CSU - Chicken State University- Large Fowl SOP

[JeffOeuf]

I have an Easter Egger with the most perfect tent. Looks just like the pictures. She's a lovely girl. One of my others is pretty good, my two sex-links are pinched, and my youngest mutt pullet has a very upright tail sort of like a Sebright, but she's closer in size to a large frame. My wife says she looks more like a roadrunner than a chicken.

 

[Fred's Hens]

So, what's your pleasure, y'all?

Ready to move on with another breed? Continue to try and get discussion on the New Hamps? Declare this whole idea a bust? What?

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

How interesting. Any idea why some breeds are to have the "tent" and others are to have a "semi-circle" of feathers?

 

[cluck-cluck]

There is a logic to most things. What we "see" on the outside, relates to what skeletal structure exists beneath. For example, a nice wide tent and wide rear provides space for egg production, digestion and reproduction. Space for the organs we cannot see. The deeper keel provides for most space for organs and can potentially provide for more breast meat. If the legs are set too close together, a common fault, the entire internal body of the bird gets compressed into a narrow channel. A proper head bespeaks intelligence. This is just a farmer talking, so take it for what it's worth.

LOL, well, as a newbie, I'm glad to be able to glean this information from an old hand so perhaps knowledge will indeed be passed down once again. The internet never ceases to amaze me! Thank you again!

As for me, this is bad news

as my very first chickens are those I hatched from Trader Joe's fertile eggs, and I'm quite attached to them! They will always have a home here, but it will be sad if they won't be providing eggs throughout their lives. However, knowing now that some birds do provide eggs throughout most of their lives is great. I don't want to constantly raise chicks to replace older birds. I like them already older (weird person that I am) and it just seems more economical because they eat so darn much while growing up and not providing any eggs, it seems to me the longer their adult productive lives are, the more economical it would be.

 

[Pozees]

So, what's your pleasure, y'all?

Ready to move on with another breed? Continue to try and get discussion on the New Hamps? Declare this whole idea a bust? What?

I would like to learn a bit more about the NH while Rock owners begin posting their pictures, and some has to do with things that may apply to other breeds. One of the things I have seen several times is "the heads need work" but I confess I don't know most of what constitutes a good head. I learned it in dogs, and would like to learn it in chickens. I would also like to know if there are some of you who have developed an eye for picking out the best chicks at an early age, and what it is you look for. Is there a specific shape or relative size you seek because you know that 99% of the time it will mature into a great adult, a great head, the perfect size? To me, this is perhaps the single best reason for marking chicks even when you are only breeding one pair, and document with pictures and notes, if in fact there are traits you can spot early on.

Remember how Bob posted on HLF about a cockerel he had largely ignored and he had suddenly matured into a really great looking bird? What made him keep him and just put him away for a while? Was there something about his particular ugly duckling stage that told him he would grow into a good adult?

I will never be unhappy if someone buys a chick from me and does well at shows and/or breeding, but I sure would like to know if there is a way to spot the potential future stars, or conversely, the likely future members of the freezer camp/layer flock only.

If there is no such thing then I'm happy to continue learning all the rest, believe me! The pictures of correct markings and how they match the SOP description are SO instructive. Knowing what the words mean in life makes a huge difference in the way I read the SOP.

One more thing - the NH Grand Champion picture that Bob posted *to me* looked like a much lighter red than I would have expected. Is that lighting or is that the ideal red?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Here's what I look for on the head. Looking down from above, I like to see width. A wider skull just suggests intelligence and dignity to me. Second, I don't like to see a flat top haircut look, like the old guys used have their barber cut their hair back in the day. I want to see the curve be smooth and continuous, making a pleasing and full arch. I've only got Rock photos that sort of demonstrate what I'm saying, so I'll not pollute the space here. But folks with NHs might be able to use the photos up to point out a good, regal head. I hate a crow's head look on any bird. Again, I've only read the SOP to death on the Rocks, so I've got that burned into my brain and my fixed memories and mental images from long, long ago.

 

[Pozees]

Here's what I look for on the head. Looking down from above, I like to see width. A wider skull just suggests intelligence and dignity to me. Second, I don't like to see a flat top haircut look, like the old guys used have their barber cut their hair back in the day. I want to see the curve be smooth and continuous, making a pleasing and full arch. I've only got Rock photos that sort of demonstrate what I'm saying, so I'll not pollute the space here. But folks with NHs might be able to use the photos up to point out a good, regal head. I hate a crow's head look on any bird. Again, I've only read the SOP to death on the Rocks, so I've got that burned into my brain and my fixed memories and mental images from long, long ago.

Do you see these (width, curve) at hatch, or wait until they are a certain age to look for them?

 

[buffalogal]

Tiger, what breed list?

 

[tigercreek]

Tiger, what breed list?

Top of the page, click on 'BREEDS'....stan

 

[fowlman01]

I have some problems talking about proper color when we are all seeing slightly different colors on our monitors. The New Hamps that I posted to show color differences in sun and shade are probably a good representation of a female NH color.

Champions usually take a bit of growth to ID. It would be pretty hard to spot a champion if it was a young bird.

Fred........move on or stay here for a bit. It doesn't matter to me. Many of the things I will talk abut will be applicable to many breeds. I find that questions seem to spur me on. I will be gone from tomorrow morning to Sunday night. Another show..........

Walt