Do you think this would work?/ more of my late night questions!

[fluffycrow]

Ok so this kind of ties in to another thread I made about getting silkies/how good are they at free ranging (special thanks to @MysteryChicken , @Amer , @JacinLarkwell and @ChickenCanoe )

Since then, some things have changed

I have realised that unfortunately this probably won't be the year for my Orientals, so I will be focusing on my other projects this spring/year

The one I have already started, which involves my free range mix flock (I was thinking of breeding silkies into them to add broodyness but that won't happen this year if it happens at all)

And now I'm looking to start a second project
In this project my main goal is to select a breed of bantam chickens and try to breed them to the SOP, simple enough, right?

Basically in my coop I have a separate area where these guys will be housed, so no free range on the regular for them, and this is a secure environment

So this time, my question is, which bantam breed is easier to start breeding to the SOP, or which bantam would you recommend for me to start with

My only restrictions?
Preferably a breed that doesn't depend on humans for incubation

Oh and maybe a breed that is at least a little cold hardy, because (weirdly) we have been experiencing some colder winters in Greece, well, at least compared to what we're used to

 

[fluffycrow]

Not everyone knows that, about the word cull.

Unfortunately. And it's a shame really, because new breeders might hear that you need to cull in order to be a good breeder, (which to a degree at least, is true) and get discouraged because they might think it mean killing their favourite animals

 

[ikoCRO]

I am a member of the association of small animal breeders and as an association we often travel to fairs, exhibitions, markets all over Europe(Straubing,Wasserburg,Nitra,Padova,Monor...), We also visit all exhibitions in our "home" countries Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and of course my Croatia.
Each of the breeders strives to bring the breed they breed to perfection, just to compete for a better rating (at the exhibition) than a colleague who breeds the same breed. It's like a sport for us!
After some time, when we have won all the prizes we can win with that breed, we switch to another breed and start all over again.
We deal with projects that are very important to us, which is the revival of old autochthonous Croatian breeds, which over time almost disappeared: Hrvatica, Dalmatian chicken, Istrian chicken, Živičarka.....
We are proud of creating completely new breeds, which are already recognized: HPK (Croatian dwarf hen), Križevci hooded hen, Posavska kukmasta hen (Sava-s hooded hen), Međimurje hen...

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Cochins/pekins seem to fit your description (cold hardy + broody). However, what I would do is look for local breeders that are already breeding for show/breeder quality birds, then it would be much easier to breed them to the SOP as compared to hatchery/pet quality birds that would take a lot more work and time to even get them to the “default” of the breed. You could also choose a solid colored variety to work with, as that would be easier to breed since you would only need to focus on type.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Oh wow, it really shows how little I know about chicken standards, but I hope through this project, (and tons of research) to familiarise myself more, because right now the only standard is the aseel one

Chinese Silkies are pretty much just the description of Pet Quality/Hatchery Quality Silkies. No real standard to follow there.

Learning is why we're all here.

 

[MysteryChicken]

And breeding, genetics, and the SOP is what I'm most excited to learn! I focused most of my chicken keeping years on having a safe free ranging flock, and learning chicken behavior and egg laying (not that I had much choice, it's rare you'd stable on a good breeding opportunity or a more rare breed here) so I definitely want to focus on the other part now

SOP breeding is typically pretty cull heavy, which is gonna be the most frustrating part of the breeding process.

 

[fluffycrow]

SOP breeding is typically pretty cull heavy, which is gonna be the most frustrating part of the breeding process.

I'm no stranger to culling, unfortunately. Although I do believe culling can be done in several ways, so when I can I prefer to give my "disqualified" chickens to friends that keep them for egg laying only

 

[MysteryChicken]

Yup. Exactly

Not everyone knows that, about the word cull.

 

[fluffycrow]

Okay, sounds good.

What's available in hatching eggs in your area?

As for hatching eggs, these breeds are available this season
1. Fayoumi
2. Jersey Giants
3. Brahma
4. Silkie
5. Serama
6. Araucana
7. Ayam cemani
8. Hamburg
9. Sussex
10. Black copper marans
11. Australorp
12. Plymouth Rocks
13. Bresse Gauloise

 

[fluffycrow]

I hope it works out for you.

Fayoumis were made to free range, also more Disease resistant then most other breeds. They maybe a good addition too.

Thank you so so much for helping me with all of this. I will update again when/if I get the bantams. Orrrrrrrrr, if I manage to find that aseel hen
Seriously though, fingers crossed plan, what, E at this point works out
Hope you have a great hatching season as well!