Chickens In Ya Window

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Cockatrice6420 said:
Oh, yeah I meant to say that here too! Happy Halloween all you boos and gouls!
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RavynFallen said:
Since advice was asked for, here it is... if you don't want to hear it, just skip over, but it's here for any who do... please keep in mind this is opinion only but it is based on experiences, research, failures, successes, and advice from reputable sources... and I explained acronyms just in case anyone didn't catch what the meant yet... :)

For whichever breed/breeds you want to work with, learn everything you can about them first... if you want to breed to SOP (Standard of Perfection), get the book... don't get the ones on eBay, many of those are photocopies of the old standards and while those are still good it will be missing new breeds accepted after those were printed... go to the APA (American Poultry Association) website and they have either the cheaper black & white copy ($13) or the full color book ($59)... then look into reputable books specific to the breed, even some of the old books have great info too... learn how to tell good birds from not so good birds and what is something you can work with and what is not...

PQ (pet quality) is fine if you just want chickens of a particular type... when looking for quality stock to base off of, the best option is not to chase around SQ (show quality) exclusively... SQ is fine from known reputable breeders (but watch the prices) but in a lot of cases it gives a false sense of what you might get... SQ just means a particular bird won in a show... if it's at a State or higher level against a good representation of the breed (good number of entries) then it means something... but someone can take a bird to a county fair with no other competition and win by default as well... not saying all people do this, but it has happened... and just because they are SQ doesn't mean they will produce SQ offspring... and ethically you can't sell the offspring as SQ unless it has proven itself in a show...

Best ones to look for is BQ (breeder quality) stock and work from there... BQ is good foundation but still needs work... or could even be at SQ level, just hasn't been shown... also a person who states BQ rather than just spouting SQ is one I would feel is more honest than someone who swears all their birds and offspring are SQ... that's just not realistic... and there are no perfect birds... keeping good quality is not just pairing up a couple nice birds, it's a continuous line of breeding, selecting, culling and breeding some more...

If you can, always keep at least 2 roosters... hens are important, but the rooster supplies 50% of the DNA for all the offspring... and always keep your best and only sell off what you don't need...

For buying right now, if you can afford it and can quarantine properly and can plan them into your wintering over, I suggest doing it... Spring is the sellers market, Fall is the buyers market... now is when many breeders are making final cuts on some of the 'too good to be culls, but not quite good enough to keep over winter' stock... if you have good contacts that will give you a good deal for nice stock in Spring then wait it out... you'll have to weigh those pros and cons yourself... but come Spring, most breeders will be keeping the good ones and selling the lesser quality...

Oh, and learn the market for your area and get a working plan for an outlet of any and all excess from your breeding... whether it be processing yourself, an auction, selling on CL or giving them away for free...

Hope this helps... :)
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Excellent!!! Thank you, Ravyn! Lots of great advice. I think I am being a bit impatient. I keep learning more each day and then looking back at mistakes and thinking "oh I wasted 6 months. I could have been somewhere by now". But what is my rush?! I've got the rest of my life to enjoy this hobby. I am going to get the book that you recommended and start reading it. Then I'm going to see what my market is like. Did you see on "moms" thread that the black pullet crowed this morning???!! I don't even know what sex chickens I have yet! Ok before me writing anymore, I'm going to re-read what you wrote and digest it. Thank you again!

WalnutHill said:
Beautifully written, Ravyn.

While it is sometimes possible to breed out bad traits over time by breeding with stock that does not have the flaws, it's generally cheaper in the long run to start with birds that don't have major flaws, whether breeding for show or pet. And it's important to grow your first few hatches out to maturity, taking photos at least weekly, so you can backtrack and see what the faults and good features look like in very young chicks.

I am on my fifth generation of Narragansett and I've worked very hard to retain the exceptional conformation, temperament, and color of this line while working on increasing the size and shank length. A few BQ birds have probably slipped through my fingers when I sell as poults, but I always have enough to choose from. My rule of thumb is to save the best 10% each year for next year's program including the best male under 3 years old. I broke that rule selling one of my cockerels this fall, but he had only 2 of 3 desirable characteristics (color, conformation). His temperament left something to be desired.

Selling surplus birds at point of lay or broiler size is a good way to get a look at the nearly full grown birds to help make decisions about your breeders. Selling to a family member, friend or neighbor works too.
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The baby smacked my phone before I could type...this is also great advice. Again I think I need some more patience. This is my first flock, all started from eggs and they are all maturing at such different rates! One crowed at 6 weeks and one just started crowing at almost 6 months! Combs are just emerging. I like the idea of taking pictures and notes on development. Maybe I should wait till spring to make any drastic changes and first see what I'm already working with. Thank you for this great advice also.
 
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WalnutHill said:
Beautifully written, Ravyn.

While it is sometimes possible to breed out bad traits over time by breeding with stock that does not have the flaws, it's generally cheaper in the long run to start with birds that don't have major flaws, whether breeding for show or pet. And it's important to grow your first few hatches out to maturity, taking photos at least weekly, so you can backtrack and see what the faults and good features look like in very young chicks.

I am on my fifth generation of Narragansett and I've worked very hard to retain the exceptional conformation, temperament, and color of this line while working on increasing the size and shank length. A few BQ birds have probably slipped through my fingers when I sell as poults, but I always have enough to choose from. My rule of thumb is to save the best 10% each year for next year's program including the best male under 3 years old. I broke that rule selling one of my cockerels this fall, but he had only 2 of 3 desirable characteristics (color, conformation). His temperament left something to be desired.

Selling surplus birds at point of lay or broiler size is a good way to get a look at the nearly full grown birds to help make decisions about your breeders. Selling to a family member, friend or neighbor works too.
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Pictures are something I need to be better at for sure. Between cataloging fungus and chick pics, I need a few SD cards to start. My phone is getting too loaded up, lol.
 
That test batch I ran ended up a flop. I'm on another, working with different age birds and my barneys. I wasn't aware until the other thread that a hens age makes a difference in viability... I know it sounds stupid but I just hadn't thought of it. So this time I ran a couple barneys and a couple ameracauna eggs and sure shooting my older girls eggs are developing great and the barneys were clear, so I pitched them.
 
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