Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[IvyMaeWilliams]

Ridgerunner, that's very helpful, thanks! Can't wait to get my pictures up for y'all to see.

 

[fowlman01]

I am not a believer in crooked toes being the result of high incubator temps, I have on many occasions hatched multiple breeds in the same hatch and only those with the genetic propensity to throw crooked toes from the same breed do so and the rest do not. I know this guy who has crooked toed birds and he hatches the fire out of them and they are all crooked toes and he just continues to breed and hatch from them and they just all have bad feet, but he doesn't care. I think the myth of high bator temps vs crooked toes originated from hatchery stocks poor genetics which are not culled and then being incubated by those folks in those super cheap unrealiable foam shoe box bators. That has led to the wide spread BYC myth, since so many people use hatchery stock and those crappy bators................. hence the legend grows.

I agree....the incubator is blamed for a lot of breeder error.

Walt

 

[Fred's Hens]

So what I've read about pinched tails means the hen is harder to successfully breed... So even if I want to save her eggs, there's a good chance they won't be fertile, right?

Pinched tailed birds must breed OK, 'cause the hatcheries sure do produce them by the thousands.

In my mind, the whole pinched up rear end on a Rock is a sober fault. This detracts greatly from what the Rock hen should look like and for good reason. I like them wide across the back, in fact, the width of the shoulders should carry toward the tail in a nice, slow reduction, not suddenly pinch up, and often leaving a high mound or tuft cushion back there. Not a good look for me. I like to see a nice "tent" when viewed from the back. I like to see a nice rounded breast out front, naturally, not just a bump from the crop. This is all stuff in the inner eye thing. Remember, I'm just an old farmer, not a poultry judge, but I know what I like and don't like in a Rock hen.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree....the incubator is blamed for a lot of breeder error.

Walt

I'm not arguing that at all. I agree with you. A lot of things get blame put where it does not belong.

Poultry Science research says it can happen. Doesn't matter to me why it happens. If it happens it is gone. I'm not into excuses. I probably did not say it well, but that was the point I was trying to make. Don't look for excuses. Look for results.

 

[al6517]

Yeah Walt it always amazes me how many goofy excusses originate on the BYC due to breeder error then twisted around to reflect a conditional error or an experience issue or anything else besides what it really is. People buying crappy birds from crappy sourses (Hatcheries) who's main goal is to continue to Hatch sub par stock to sell to the masses and feed the frenzy before the bottom falls out of the fadish trend of keeping chickens in your living room. Hatchery fanatics will be almost proudly militant when they say they don't care what the bird looks like as long as they lay 2 eggs a day each and do it every single day forever. Then when they get to the point where they want to try their hand at hatching, they use the same crappy birds they say they just love and then get all bent out of shape when the hatches turn out to be mutants of something that resembles a chicken, then get into a tiff and blame the egg's, feed, conditions, bators, methods, and whatever else that will fill the pages of BYC drivel, that just continues to fuel the fire. That's realy not my opinion as it is more of a fact.

 

[NikkiMiChickie]

Pinched tailed birds must breed OK, 'cause the hatcheries sure do produce them by the thousands.  

Lol, fair point well made, Fred! I like her well enough to give it a shot. My plan then is to start with her and see what I get. Pinched tails don't taste any differently than a tent tail, right? I can then selectively cull for that trait in later generations. Or, I can get 3-4 nice hens from a reputable breeder and go from there in the future. To keep my marriage stable, I'm going to start with my hatchery mutts though!

Here's my roo. Don't poke too much fun at his pants... I love this bird!

