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

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

because I have 15 sumatra Roo's. And I like the behavior from them. If I keep this leghorn/Sumatra mix, he will be my ONLY non Sumatra roo, and will stay penned. I said " I think it is a horrible life living at a show" . Think being the key word that got missed. I stated my opinion. I did not state it as fact. Please don't misquote to make a point. I won't.

Actually, I said: "you also said you thought that 'it is a horrible life living at a show'". I put a "thought" in there and never tried to say that you stated it as a fact. There is no reason for you to be offended here.

 

[stonykill]

Actually, I said: "you also said you thought that 'it is a horrible life living at a show'". I put a "thought" in there and never tried to say that you stated it as a fact. There is no reason for you to be offended here.

not offended. Simply pointing out what you chose to put in quotes.

Anyway, back on point, I agree the splashes are pretty pullets. I don't see me keeping that without doing the same sex link again. there is a possibility that mating those hybrid splashes with a blue Sumatra roo will produce all blue or splash offspring. Not sure if the same will apply with the blue hybrids that Walt pointed to earlier. I assume color is color, regardless of breed, but not sure. That is part of my reason for asking. To make a plan for this winters hatchings. I actually have a few ideas already since I posted this. Ideas to try reallizing there aren't any guarantee's with experiments.
While I don't care about pretty birds all that much, my egg customers seem to like them. So I guess it matters some.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

My grandma who had chickens for many years always said that if you put ashes or charcoal from a fire in your chicken pen it will help keep them parasite free. I've yet to try it but it did seem to work for her. Have any of you old timers tried this? If so, how did it work?

 

[stonykill]

My grandma who had chickens for many years always said that if you put ashes or charcoal from a fire in your chicken pen it will help keep them parasite free. I've yet to try it but it did seem to work for her. Have any of you old timers tried this? If so, how did it work?

my free range chickens roll in an ash pile all of the time. it works great for me

 

[fowlman01]

I have Sumatra's to breed with Sumatra's in a seperate pen and free ranging. Like I said, this is for my own egg laying flock. And again, my opinion on shows isn't why I posted. I simply said they won't be shown or sold and were for my own flock only.

I'm honestly not sure that only a little of the Sumatra will show. Looks wise, not sure. But look at the splash hens. They look like splash Sumatra's, not anything like white leghorns. once I either incubate more or have a broody do the work, I'll find out. As long as they lay well, are healthy , and the roosters have enough meat to eat, I'm happy. THAT is why I mentioned they would not be shown. Showing is not even a consideration, even at a county fair. I want eggs and meat, and an opinion as to what might help the process. I'm seeing now it is up to me to figure out, as I offend those who show.

If you tell me what breeds you have to breed from, I will attempt to give you the best way to get the best egg/meat offspring from what you have. Observe the breeding you have already done, but I don't think it will achieve your goal. Playing with breeding is fun....just don't sell or trade the birds you create without disclosing what you have done.

Which rooster where you asking about? Also..what color are the Sumatra's foot pads?



Walt

 

[fowlman01]

i think what walt is saying. you started with a bird that is not true (.true meaning not proven ) therefor the lineage of the bird is unknown.
by breeding such a bird there is no true way to know what you have as a building block. there may genes in that breeding bird that will show up later on. therefor any offspring of those birds will never give you a base to build. f1 generations are the first offspring of the parent stock. now that we have f1 what are you going to breed to. yes you can breed to your stock and hope you get what you are looking for. however the gene pool is to mixed up. so you never know what you are going to get except more birds .

Thank you...that is what I was saying.

Walt

 

[stonykill]

If you tell me what breeds you have to breed from, I will attempt to give you the best way to get the best egg/meat offspring from what you have. Observe the breeding you have already done, but I don't think it will achieve your goal. Playing with breeding is fun....just don't sell or trade the birds you create without disclosing what you have done.

Which rooster where you asking about? Also..what color are the Sumatra's foot pads?



Walt

hens are RIR, White leghorn, EE (always a gamble I'm sure) , black Austrolop, and Sumatra hens.

All of the Sumatra's have yellow foot pads. I honestly haven't paid the least bit of attention to the foot pad color of the hybrids as I wasn't concerned with it.

As Stated, these birds are not for sale. Hens are for eggs, 99.9 % of roosters are for the freezer. If a hens lays poorly, she will be in the freezer.

Only time will tell on the success. The roosters at 16 weeks are getting to be a nice size. I'll see how they look at 20 weeks and may dispatch one to see how the meat is. Egg production I'm not worried about. I only hatched from my best laying hens. So I'm hopeful that will show in the pullets.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

not offended. Simply pointing out what you chose to put in quotes.

Anyway, back on point, I agree the splashes are pretty pullets. I don't see me keeping that without doing the same sex link again. there is a possibility that mating those hybrid splashes with a blue Sumatra roo will produce all blue or splash offspring. Not sure if the same will apply with the blue hybrids that Walt pointed to earlier. I assume color is color, regardless of breed, but not sure. That is part of my reason for asking. To make a plan for this winters hatchings. I actually have a few ideas already since I posted this. Ideas to try reallizing there aren't any guarantee's with experiments.
While I don't care about pretty birds all that much, my egg customers seem to like them. So I guess it matters some.

I don't think it would be possible to keep the sex linkage up. I think sex linked birds are kind of like mules. This is some info I found recently on sex linkage that might help you decide: "The number 1 rule is that two sex linked chickens can not be crossed to produce sex linked offspring. A sex linked chicken can not be crossed with any other variety of chicken to produce sex linked offspring. A person can not produce sex linked offspring if they cross a male sex linked variety with any variety of female. A person can not produce sex linked offspring if they cross any variety of male with a sex linked female. A person can not use sex linked birds in any cross to produce sex linked offspring. There is one exception to rule number one; a red sex link that is a non-barred and non-dominant white male can be used in a black sex linked cross."- https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261208/sex-linked-information

 

[stonykill]

I don't think it would be possible to keep the sex linkage up. I think sex linked birds are kind of like mules. This is some info I found recently on sex linkage that might help you decide: "The number 1 rule is that two sex linked chickens can not be crossed to produce sex linked offspring. A sex linked chicken can not be crossed with any other variety of chicken to produce sex linked offspring. A person can not produce sex linked offspring if they cross a male sex linked variety with any variety of female. A person can not produce sex linked offspring if they cross any variety of male with a sex linked female. A person can not use sex linked birds in any cross to produce sex linked offspring. There is one exception to rule number one; a red sex link that is a non-barred and non-dominant white male can be used in a black sex linked cross."- https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261208/sex-linked-information

yes, that is what I was trying, not so eloquantly to say I thought. To keep the splash I came up with, I must not breed those, but their parents to achieve the same. Which I may just do, if they produce nice eggs often. My customers do really love those girls. So I could sell the heck out of their eggs.

thanks for the link to clarify my thoughts. I hadn't looked it up yet

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

yes, that is what I was trying, not so eloquantly to say I thought. To keep the splash I came up with, I must not breed those, but their parents to achieve the same. Which I may just do, if they produce nice eggs often. My customers do really love those girls. So I could sell the heck out of their eggs.

thanks for the link to clarify my thoughts. I hadn't looked it up yet

Sounds like a good plan to me.

Your welcome.