Choosing my roster

[thejessielouwho]

I have been raising some americanna chicks.. I was gonna keep one of the males, but which one.. I really like this one, he matured faster than the others, i like his color, and he acts more like a rooster (top dog).. One flaw.. his out side toes on both feet curl back.. It doesnt seem to bother him.. Is it an icubator mishap or genetic.. I would not want to use him as a rooster if that genetics is the problem.. and would this be a hindrance to him in mating?

 

[dewey]

For what it's worth (no chicken expert here) if having to choose from within the existing chicks, I'd pick the one with the best conformation.

 

[WallTenters]

I agree with the previous poster. However, I've been told that faster growing chicks don't do well on shavings - did you raise these guys on wire or on soft footing? We have found that moving them to wire at about three weeks old seems to help. From what I was told and have experienced, this is only when the outside toe is curling out and back - if there are any other crooked toes or kinks in the toes those are definitely genetic and would cull that out.

Look up the Standard of Perfection for your breed and try to find the bird that most closely matches that. Sometimes a library will have an older copy that should do just fine.

 

[thejessielouwho]

Thanks, I guess Ill go with my next choice.. again thanks