeding pen is kind of scant right now. I've lost some of my older hens this year and it was an awful year for birds. It was extremely hot and very dry. Hot weather tends to cause more cockerels than pullets. And it wasn't a good year for fertility. I had planned to take some young pullets and cross them with my La Fleche but I didn't have good luck with them either. I have a cockerel who has proven himself to be very fertile but now I have very few hens. I have one pullet who laid her first egg today. I may chance putting her in with him to see if I can get some crosses from him. I've got some other ladies with him right now to add some other genetics. I gave up on my creveceour sultan crosses as part of the program. They just didn't have much endurance and weren't very hardy. I still have the little sultans because I have perfected them be mostly show quality. I had planned to sell them and have had several people ask to buy them but there people aren't ones who want to pay a decent price.

 

[Sylvester017]

@chicken danz

Wow! One Wing is so lucky to have you! Any bird deserves a loving owner and when it comes to rare breeds they really deserve special care. That's how we felt when we re-homed our Cuckoo Breda hen -- same person who also took our Blue Breda cockerel several years ago because we're not zoned for roos -- he took over their dog's bed too!

Here's the young Blue cockerel in his new home -- he's passed away since but the new owner said he was free to go in and out of the house and loved the dog's bed!

Our friend rescues displaced roos/hens, ducklings, a horse, various livestock on 5 acres plus she's vegetarian so none of her rescues are destined for any dinner plates! That's the kind of home and new owner our Cuckoo Breda "Char" is living at -- apparently in more comfort than in our deluxe coop and chicken yard!

Covid took a toll on my health for over a month and I took time to take it easy and rest to combat the very uncomfortable symptoms. Right before I got sick we acquired a DNA-sexed female Dark Partridge Silkie chick to raise indoors as an eventual companion for our aging Silkie Partridge hen outside -- the old Silkie is the only bantam w/standard hens and needs a smaller toodling companion.

However, the Silkie chick was handicapped with only 4 toes instead of 5 toes for each foot and the remaining toes formed badly plus she had some internal organ problems and we lost her within the month. I was so glad we got to raise, love and comfort the disabled chick. The breeder (Amber Waves Silkies in Calif) is very reputable and instantly offered a refund or replacement and we opted for a replacement plus ordered a second Silkie chick from her because who knows how long our aging Silkie will be around -- maybe 4 weeks, 4 months, 4 years? -- so we got TWO new chicks in preparation for loss. For now we have the chicks indoors until they're old enough to incorporate with what's left of our outdoor hens (one aging Silkie and a 3-yr-olld Dominique)

We had a bad couple years or so of losing precious hens - a couple Dominiques to heatstroke who had reproductive issues, a couple rare Blue Breda pullets (as you know) and new chick mortality (it happens) and the re-homing of our bully Cuckoo Breda (bullied our aging small Silkie hen). We are zoned for only 5 hens/no roos so in a 5-bird yard losing even just one hen really changes the dynamics of a little flock. This is all we have left -- two outdoor hens and two indoor chicks. We can add ONE more bird (per zoning ordinance) but more than likely we'll hopefully add two more Blue Breda since we can't depend on the longevity of our older girls.

Our two new DNA Silkie chicks -- about 2 weeks apart in age

And you are correct -- my experience is that a reputable breeder should be paid every dollar (PLUS MORE IMO) for the quality birds they sell !!!!!!! Amber Waves Silkies also sells Pygmy Goats and Pyrenees pups and have been around since the early 1980's. They run an online business and ship around the USA. We used them for our Silkie orders because they are local and we can pickup. I put Amber Waves Silkies up there with chicken danz's quality business (for anyone looking for rare quality poultry and I recommend chicken danz highly - for ducks, peacocks, chickens, Pyrenees, miniature Highlandlands & more I can't remember all)!

Because of my Covid episode my DH suggests I wait till I'm 100% before ordering more birds. This Covid is nothing to ignore! We lost our 54-yr-old friend who entered the hospital thinking it was just a bad allergy and he died. The hospitals lose almost all of the patients that are on ventilators! When our friend entered the hospital we took over the temporary care of his parrot and now in passing the son has found a new home for the bird. W/ hens we don't have the desire to care for the demands of an indoor pet parrot -- they require a lot of time and human interaction that I don't have the strength to pursue. My DH took excellent care of the sweet parrot but he said it was definitely a consuming project and not as easy as caring for hens.

Chickens are independent, self-sufficient, friendly, and far easier to raise than aviary type birds and I've had many species of aviary and parrot birds in the past. Livestock poultry is by far the easiest of birds to raise w/ chickens the easiest IMO because they don't require lots of water like ponds or lakes and there's less worry about chickens flying away over our fences. Chickens are a very human-friendly manageable bird that give eggs, fertilizer, and bug control in a back yard and some are downright gorgeous eye candy!

Our beautiful Blue Breda pullet "Tova" from chicken danz

"Tova" with Cuckoo Breda pullet "Char" behind

Breda are great birds with the BBS variety being the best temperaments of all the Breda variety. I am willing to wait for a hardy strain of this rare breed because they are beautiful statuesque regal birds. Our Cuckoo variety was not as outgoing or friendly as our Blue's were but she does make a great house pet for her new owner and seems quite content without a "flock" of other birds.

Smiles - S

 

[MikaLind]

All Breda breeder and enthusiasts who FB, will you join us? This group is for breeders and enthusiasts of Breda chickens to connect, encourage, and share with each other. Hopefully we can inspire more people to join in the conservation of this beautiful poultry breed.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/881605542401241/

 

[boskelli1571]

All Breda breeder and enthusiasts who FB, will you join us? This group is for breeders and enthusiasts of Breda chickens to connect, encourage, and share with each other. Hopefully we can inspire more people to join in the conservation of this beautiful poultry breed.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/881605542401241/

I have sent a request to you via FB. I am currently a member in the Breda Fowl thread on FB.

 

[Sylvester017]

@MikaLind
I love to see owners appreciate the rare Breda! I do not do social media or FB since I don't/can't breed these beautiful birds. Don't like/don't trust FB and don't even do online business. Just a personal preference. My DH is on FB and he can join the Breda page but his FB interests are limited.

A photo taken yesterday of our Cuckoo Breda hen "Char" that we gave to our friend. Char takes great pics -- always stands regal and poses for the camera!

Again, so glad to see there are Breda lovers out there! We've loved every one we ever had!