 

[Beekissed]

Yeah Walt it always amazes me how many goofy excusses originate on the BYC due to breeder error then twisted around to reflect a conditional error or an experience issue or anything else besides what it really is. People buying crappy birds from crappy sourses (Hatcheries) who's main goal is to continue to Hatch sub par stock to sell to the masses and feed the frenzy before the bottom falls out of the fadish trend of keeping chickens in your living room. Hatchery fanatics will be almost proudly militant when they say they don't care what the bird looks like as long as they lay 2 eggs a day each and do it every single day forever. Then when they get to the point where they want to try their hand at hatching, they use the same crappy birds they say they just love and then get all bent out of shape when the hatches turn out to be mutants of something that resembles a chicken, then get into a tiff and blame the egg's, feed, conditions, bators, methods, and whatever else that will fill the pages of BYC drivel, that just continues to fuel the fire. That's realy not my opinion as it is more of a fact.

He's back and in rare form! You OTs are the highlight of my day as you shine light on dark places in the poultry world. I just want to say what an honor it has been to know you all.

 

[RiddleMe]

Quote:
Really looking forward to this discussion continuing, I understand breeding to SOP but have also been curious about general conformation and breeding decisions when your desire is "just" a backyard dual purpose mutt flock. Ie when things like color, tail angle, etc are purely personal preference or just not important. And maybe a lot of this is covered in the first part of the SOP... my two Christmas list items are an SOP and an incubator, if they aren't under the tree I'll be shopping post Christmas. But I plan to practice incubating with my current hatchery birds while finalizing decisions wrt a heritage breed (I've had a few broody hatches based on pure flock mating, wanting to try a planned, technological approach now).

So, below is what I believe I've learned wrt general conformation, please expand on/correct these thoughts!!

1) the wider tent = a wider pelvis and easier laying
2) a wide back and slow reduction from shoulder to tail = better abdominal width and more room for internal organs
3) a nicely curved breast = a longer keel bone and more room for breast meat
4) a flat lower breast = a shorter keel bone and less room for breast meat?
5) a flat breast = shallow keel bone and less room for breast meat?
6) a longer/shorter back - is this just breed/personal preference or is there an anatomical benefit?

 

[mmmchicken]

Question for you OT's if you'd please .... How often do you make a thorough check of your chickens? I see you all talking about mites etc... rarely do I ever picked up my chickens (and never have I held them upside down... even out of curiosity! and honestly, ever since the rooster declared himself as such, the closest I get to him is when my foot makes contact with his head. So... I am pretty much letting the chickens do their thing. They look fine. They look ... chicken happy. Their feathers are nice etc.. What is your recommendation? I work and don't get out by them nearly as often as I like, but just seeing if this is something I should consider giving more time of to care for my chickens properly.

 

[Beekissed]

Question for you OT's if you'd please .... How often do you make a thorough check of your chickens? I see you all talking about mites etc... rarely do I ever picked up my chickens (and never have I held them upside down... even out of curiosity! and honestly, ever since the rooster declared himself as such, the closest I get to him is when my foot makes contact with his head. So... I am pretty much letting the chickens do their thing. They look fine. They look ... chicken happy. Their feathers are nice etc.. What is your recommendation? I work and don't get out by them nearly as often as I like, but just seeing if this is something I should consider giving more time of to care for my chickens properly.

Before getting this ill-used flock back in my coops, I only examined birds once a year unless I spotted an obvious problem...which is so rare as to be almost never. Of course, I am just talking from a backyard perspective and not a breeder point of view.

Each year I do a cull. I've pretty much already visualized the birds that will make that cull just by watching their behavior, overall appearance, health and feed thrift. The only physical exam I do at that point is to check for who is laying, who is not...the rooster gets out of this exam but I swear even he lays an egg the morning after a yearly culling. He is that motivated to stay out of the cull...

So, for your answer...once a year for layers, never for the rooster...except if a problem is spotted.

Problems that warrant a closer inspection than just eyeballing? Feather loss when there shouldn't be any, skinny bird when it didn't used to be, any visible wound, skin problem or obvious limp, excessive scratching or shaking of the head, a bird standing off by itself in a hunched manner or staying by itself in the coop in the same hunched stance. Check these last ones, in particular. Sometimes it's nothing and you will see the bird later all happy with the flock, but if she is easily caught while standing there, could be something is wrong.