Breda Fowl thread

[boskelli1571]

Hot & humid here too but only in the 80s'. The only one who is having trouble (other than me) is Pegs. I think he has some respiratory problems from birth . I don't think he will have a long life but we will make the best of it for him.

 

[Sylvester017]

For us even if it rains and is only in the 80's the humidity feels so darn heavy. My Blue girl seemed to have a bit of heavy breathing so I added VetRx to her drinking water. She always sounds like she's sneezing especially after eating her crumbles or preening her juvenile feathers. We're willing to do whatever we can to help our sweeties.

She's been a house chicken for so long since we got her in March that she doesn't know what to do outdoors. She kinda just stares blankly at the other hens and doesn't dust-bathe or forage or dig. She just wants to follow me back into the house or lets me pick her up to go back inside. I guess it's true that Breda are content to be confined. I'm waiting for her wattles to grow out more and for her to get a little bigger before I put her outside permanently. For now I just take her outside an hour at a time to get accustomed to the other 3 hens.

What variety is Pegs? How old is he? Do you have him indoors? Do you give him any treatments? I just like to soak up knowledge from other owners for how they handle ailments.

 

[boskelli1571]

For us even if it rains and is only in the 80's the humidity feels so darn heavy. My Blue girl seemed to have a bit of heavy breathing so I added VetRx to her drinking water. She always sounds like she's sneezing especially after eating her crumbles or preening her juvenile feathers. We're willing to do whatever we can to help our sweeties.

She's been a house chicken for so long since we got her in March that she doesn't know what to do outdoors. She kinda just stares blankly at the other hens and doesn't dust-bathe or forage or dig. She just wants to follow me back into the house or lets me pick her up to go back inside. I guess it's true that Breda are content to be confined. I'm waiting for her wattles to grow out more and for her to get a little bigger before I put her outside permanently. For now I just take her outside an hour at a time to get accustomed to the other 3 hens.

What variety is Pegs? How old is he? Do you have him indoors? Do you give him any treatments? I just like to soak up knowledge from other owners for how they handle ailments.

Pegs is a black Breda just over a year old now. He has his own special coop in the barn which he shares with a bantam. I would love to have him inside...but that's a 'no-go'. I let him outside his coop daily in an enclosed area so the other birds won't pick on him. If it's a nice day he goes outside on the grass which he seems to like. I usually put the bantam with him and she will stay by his side.
I give him a bath as frequently as needed since he can't roost, poops and sits in it poor thing. I have to trim his claws as they are so badly curled under, he doesn't mind at all and will sit quietly in my lap. Generally I give all vitamin/electrolytes weekly.
We have special time in the morning when he just sits with me and we chat back and forth, scratching his head etc.
So really, other than grooming maintenance he doesn't get anything special except love and attention.
I'm in the process of getting something put together to raise his feeding/water dishes so they are easier to reach, even so he manages fairly well.
He is a very determined bird and able to get around fairly well using his leg, beak and wings.

 

[Sylvester017]

It's funny how some Breda are very active and outgoing and some are quite content to be couch potatoes. Peg sounds precious. He has just one leg?

My juvenile Blue has been increasing her sneezing and I heard (and felt) rattling in her chest. Wouldn't you know it but my vet is on vacation until next Tuesday. So I took it upon myself to administer syringe antibiotic and put Tylan in her water because I'm afraid to wait a whole week before the vet can see her and the VetRx didn't seem to have any effect on her. I think VetRx is better for runny eye/nose conditions but once I felt her chest I thought it best to start more aggressive treatment. I think it's helping because she's eating again. Breda have such huge nostrils that I think it contributes to their respiratory issues. So far, every Blue Breda I've had has had this condition and I've had Blue Breda from 3 different breeders from 3 different states so I can't say it's prevalent in any one owner's line.

