California - Northern

[CackleJoy]

the basics are: a Red Rooster over a barred/cuckoo or silver female will give you a red or black sex link. The barring is passed from a female only to her male offspring. The females will all carry the red from their dad. The cuckoo/barred mama passes black on to the female but not the barring. She will have red on her head and neck from her dad.

A silver rooster paired with a barred female will create solid black female and barred male chicks. If he is put over a red hen you get a red sex link...

A Blue Rooster or one that carries a blue gene will create a blue sex link if put over a barred/cuckoo female

So a blue wheaten cockerel, or splash, should work as well as a solid blue! How fun! I must try this. Going to save these comments to my mad scientist file.

 

[Audio51]

We have a grand total of 11 babies in our mini "rabbitry".

My other doe had six, but one didn't make it.

That's a lot of bunnies! Congratualtions!

te name="Audio51" url="/t/25/california-northern/47490#post_13346812"]Anyone???

I don't know for sure.

If you think it was resp id wait if you think it was growing pains id let it go.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure about the growing pains thing. I haven't heard of that before. Is it common for them the develop respiratory problems when they are young? The one I picked up for Chik CAN was showing symptoms first about a week or so after I brought it home. The others slowly started sounding ratttly and getting runny noses. All but one seem over it, now but it seems contagious since they all got it at some point...some worse than others. I think I will at least keep them separated until the last one is over it.

Anyone???

I don't know but I am sure when someone sees this and does know they will chime in.
I hope so.....don't want my whole flock to get sick.

 

[sewandgrow]

So a blue wheaten cockerel, or splash, should work as well as a solid blue! How fun! I must try this. Going to save these comments to my mad scientist file.

I too saved this in a file. I can't trust myself to keep it straight....LOL

 

[CackleJoy]

I don't suppose going out to talk to her every few minutes is helping

 

[Kaylish]

Breeding chickens is a LOT more complicated than looking at the color calculator and putting a few birds together.

Kathy, who recreated the Delaware, had to breed hundreds of chicks in order to get the silver sports that she needed in the first couple years. I think she ended up with 4 breedable pullets out of 300.
I bought F4s from her and they have nice type but still don't have standard coloring. Most of the fifth generation chicks that I'm producing still look like they have too much barring.

So, recreating a Delaware is a long process, you don't get Delawares from just crossing a BR x NH.


Many people who raise chickens don't realize that it's the type (shape) that makes a breed a breed, not the color. If you took a giraffe and somehow made it have zebra stripes, it would still be a giraffe.

It would be a very poor example of a giraffe, too!
That's exactly what's happening with many breeds of chickens. Breeders are focusing on all the colors and producing poor type birds with fancy coloring. The feathers are pretty- but underneath is a shape that does not define the true breed.

Here are some photos from the APA Standard that I modified, trying to remove the color and show the shape. (The APA Standard is copyrighted and can't be reproduced. Hope this is ok.)
This is a Dorking and a Delaware. Look at the outline shape of the birds. They are nothing alike!

My point here is that, if you want to breed purebred ie standard bred chickens, you need to pay attention to type first, and color/pattern as icing on the cake. That's really what separates the hatchery chickens from the standard bred birds. If you look at chickens from hatcheries (and many breeders), they all have a similar unspecific shape. When you go to a show and see chickens bred to their standard, you see chickens with proper type- as well as beautiful feathers. APA Standard bred chickens are in need of good breeders, btw.

Lots of people are mixing breeds and making fancy colors but few are trying to preserve the historically significant breeds of poultry.

One more thing, regarding the color calculator. Chickens don't always reproduce as expected. In addition to what you see, their phenotype, is a whole lot of genes (their genotype) that you can't see. Those unseen genes pop up and create all kinds of surprises. The more you cross lines and add new birds, the more genetic surprises you create. That's why most standard bred chicken breeders linebreed- for predictability. That's why I am doing pedigree breeding. I am identifying the parents of every chick that I'm raising and keeping records of all their traits. I'm culling the traits that are undesired and selecting for the traits that I want. I never use the color calculator because it can't really tell me the genotype of my birds.

I have bred dogs and am a breeder of purebred cattle, sheep and pigs, in addition to chickens. Chicken breeding to standard is by far the most challenging.

Wonderful information! Definitely one of the first things I noticed going to my first chicken show last month was how much Bigger and "rounder" the Buff Orps were than my feedstore girls; after seeing the show birds my girls hips/tail seem kinda pinched.

We have a grand total of 11 babies in our mini "rabbitry".

My other doe had six, but one didn't make it.

Yea! love baby bunnies; I had Netherland dwarfs growing up.

Sorry but I just wanted to share my bantam babies. I sat in the coop and hung out with them yesterday. I am easily entertained.












I have been told that the silvers are girls and the golds are boys...hoping that is true.

Adorable!

 

[Kaylish]

Can anyone recommend a (semi)local breeder or hatchery for Cornish Xs? We've decided to try our hand at meat birds and are looking for 12 or so. I don't have an incubator (yet

) so would need chicks. Also - any tips on raising or processing would be awesome!

 

[caychris]

Moving to the country was definitely a positive move but also a lot more work, albeit FUN still WORK..!!!!!! LOL

But the work would benefit me more.

 

[caychris]

I don't suppose going out to talk to her every few minutes is helping

Pretty.

 

[tommysgirl]

So a blue wheaten cockerel, or splash, should work as well as a solid blue! How fun! I must try this. Going to save these comments to my mad scientist file.

I am not sure about the Blue Weaten but the Splash will work

I would eventually like an Isbar roo to be my blue baby maker.

Can anyone recommend a (semi)local breeder or hatchery for Cornish Xs? We've decided to try our hand at meat birds and are looking for 12 or so. I don't have an incubator (yet

) so would need chicks. Also - any tips on raising or processing would be awesome!

I may be wrong but I believe that the Cornish X is a closely guarded hatchery secret and there are no breeders outside of the hatchery setting. Another factor in that is that they get so big...the males in partiucular can not mate naturally. If you don't want to go the hatchery route a lot of us hatch boys that make good eating though they take longer to mature they are more tastey.

I don't suppose going out to talk to her every few minutes is helping

She is quite lovely but she watch those future chicks for signs of alcohol exposure.

 

[JDXX]

Got another Cream Legbar pullet egg today. also got a special surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Look at that!!!!!!



and another view Cream Legbar pullet eggs far left



Seriously though this is the biggest chicken egg I have ever seen!!!!!!!!



This is from our Silver Sussex hen. She has not laid in a couple of days and then this!!!! I hope shes ok!!