Cream Legbars

[Whoops]

If there were CL breeders nearer to me, I'd go with A.I. In a heartbeat.

Is that a viable option? Because it would make this workable! Especially as I would be very small scale. For the first few generations, I would probably want to change out the roo every generation as there wouldn't be much purpose to repeat breeding until I got the type I wanted consistently. Plus I am interested in only doing a couple of hatches a year and then keeping the best pullets, and keeping very good statistics on how each pullet performs. Hmmmmmm, the trick might be finding a breeder who was willing to milk a rooster and getting it into the hens fast enough.

 

[normanack]

Is that a viable option?  Because it would make this workable!  Especially as I would be very small scale.  For the first few generations, I would probably want to change out the roo every generation as there wouldn't be much purpose to repeat breeding until I got the type I wanted consistently.  Plus I am interested in only doing a couple of hatches a year and then keeping the best pullets, and keeping very good statistics on how each pullet performs.   Hmmmmmm, the trick might be finding a breeder who was willing to milk a rooster and getting it into the hens fast enough.

It's more a wish on my part than any actual knowledge of possibility.
Here's an article: http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou...ew_of_artificial_insemination_in_poultry.html
Looks like the technique is doable. Don't know how to keep the product (cough) at the proper temperature, nor if it's able to be shipped. Or how big the bribe needs to be to get someone to participate in the endeavor.

 

[1muttsfan]

I think that without complicated equipment such as dry ice for freezing, AI needs to be done immediately after collection. You could transport a hen or two to a roo. Once they have been inseminated, the sperm are stored for up to several weeks in the hen's reproductive tract, so you wouldn't have to be doing it every day. AI itself is not very complicated, and folks with heavily feathered birds such as cochins do it to improve reproductive success.

There are some good videos on youtube that show the technique.

 

[CibolaChooks]

I am getting more and more enthused about this breed! I would love to get into breeding them, but that takes a rooster and I live in the city. The different "rules" or accepted practices in poultry breeding seem like good sense - I love that you don't have closed studbooks. But, I just have to figure out a way to have a city roo without tormenting the neighbors.

im at juantabo and copper right now and the lil bantum rooster is going off as i type. a neighbor 3 houses down came over and complimented him on his crows. she grew up on a farm and just loves to hear him in the morning. Its also gained egg buying customers due to the roos advertising. I used to have A EE rooster and several other roosters at this location. They would crow but i also heard another roo to the west and one to the south east responding. They would go back and forth talking to each other. When i heard one of the other ones crow my rooster would quickly reply. we never got any complaints.

 

[CibolaChooks]

Is that a viable option? Because it would make this workable! Especially as I would be very small scale. For the first few generations, I would probably want to change out the roo every generation as there wouldn't be much purpose to repeat breeding until I got the type I wanted consistently. Plus I am interested in only doing a couple of hatches a year and then keeping the best pullets, and keeping very good statistics on how each pullet performs. Hmmmmmm, the trick might be finding a breeder who was willing to milk a rooster and getting it into the hens fast enough.

Picking up roosters just makes them mean in my experience . a quick pet to the chest or tickling under their beak they love but milking i wouldn't do it. I could make a pen no one lives in to breed in but im also really weird about people coming to my place. We do live in New Mexico after all and lots of stealing chickens goes on.

 

[Whoops]

im at juantabo and copper right now and the lil bantum rooster is going off as i type. a neighbor 3 houses down came over and complimented him on his crows. she grew up on a farm and just loves to hear him in the morning. Its also gained egg buying customers due to the roos advertising. I used to have A EE rooster and several other roosters at this location. They would crow but i also heard another roo to the west and one to the south east responding. They would go back and forth talking to each other. When i heard one of the other ones crow my rooster would quickly reply. we never got any complaints.

hmmmmm I am at Eubank and Menaul. I have never heard one crow, here, but the dogs are always barking, kids screaming, and people sawing and doing projects. Maybe I should just get one and give it a try. I could experiment with the sock thing someone talked about if it seemed like an issue, or keeping him in the garage in the morning. I don't mind the idea of crowing at all, but don't want to push the neighbors over the edge. I will ponder this. I really like the idea of buying one of your roos, I just want to make sure I can manage him properly.

 

[GaryDean26]

Buying a pair of these to add to my flock. No real lofty aspirations, but even as pet quality I'd like to breed for genetics as much as possible. I know virtually zero about this breed so tossing some photos in here of potential birds that I'll hatch a few out of next spring. Of the birds pictured below, which (if any) would you recommend for my hobby flock? [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] Cockerel 1 (4 months) or Cockerel 2 (3 months) [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] Pullet 1 (4 months) or Pullet 2 (3 Months)

Yes...it is hard to pick breeders from photos, especially from just head shots, but I would am srongly leaning to pullet #1. The beak on pullet #2 is way to long (or is it the camera angle?). You want a short curved beak. Watch the black lacing on the breast of hen #1 and if possible breed away from it. Cockerel #2 looks like the better choice to me, but I wouldn't rule out #1 yet.

 

[dretd]

Quote: I Whoops! I do have a comment for you on placing the roo in the garage. The first roo I hatched out was a very early crower. I was worried about the neighbors so I started putting him in the barn every night. He had been nice before but within a week of that process he started challenging me and turned into a jerk. It may be coincidence, but I think removing him every night made made him see me as a threat--essentially I took him away from his flock and it made him mad. He was a great flock protector but when we hatched a new set of babies, I re-homed him along with 2 of his sons and kept a third who is very respectful and a model rooster.

Had I to do it again, I would not have put him in the barn, but rather been more pro-active with my closest neighbor. It turned out that he actually finds the crowing charming and if I had known that beforehand I would not have put the roo in the barn and may have avoided turning him into a jerk.

 

[normanack]

. . . . Had I to do it again, I would not have put him in the barn, but rather been more pro-active with my closest neighbor. It turned out that he actually finds the crowing charming and if I had known that beforehand I would not have put the roo in the barn and may have avoided turning him into a jerk.

Have to second the neighbor thing. People might not mind the crowing, particularly if they know to expect it. As far as I know you really can't muffle or mute a rooster. Mine all have their volume knob set at 11, and they crow on and off all day.

 

[LaBella]

Have to second the neighbor thing. People might not mind the crowing, particularly if they know to expect it. As far as I know you really can't muffle or mute a rooster. Mine all have their volume knob set at 11, and they crow on and off all day.

One of them HAS to be named Nigel Tufnel, or there is no justice in this world, lol.