California - Northern

[zooweemama]

I don't breed Marans, but I agree with chiqita's critique. His eye color looks good, his shank feathering appears a tad bit light.

As for the chest width, it does change with age. When he gets older he will get deeper through the chest. How much? You really can't tell until he grows more. I'll put some welsummer pictures up in a minute so you can see what I'm talking about.

If you watch your flock, you will know when it's time. They will lose the plump look and start looking really skinny. I had worms a year after I got my flock and didn't even know it. I posted that they were looking really thin, and I was advised to worm them. You won't see anything in their poop until they are completely overloaded with them. Once I wormed them, they started putting on weight again and looking good. I now worm once a year, in the fall.

Sorry you can't keep him. You can list it here in the Free Rehoming section.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/16182/animals-in-need-of-free-re-homing
I didn't receive a PM.

I wormed in September. Should I worm again? I could. I just don't want to interfere with them anymore than is necessary when it comes to drugs, worming etc.

Alright, here's my welsummer rooster at 6 months. He has some depth to his chest, but hasn't filled in yet.

And here he is at 2 1/2 years old. See how much deeper (stockier) his chest is?

I do see that he has bulked up but I do see his chest shape overall remained the same. So something for me to keep an eye on early I guess!

ok, lets see If I can figure my own pictures out. The juvie boys all hang out together, so its hard to get single pics.
s.

Dustbathing. These boys are young, but combs and colors are not great. Boy in the middle I think his back is too long, tail actualy low ( unusual when I have a bunch of boys with high tails, must be from mum)


This is Rons roo. He has a nice curve (more d shaped but not an orphie) and a good angle on the back. tail could be at a better angle, but its acceptable. Color is dark ( some say too dark, but that line is all dark iirc) Eye is also dark but acceptable comb is good but could ahve more space behind it ( out from the head) leg feathering is light, I'd personally like a lot more, it gets dirty, but it discourages them from digging up the garden. Feathering is all on ouside of leg, no sneaky feathers trying to appear on 3d toe or inside. I think his wing placement is also good, but Im unclear on that, been studying that more for silkies.

Yard is still trashed from rain, i'm a bad homeowner!

I will have to look more closely at Gary's feet. I know they have some feathers, not too feathery but I am not sure if the feathers sneak onto any other toes. Didn't know to look. See I'm learning!

Ideally when you look at his comb- what is right and what is wrong? Specifics REALLY help me.



And anytime I am asking- please free to be honest. I am pretty thick skinned and hard to offend. I want to learn. I have already learned quite a bit just from all you have shared so far today!

 

[zooweemama]

I think I will go ahead and worm them. it won't hurt them and I have eggs back stocked for the people that buy from me. I am not worried about consuming the eggs personally.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I see them getting wider, but the curve of the chest seems similar? like you would see in the sideways sillohoutte. Seems like they are either shaped like a D and broaden or shaped like a ] and broaden...

Or am I just married to my idea?
And oops, I sent to happychooks all one word... I'll resend, ty!

No, the structure won't change, but it will fill in much more. I'm still learning here too.

In Amy's picture here, I see that he does have some depth to his chest. I would give him more time and look again when he's closer to a year old. But again, I don't breed Marans. Wynette would be a great one to ask - she's super helpful.

 

[zooweemama]

I will post in the BCM thread soon. I am very self-conscious about how gappy my knowledge is. A lot of breeders are not thrilled to help beginner boobs like me. Even this is helping so I will feel less lost when I hop over there. I think I need some more Gary pics. Even if he isn't perfect- at the very least he is a place to learn from and I am ok with that. Rome wasn't built in a day right?

 

[chiqita]

oops, didn't mean to post, more pics
'

OK, The guy in the middle has a nice chest, especially for a boy so young. BUT it has color down it, BIG bad point. And his hackles ( ? if that is the right term) are too many colors, you want some uniformity on the neck. Not a huge deal, but speedy his dad was WAYY too many colors. He has nice foot feathering however, as does the boy next to him. All their eyes are OK. Combs I think are OK, not great.


The boy in the back I'm thinking about keeping. His eye is a bit dark, But it has a ring of the right color. He is older then the others by a month or so. he would NOT stay still for pics, however. he has nice full foot feathering ( people like to see that in chicks, makes them happy) and I lively well cocked head and OK chest. decent tail, he had a lot of white there but it moulted out, usually does on my marans. he is a little shy but that's better then aggressive.

All the pics of the other 4 boys were blurry, so they will have to wait.





This is Catalina, my boss hen. She is in broody land with an icelandic check right now so not telling anyone what to do. Louie the rooster still comes and tries to say hello to her, he misses her. She is one of my favorites, lots of personality.



here are stuffing and cranberries, because you cant go outside without them demanding attention. And trying to eat your clothing....

 

[zooweemama]

oops, didn't mean to post, more pics
'

OK, The guy in the middle has a nice chest, especially for a boy so young. BUT it has color down it, BIG bad point. And his hackles ( ? if that is the right term) are too many colors, you want some uniformity on the neck. Not a huge deal, but speedy his dad was WAYY too many colors. He has nice foot feathering however, as does the boy next to him. All their eyes are OK. Combs I think are OK, not great.


The boy in the back I'm thinking about keeping. His eye is a bit dark, But it has a ring of the right color. He is older then the others by a month or so. he would NOT stay still for pics, however. he has nice full foot feathering ( people like to see that in chicks, makes them happy) and I lively well cocked head and OK chest. decent tail, he had a lot of white there but it moulted out, usually does on my marans. he is a little shy but that's better then aggressive.

All the pics of the other 4 boys were blurry, so they will have to wait.





This is Catalina, my boss hen. She is in broody land with an icelandic check right now so not telling anyone what to do. Louie the rooster still comes and tries to say hello to her, he misses her. She is one of my favorites, lots of personality.



here are stuffing and cranberries, because you cant go outside without them demanding attention. And trying to eat your clothing....

I love more pics! Thanks for sharing your birds! The commentary is very helpful! Broody hens are funny- they are not on this planet when broody. haha Love your turkeys!

 

[chiqita]

I think I will go ahead and worm them. it won't hurt them and I have eggs back stocked for the people that buy from me. I am not worried about consuming the eggs personally.

I think if you did it in sept, you are not likely to need it again. I think its a once a year thing?? I didn't mean he looked skinny, its more about the natural shapes of the chests.

 

[zooweemama]

I think if you did it in sept, you are not likely to need it again. I think its a once a year thing?? I didn't mean he looked skinny, its more about the natural shapes of the chests.

Oh no no! I didn't think you called him skinny at all. The Orp breeders many of them worm every 6 weeks. With something apparently more powerful than the Ivermectin I use. Some breeders worm every season change. Some only once or twice a year. It varies so I know there is no clean black and white- just what is right for you in your area.

How big are your males at 6 months? My guy is only 7 pounds. And my 9 month old Orp pullets only weigh 7 to 7 1/2 pounds and that seemed light to me. I am not sure though. I don't have a reference point since this is my first year.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Amy - just be warned..........some on the Marans thread can be a bit unwelcoming. It's a very fast paced thread and sometimes posts get overlooked. As long as you are prepared for it, it's not a big deal.

chiqita - I think we are looking at birds in the same way, just not getting it across to each other so well.

I really like that chest on the boy in the back that you are thinking of keeping. I wonder if you could improve the hackle coloring by mating him to a really dark female?

I miss my turkeys, but they wouldn't EVER go into the coop at night. So frustrating. They were so friendly.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
If you wormed in September, you should be fine.