Breda Fowl thread

[dsfrango]

Oh so sorry to hear you decided to hear you have to get rid of your Breda's! Wish I would have known you where at the show, I brought in the Black pair of Breda's. Looks like picture of the first rooster is mine. The Black and Blue's where from guys from PA. I don't want Blue genetics into my line otherwise I would have taken yours. A friend of mine is maybe interested in the breed, will ask her if she wants to buy your flock

That's funny, they were yours, we prob walked by each other a couple times haha. I was seriously debating on showing 1 of my blue roos but in my car I only have so much space and the 5hr ride turned to 8hrs each way! Anyways, I never saw a black one, it did look pretty nice I may be going to the Sussex show which would be convenient to meet if anyone was interested. If anyone else is just PM me. Thanks!

 

[dutchbunny83]

YAY

My blue Breda girl just laid her first egg!!!
Haha took forever, but glad she's laying.
And its all white, I know awhile back we were talking about egg color.

Just went back and counted she was 28 weeks to the day when she laid! Ya'll weren't kidding when you said they were late layers!

 

[Sylvester017]

YAY

My blue Breda girl just laid her first egg!!!
Haha took forever, but glad she's laying.
And its all white, I know awhile back we were talking about egg color.

Just went back and counted she was 28 weeks to the day when she laid! Ya'll weren't kidding when you said they were late layers!

Thank you for the feedback dutchbunny83 as I was interested in the egg color. I have a CA location breeder who I've been in touch with hopefully to get a Blue pullet and a Black pullet from by next year Spring - I wanted Black and my DH only likes the Blue so I'm getting an extra Breda I wasn't planning on - still it's nice for 2 juveniles to travel together for company even if it is only an overnight USPS trip.

Congrats! Personally love the late layers as it gives them more years of spread-out laying. Did you weigh the egg? I know pullet eggs are smaller than hen eggs but I like to note the very 1st egg of all my pullets.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Thank you for the feedback dutchbunny83 as I was interested in the egg color. I have a CA location breeder who I've been in touch with hopefully to get a Blue pullet and a Black pullet from by next year Spring - I wanted Black and my DH only likes the Blue so I'm getting an extra Breda I wasn't planning on - still it's nice for 2 juveniles to travel together for company even if it is only an overnight USPS trip.

Congrats! Personally love the late layers as it gives them more years of spread-out laying. Did you weigh the egg? I know pullet eggs are smaller than hen eggs but I like to note the very 1st egg of all my pullets.

Thanks!
My eggs were from California as well. When I started looking for the Breda that's where most the breeders seemed to be. Good luck with yours!
I didn't weigh my egg. I don't have an egg scale or kitchen scale, never really thought of it actually. I guess I should probably get one!

 

[Sylvester017]

Thanks!
My eggs were from California as well. When I started looking for the Breda that's where most the breeders seemed to be. Good luck with yours!
I didn't weigh my egg. I don't have an egg scale or kitchen scale, never really thought of it actually. I guess I should probably get one!

I picked up a cheap $4 spring-loaded small kitchen scale at Walmart and keep it out all the time since it doesn't take up a lot of counter footprint like the digital scales seem to. It goes to 1-lb plus has gram markings on it. It has a square deep plastic dish where I put things inside it to weigh. The egg rolls in it but can't fall out. I'd love to have an actual egg scale with the concave egg cradle but they can cost from 5 up to 10 times more than my cheap yet efficient little one.

We've been having a terrible heat wave and a fire going on a few miles away. I was wondering how the Breda would react to 100 degree heat. Our Silkies thrive rain or shine and so does our Buff Leghorn but our Ameraucana is constantly panting in the heat. We set up a popup canopy for shade and use an Orbit Mister and put electrolytes in the water but she still pants all day long. With nothing but a little comb she doesn't dissipate heat well. With Bredas having no combs at all I wondered if they would suffer terribly or get ill from our summers here. I didn't realize small comb chickens were hardier in cold climates and didn't take heat well before we ordered our Ameraucana.

 

[GaryDean26]

I was wondering how the Breda would react to 100 degree heat.