My Cuckoo Breda never had respiratory issues and she's never had to see my vet for anything. I'm looking forward to the Chocolate Breda being perfected. I'm thinking the cross-breeding to make a USA Chocolate Breda should strengthen the Breda genes. It'll be a long process waiting to see the Chocolate perfected but I'm looking forward to it since it's unlikely Greenfire Farms will be importing any more fresh Breda stock. Greenfire, like all chicken owners, seem to have their favorite breeds. For now, it looks like Greenfire is really into their Marans getting their stock approved for standard, quality, etc.

 

[boskelli1571]

It's funny how some Breda are very active and outgoing and some are quite content to be couch potatoes. Peg sounds precious. He has just one leg?

My juvenile Blue has been increasing her sneezing and I heard (and felt) rattling in her chest. Wouldn't you know it but my vet is on vacation until next Tuesday. So I took it upon myself to administer syringe antibiotic and put Tylan in her water because I'm afraid to wait a whole week before the vet can see her and the VetRx didn't seem to have any effect on her. I think VetRx is better for runny eye/nose conditions but once I felt her chest I thought it best to start more aggressive treatment. I think it's helping because she's eating again. Breda have such huge nostrils that I think it contributes to their respiratory issues. So far, every Blue Breda I've had has had this condition and I've had Blue Breda from 3 different breeders from 3 different states so I can't say it's prevalent in any one owner's line.

My Cuckoo Breda never had respiratory issues and she's never had to see my vet for anything. I'm looking forward to the Chocolate Breda being perfected. I'm thinking the cross-breeding to make a USA Chocolate Breda should strengthen the Breda genes. It'll be a long process waiting to see the Chocolate perfected but I'm looking forward to it since it's unlikely Greenfire Farms will be importing any more fresh Breda stock. Greenfire, like all chicken owners, seem to have their favorite breeds. For now, it looks like Greenfire is really into their Marans getting their stock approved for standard, quality, etc.

Hope your blue perks up - it's worrisome when they are so delicate to start with...
Pegs has both legs but one is contractured so badly he can only use the 'knee' joint to steady himself.
I think Greenfire never made their $$ from Bredas. Even on the auction sites sellers are lucky to get $5 per bird. They definitely need more profile exposure....

 

[Sylvester017]

I've noticed that all breeds in auctions usually go for less. I've never seen trios or pairs go for what they're worth unless they were brand new breed imports.

I mention Breda every chance I get and post pics. They are such a fantastic breed - good temperament with people or with their flockmates, good layers, unique appearance, gentle kids' pet, stay close to home, and on and on. People still ask, "What's a Breda?" My sister thought "Breda" was the girl's name we gave our bird -- she didn't know Breda was the breed.

Guess you can't blame Greenfire for expanding a breed that makes money for them, which I still don't understand the Marans craze. Worst breed I've ever had but I guess people use them to create Olive Eggers. Still, Greenfire has, like 3 different varieties of Pavlovskayas, yet Pavies are probably a more obscure chicken in the U.S. than Breda ever was, yet GFF still carry the Pavies. Yet GFF hasn't brought in new Breda for diversity -- go figure? I guess the Breda are too rare to find, even abroad, to bring them to the U.S. whereas Pavies are a plentiful breed in Russia. I personally think GFF just didn't want to bother with perfecting the Breda when they found how delicate the gene pool was and sloughed off the breeding responsibility onto customer chicken fanciers.

I'm so happy to see private owners who recognize the great attributes of Breda and work so diligently to keep breeding this bird -- the way a very few Dominique lovers preserved the Doms from extinction during the 1970's.

 

[boskelli1571]

I've noticed that all breeds in auctions usually go for less. I've never seen trios or pairs go for what they're worth unless they were brand new breed imports.

I mention Breda every chance I get and post pics. They are such a fantastic breed - good temperament with people or with their flockmates, good layers, unique appearance, gentle kids' pet, stay close to home, and on and on. People still ask, "What's a Breda?" My sister thought "Breda" was the girl's name we gave our bird -- she didn't know Breda was the breed.

