Breeding Question

[sbwhite0]

I have a question about breeding LF Black Ameraucana . I currently have 3 hens and 1 roo. I have 8 eggs in the bator. Now, when these eggs hatch can I breed the roo with the new hens of the new roos with the mothers? I would love to get a good solid line going. Also how do you know exactly what characteristics to look for in a young chick. I hear about people culling heavily in order to ensure a stock that is at least as good as the parent stock. Do you have to wait for the birds to mature? Thank you for any help or comments you may have.
Shawn

 

[pips&peeps]

Yes, you can breed father to daughter and sons to mothers.

I personally keep most of my birds a long time before I cull. You can cull for obvious defects like silver, gold or red in the hackles right away.

Sometimes a cockerel will almost be a year old before they show these so look carefully. Sometimes the feathers are very small on top of the head.

What lines are they from?

 

[sbwhite0]

These come from Paul Smith's line.

 

[pips&peeps]

You shouldn't have much culling then. He's got the best blacks for the past few years running.

 

[NYREDS]

Also, don't be too quick to cull all the males with a little gold in the hackle. Most breeders of any black bird use one of these occasionally to keep the green sheen going. Blacks bred too long from the same strain tend to loose that sheen.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Mr. Smith uses some males with gold in the hackle.

 

[sbwhite0]

Thank you for your help. Do you guys do anything special to keep your birds looking their best? I'm sure there are tricks of the trade that I'm not aware of.

 

[NYREDS]

Quote:
Feed them a high quality feed, allow them to get outside if possible & keep their environment clean. If you do that they'll look fine.