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the only issues for fertility were that I was free ranging 1 dorking roo with his 2 girls and 8 more bantam hens... and he liked the bantams a LOT.
but he's penned with his girls now (and a couple of his favorite smaller girls) so that should resolve shortly. the biggest issue I've had, and I'm hearing similar from others, is chicks dying in the shell around the 2 week mark... talking with a past professor at UMaine (who's also big into poultry and got me started in the first place), he's having similar issues with his nankins. and we both agree it's likely more because of extensive inbreeding than anything else. I'm planning on getting some birds from Sandhill preservation center this spring, and will see if that helps, since the birds i have now are all mcmurray stock. as for hardy, yes, i think they are. i've got my trio and the oldest pair of chicks outside, the chicks are free ranging now and have been for about 2 weeks. growing like weeds and eating everything in sight! 8)
only one chick i have inside gives me reason to pause. and that's because he's smaller than some cochin bantam chicks hatched the same day. but i'll keep him going, and possibly use him (it is a cockerel) with an oegb hen. (bad oegb, because she looks more like a dorking than she should LOL).
with the chicks i get from sandhill, I'm studying up on the genetics, and I think i've figured out how the red and colored work, I might try crossing one of those onto the silvers and see if that doesn't help some of the issues too, then breed back for color again. I think i've determined that the red is actually mahogany, and the colored the dilute gene. both are dominant over the wild type colorations but silver overrides both of them so ... i'll stop there before I confuse anyone. LOL. if you want to talk color genetics PM me and i'll tell you my ideas. i may be way off base on what I think I know, but that's what test breedings will do. prove to me if i'm right or wrong.
I'm hoping to get some red or colored. I really like the red the best. I also have OEGBs and BBReds are my favorite OE color, too.
Maybe, if you end up getting a strong batch going I can buy some eggs from you next fall.
the only issues for fertility were that I was free ranging 1 dorking roo with his 2 girls and 8 more bantam hens... and he liked the bantams a LOT.
but he's penned with his girls now (and a couple of his favorite smaller girls) so that should resolve shortly. the biggest issue I've had, and I'm hearing similar from others, is chicks dying in the shell around the 2 week mark... talking with a past professor at UMaine (who's also big into poultry and got me started in the first place), he's having similar issues with his nankins. and we both agree it's likely more because of extensive inbreeding than anything else. I'm planning on getting some birds from Sandhill preservation center this spring, and will see if that helps, since the birds i have now are all mcmurray stock. as for hardy, yes, i think they are. i've got my trio and the oldest pair of chicks outside, the chicks are free ranging now and have been for about 2 weeks. growing like weeds and eating everything in sight! 8)
only one chick i have inside gives me reason to pause. and that's because he's smaller than some cochin bantam chicks hatched the same day. but i'll keep him going, and possibly use him (it is a cockerel) with an oegb hen. (bad oegb, because she looks more like a dorking than she should LOL).
with the chicks i get from sandhill, I'm studying up on the genetics, and I think i've figured out how the red and colored work, I might try crossing one of those onto the silvers and see if that doesn't help some of the issues too, then breed back for color again. I think i've determined that the red is actually mahogany, and the colored the dilute gene. both are dominant over the wild type colorations but silver overrides both of them so ... i'll stop there before I confuse anyone. LOL. if you want to talk color genetics PM me and i'll tell you my ideas. i may be way off base on what I think I know, but that's what test breedings will do. prove to me if i'm right or wrong.
I'm hoping to get some red or colored. I really like the red the best. I also have OEGBs and BBReds are my favorite OE color, too.
Maybe, if you end up getting a strong batch going I can buy some eggs from you next fall.