I could be wrong, but I think that the weight of the bird has more to do with how they handle the heat than their comb does. We see temperatures up to 104 degrees every summer and spikes up to 110 degs and our 6-1/2 pound hens from our dual purpose breeds will go into a molt in July-August while our 4 pound laying breeds will keep laying through the end of October.

We have a little Silkie/Cochin/leghorn that is about 3 pounds and I find her out foraging in 104 degs while all our other birds are lying in their dust baths panting or standing in their water buckets that put out to help them cope with the heat.

Three summers ago we lost 50% of our flock on a day that spiked to 110-112 deg. All of those loses were from dual purpose breeds. The lighter laying breeds all survived the heat.

The past two summers we have only had 3-6 months old Breda Fowl during the months of July and August so I don't know how the full grown birds do, but I felt that the Breda did really well in the heat.

 

[Sylvester017]

I could be wrong, but I think that the weight of the bird has more to do with how they handle the heat than their comb does. We see temperatures up to 104 degrees every summer and spikes up to 110 degs and our 6-1/2 pound hens from our dual purpose breeds will go into a molt in July-August while our 4 pound laying breeds will keep laying through the end of October.

We have a little Silkie/Cochin/leghorn that is about 3 pounds and I find her out foraging in 104 degs while all our other birds are lying in their dust baths panting or standing in their water buckets that put out to help them cope with the heat.

Three summers ago we lost 50% of our flock on a day that spiked to 110-112 deg. All of those loses were from dual purpose breeds. The lighter laying breeds all survived the heat.

The past two summers we have only had 3-6 months old Breda Fowl during the months of July and August so I don't know how the full grown birds do, but I felt that the Breda did really well in the heat.

Your experiences with chicken breeds has been very encouraging to us. I think you commented before on my heatwave questions.

We found some comments about Ameraucanas not taking heat well after we already had ours ordered and she certainly doesn't like the heat. My 2.5 lb Silkies are toodling around constantly through heatwaves or rainy days. The Buff Leghorn who is around 4.5 lbs does okay although now she's broody and not moving around much but we take her out of the nestbox a few times a day to forage, drink, eat, dust-bathe.

But the poor 5.5 lb Ameraucana pullet is sittling in shady grasses or in moist dust holes or sitting under the lean-to's and popup canopy. We have been making sure to have electrolyte drinking water refreshed midday because the heat (even in the shade) warms up the drinking water too much and frozen warms up too. We keep an Orbit Mister going under the canopy. We feed refrigerated cucumbers and either cold watermelon or cantaloupe slices for hot afternoon treats under the canopy.

I am looking to get 2 Breda pullets next Spring and want to cover all my research about them before putting out the $$$ on ordering them. They are such kooky-looking yet lovely birds like our sweet kooky Ameraucana.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Here's Brie, our 29 week old Blue Breda. We had 6 hatch, but live in town so only kept one of the girls. We had others hatch with perfect coloring, but my kids were attached to Brie, so this is who we kept. Not really a great photo of her, as she wouldn't hold still. Snapped it while I was in the backyard with my kids.

 

[Sylvester017]

Here's Brie, our 29 week old Blue Breda. We had 6 hatch, but live in town so only kept one of the girls. We had others hatch with perfect coloring, but my kids were attached to Brie, so this is who we kept. Not really a great photo of her, as she wouldn't hold still. Snapped it while I was in the backyard with my kids.

I love following your posts dutchbunny83.

Brie is beautiful. And sometimes the personality is just as important as "perfect" coloring. Besides I don't think there is an SOP in the APA for Bredas yet so how are you determining "perfect" coloring? She's still a young bird.

Don't you just love those vulture hocks? The picture of Brie when enlarged on my screen is a very pretty photo. Chickens don't stand still ever. And when they do the battery goes dead in the camera LOL.

 

[GaryDean26]

Yes...I wondered what your image of perfect coloring was too. I have been reading and re-reading the color section of a breeding guide for the Andalusian and am starting to get an idea of what I want the goal for color to be in my flock.