Guess you can't blame Greenfire for expanding a breed that makes money for them, which I still don't understand the Marans craze. Worst breed I've ever had but I guess people use them to create Olive Eggers. Still, Greenfire has, like 3 different varieties of Pavlovskayas, yet Pavies are probably a more obscure chicken in the U.S. than Breda ever was, yet GFF still carry the Pavies. Yet GFF hasn't brought in new Breda for diversity -- go figure? I guess the Breda are too rare to find, even abroad, to bring them to the U.S. whereas Pavies are a plentiful breed in Russia. I personally think GFF just didn't want to bother with perfecting the Breda when they found how delicate the gene pool was and sloughed off the breeding responsibility onto customer chicken fanciers.

I'm so happy to see private owners who recognize the great attributes of Breda and work so diligently to keep breeding this bird -- the way a very few Dominique lovers preserved the Doms from extinction during the 1970's.

I contacted GF last year and asked about Bredas - they said they weren't planning on getting any in the foreseeable future - such a shame.
All the qualities you mention plus the curiosity!

 

[Sylvester017]

Breda are sensational! Worth everything we can do to help them survive.

Had to take my Blue girl to a last-minute vet yesterday because my regular vet is out of town until Tuesday. I called around to several vets before I found one that would see a chicken. The new vet has experience with exotic birds so I felt comfortable with him even though he sees cats/dogs only. My girl was so sick I couldn't wait until next Tuesday for my own vet to return and this new guy saved my girl. She was down to 1 lb. 12 oz at 6 months old. His treatments yesterday got her back to eating and drinking this morning and her tail is standing up straight again. Her chest is still rattling with residual infection/pus but she is so much better today just from antibiotic/anti-inflammatory injections plus the 2x/daily medicine he prescribed.

These Breda are so prone to respiratory problems -- pay attention to those little sneezes or coughs because 9 x out of 10 it won't go away on its own and will settle in the chest. I had oral Baytril and Tylan but the two treatments on my own didn't work so by the 2nd day when she looked worse, I scrambled to find a vet in a hurry. He told me I might still lose her but after seeing her this morning eating and drinking a lot I was very encouraged at her turn-around. I won't completely relax about her condition until my own vet returns next week to follow-up with her but she's back to eating. She's walking around today when yesterday she was just sitting and sleeping all day with feathers puffed up.

My regular vet probably would've had me return 2 or 3 days in a row for injections but as luck would have it, the new vet can't do that because he is leaving town too. But he gave me enough antibiotic/anti-inflammatory medication to get my girl through until my regular vet returns next week. It's very difficult to find vets who see birds and regular Avian bird vets are twice the price for the same exact treatment that a cat/dog vet prescribes -- go figure?

 

[Sylvester017]

Lost my battle trying to raise two Blue Breda pullets -- lost one the first week and the 2nd one lived to 6-months. I will try Blue again in future but at the moment I have only one laying hen -- a Cuckoo Breda, so I scurried to my local pet feed store and ordered 3 Dominique pullet chicks.

Breda and Dominique are very close in temperament and personality -- lightweight, curious, outgoing friendly, non-combative. No one has older juveniles this time of year so I had to bite the bullet and settle for baby chicks. I've ordered Dom chicks from Wes's Pets & Feed before (they get their hatchery chick orders from Privett). Wes sold the feed store and the new owner Mario is very knowledgeable and helpful. I had my Dom chicks in less than a week.

I hate dealing w/ baby chicks but this was my best option to have laying birds by first of next year. DH didn't want me spending any more shipping costs. Cackle Hatchery will ship as few as 3 Dom chicks at $50 but it only cost me $24 to get 3 Dom pullet chicks at Wes's Pets & Feed.

Wish me luck to get some surviving birds from these 3 babies.

 

[Sylvester017]

THE NEW BABIES: