Chicken Math & Genetics Experiments in Southeast Missouri

[halefamily_flock]

Would love to see and hear some updates. The birds are gorgeous.

Thank you! Here is an update on the Dominique-Spitzhauben crosses hatched Aug 2020. We kept 2 of the 6 pullets that showed the most leakage (I like to call it "gold flaming") and sold the other 4 who were mostly solid black at 8 weeks old.

Here are the pullets, at 10 weeks old

Here is the pullet with most gold flaming, at 4 months old. She's been testing out nest boxes for about a week now. Hoping to discover her egg color very soon!

Dom-Spitz Pullet (4 months old)

We sold one cockerel with the 4 girls, and still have the other 2.

Here are the cockerels, at 10 weeks old

Dom-Spitz Cockerels (4 months old)

This is Crazy Train. I had originally assumed he and his brother, Fancy, would be destined for freezer camp. They were good sex links, but the point was to identify marketable pullets vs. "extra" cockerels, right? Wrong. He started developing lots of beautiful colors from his Spitz daddy + rose comb from his Dominique mama. I have to admit, I've been a little smitten with this one. Might need to do a little test breeding before we send him to freezer camp.

Here is his brother, Fancy.

Fancy is next in line for freezer camp, but he keeps getting unexpected reprieves. For example, this...

As my 3 cockerels have become sexually mature (in a flock of 25 hens and 3 other roosters), I've been keeping an eye out for issues. As is necessary in a flock of too many roos, I have an extra pen, ready to separate troublemakers at a moment's notice. I generally offer a time out period of a few days, and a second chance, followed by freezer camp for any continuing bad behavior. I also always know which of the boys is next in line to go if, for the good of overall flock dynamics, we simply need to reduce the rooster to hen ratio.

Meet Fancy, a 4-month-old Spitzhauben-Dominique cross who is next in line for freezer camp. His single comb helped me figure out that some of our Dominique hens were heterozygous for rose comb, which I appreciate, but also means I won't be keeping him for breeding. A few weeks ago, he started getting a little too frisky with the girls and I thought it might be his time. Then, the other roosters intervened and got him in line, so I decided to leave him be. He is currently ranked 5 of 6 in pecking order by the other boys.

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This week, I noticed him hanging around one of our Speckled Sussex girls (Speckles), who otherwise tends to be a loner. I was surprised and delighted to find Fancy (previously much more rapey toward the other girls), intent on winning Speckles over with treats & tidbitting, spending most of his day with her.

The only loss we've ever suffered from a predator was one of our other Speckles, also a loner, who was taken by a hawk a few weeks ago. In general, our Speckleses (most of the chickens have names, but any that look the same get the same name) are independent, confident and a bit careless as free-rangers. They also tend to be quite picky with their boys and don't abide any nonsense, especially from young cockerels. I like having him as her personal bodyguard. I guess he gets to stay a little longer.

 

[RebelEgger]

Hello from Nova Scotia and welcome to BYC! You’ve joined a great and resourceful community! Enjoy your journey!
Absolutely beautiful birds!

 

[halefamily_flock]

Also hatched in August 2020 was a single Cream Legbar x Dominique cockerel we named Olaf. Here's what Olaf looks like, at around 4 months old..

Out of 11 eggs hatched from 3 Dominique hens, Olaf was the only one sired by a Cream Legbar. The hens had been free ranging with 2 Gold Spitz and 2 Legbar roos (and an assortment of other hens) and getting action from both rooster breeds on a daily basis. I assumed I would end up with some of both crosses. However, 10 turned out to be Dom-Spitz black sex links, with only one Dom-Bar.

I love how Olaf is turning out, with his gorgeous rose comb and striking barring. I'm looking forward to eventually crossing him back to Legbar hens, to see how close I can get to a rose-combed Legbar.

I also managed to get a few Dom-Bar pullets out of my most recent hatch (Dec 1, 2020), by separating one of my Dominique hens into a breeding pen with the Legbar.

I'm looking forward to seeing what color eggs they lay. I'm guessing a light olive green. The Dominique hen laid pink-tinted eggs with heavy pink bloom, so it should be interesting to see how it combines with Legbar blue.

You can follow their progress here:
need-someone-who-can-read-barred-head-spots-like-tea-leaves-cream-legbar-x-dominque-chicks

 

[halefamily_flock]

Our December 1, 2020 hatch is now 3.5 weeks old. Although it's still too early to know for sure, it appears we lucked out with 11 pullets out of 13 eggs hatched (100% hatch rate).

Left to right: One of 2 Spitz-Legbar pullets; Scarlet, our biggest, reddest (and sassiest) Spitz-Olive Egger; one of 3 Olive Egger-Legbar back cross pullets; and [hopefully] our only Legbar-Dominique cockerel

Left to right: Little brownie, our smallest, darkest brown/least red Spitz-Legbar; one of 3 Legbar-Dominique pullets; and [hopefully] our only Olive Egger-Legbar back cross cockerel

Anyone interested in watching any of them as they grow, can find them here:

Spitz crosses (Spitz x Legbar and Spitz x Olive Egger)
is-there-such-a-thing-as-brown-sex-link-using-barring-gene

Olive Egger-Cream Legbar back crosses
can-you-accurately-sex-day-old-olive-egger-chicks-legbar-welsummer

Legbar-Dominique crosses
need-someone-who-can-read-barred-head-spots-like-tea-leaves-cream-legbar-x-dominque-chicks

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

BEAUTIFUL!! Love the pictures!

 

[halefamily_flock]

We got our first wee eggs from these beauties (Spitzhauben x Dominique). Just shy of 5 months old.


Here they are, next to our lightest brown (Speckled Sussex) and an olive. I wish I had a pure white to compare, but all 5 of my white layers are on hiatus. One is just barely off white with the faintest hint of gray, and the other is a light cream with a pink tint.

 

[halefamily_flock]

Our December 1, 2020 babies are already roosting! They have been in below freezing weather in the outside coop for a couple of weeks now, with 3 heating plates available. They have handled cold nights like little champs, including at least 2 nights less than 18 F/-8 C. They just turned 6 weeks old yesterday. Last night, about half of them roosted instead of cuddle-puddling under a heat plate on a straw bale. Tonight, it was well above freezing and they all decided to roost!

 

[halefamily_flock]

It's tough to get a photo of my adult flock together, since they're usually so spread out. This morning, most of the flock was scratching around in the same spot together. Of course, by the time I got close enough to take a photo they were coming over, expecting treats, so I only got some of them in the shot before they spread out again.

 

[halefamily_flock]

The newest littles got to meet the bigs today.

I'll keep a 50 foot chick fence around the brooder coop for a week or two, or until they start escaping on their own. I had a Welsummer hen break into the confined area today, but none of the littles seem ready to bust out yet. It's my first time trying out chick fencing. Last time, I tried to use the normal chicken fencing we put around the gardens to keep chickens out, but the chicks could walk right through it.

 

[halefamily_flock]

We got our first wee eggs from these beauties (Spitzhauben x Dominique). Just shy of 5 months old.
View attachment 2481008View attachment 2481010

Here they are, next to our lightest brown (Speckled Sussex) and an olive. I wish I had a pure white to compare, but all 5 of my white layers are on hiatus. One is just barely off white with the faintest hint of gray, and the other is a light cream with a pink tint.
View attachment 2481012

Update: These girls are on fire! My two crested black beauties have laid 13 gorgeous eggs in the past 7 days!