Euskal Oiloa ( Basque Thread)

[naturespace]

I'm sure everyone else gets this, but what does the Barring-P and /or -C mean?
They are pretty birds!

No bucka, others might not know. So based on Father/Mother there are the chance of the offspring being barred. The Wellie(father) EO (mother) mixes do not have barring. At least that's what I think I understand it to be. Others, correct me if I'm wrong. They are not sex linked.

C= cockerel, p= pullet. Of course I could be wrong and might change my mind next week about some I think are pullets.

 

[naturespace]

wow,  eo X Wellie cross.  Very pretty.  Never thought of that cross, kind cool.  It will be interesting to see how they develop.

I'm excited to find out more about their personalities. My wellie pullets are super friendly, so I would hope the crosses are too. I put 5 EO eggs under my broody, one got stepped on, two were pure the other two were mixed with Wellies. I was hoping for more pure EOs, but we got rid of the wellie roo, so that won't happen again. I can't wait to see what the Orpington mix looks like... Body type. My Orpingtons are huge. Might be a little silly looking.

I'm glad other are interested in the mixes as well. I'll keep you guys up to date on their development.

 

[ChestnutRidge]

My goal is to have a 50 -80 strong Marraduna Basque EO flock here in Florida.

This sounds fantastic! I am so excited that there will be such a large, strong flock of EOs on the rise!

Update on the corn crib! Unfortunately, it has failed as a nest box because the chickens are so busy snacking on it. I was excited to see digging around inside, only to discover that they were hollowing out all the stalks that make up the floor. They are even stripping the bark off the Virginia creeper vine! I'll have to make the next one out of hardwood, or perhaps steel

.

Oh, no! But

! Some chickens have no manners! I guess the bamboo was just too tasty. It looked fantastic. I hope you do try again!

My main rooster, his name is Macho.
Perfect name for him! This guy is lucky I need him for a future breeding project. He is almost "perfect" looking. But he attacks me about twice a week at least.
[...]
To me a slightly aggressive rooster is not that bad if you have predator problems. I do wish someday I can actually have a rooster that will protect his hens even if it means his own life... But that's just IMO.
What are some of the traits that are important to you guys in your EO breeding projects?

He is a gorgeous guy. I really like his coloring! I would give him a few months before making the final call, just to give him some time to get out of the adolescent-super-hormone stage, but if the human aggression persists, I wouldn't use him. Temperament is something like 60-70% heritable in chickens, although I forget the exact figure I saw. I do agree that you want an assertive guy for dealing with predators. Physically, I am looking for a deep, wide body, width between the legs, a thick frame that can support muscling, and the upright stance with thick, long thighs typical of the EO. I also want a pretty assertive guy who is cautious but grudgingly accepts my presence without flogging me when I turn my back. I want him to dance for the ladies and call them over to feed them tidbits. When they are ranging in my yard, I want to see him keep the girls in a fairly tight group, staying on the edge scanning the area and the sky for predators, and I want to hear him respond quickly and deliberately when there is any real threat and get the girls to a reasonable cover. I don't expect any of this year's cockerels to do all of that until January or February as breeding season gets going; right now they are awkward teenagers who aren't quite sure what goes where and are still just excited to get treats for themselves.

I'm just trying to decide which yellow legged to keep. The biggest, beefiest one (who is also the one who sticks close to the girls) has a wonkie comb. The other is smaller, less protective and a perfect comb. Still a really nice bird.



Here's the bad comb

It's a tough call, but I'd probably go with the bigger guy with the imperfect comb unless he has side sprigs. I am pretty sure the comb will be heritable, though, so I'd select against it in the next generation. For me, how well they do their job with the hens and their size are really important. You have two very nice guys to select from, though, which is a great dilemma to have!

No bucka, others might not know. So based on Father/Mother there are the chance of the offspring being barred. The Wellie(father) EO (mother) mixes do not have barring. At least that's what I think I understand it to be. Others, correct me if I'm wrong. They are not sex linked.
C= cockerel, p= pullet. Of course I could be wrong and might change my mind next week about some I think are pullets.

I think your labels are correct and they are sex-linked if the sire was a Wellie and the dam was an EO: The barred W/EOs should be male and the non-barred will be female which seems to be how you have it labeled. I think you are right on the EO sexes, too. What an adorable group!!!! I bet that EO/Orp will be very pretty!

If the dam is barred and the sire is not barred, then the male chicks will be barred. The female only passes her Z chromosome with the dominant barring gene to her sons, and the male has none to pass. If the sire is homozygous barred, then all of the offspring will be barred because he will give one Z containing a dominant barring gene to each. If he is heterozygous, then the offspring will be a mix of barred and non-barred, but it won't be related to sex. This is the image I made to illustrate this on my blog, but the barring gene is the same whether it is on an EO or a solid-colored chicken:



I've been getting eggs from one of my pullets for a few weeks now, and they are very, very nice! I am really pleased. They are definitely more medium, but not the small that I have gotten from other pullets. Here are the pullet eggs from my EO and Brown Leghorn.

 

[GaryDean26]

...I do agree that you want an assertive guy for dealing with predators. Physically, I am looking for a deep, wide body, width between the legs, a thick frame that can support muscling, and the upright stance with thick, long thighs typical of the EO.

I see that others are selecting for width, depth, and a thick frame.

What are people's thoughts on length? I evaluated 13 EO's on Saturday and four cockerels looked pretty good. The two with the thickest frames both had short backs. The other two had slightly lighter frames but were wide from the shoulders back through the legs and had longer keels and backs than the first two. What is better longer birds or wider birds assuming all else is equal?

Also on the frame I was told that medium thick to thick frames were good for dual purpose birds, but the extra thick frame were better suited to meat only breeds. Any thought on this? I can only compare with what I have. I don't have any meat breeds to compare to so I don't know how thick to watch for.

 

[FROMWHITEDOGHILL]

..........................excuse me...would you mind taking my eggs off the grill. They are exactly the way I like them!

Heather, I have heard all of you say it a million times but I was just reading in The Poultry Magazine how tremendously important your Flock Rooster is to your entire operation. I know that guy isn't as knowlegable as you are in genetics but it seems to make sense??!!! GaryDean26......hey man...pick the 'Bestun'...I tried to find you yesterday on a Texas map....but....I didn't have my glasses on...it's just an ole man thing. Glad to see everyone posting again....I thought everyone was Moulting

.................Mike

 

[GaryDean26]

Mike,

Well...not quite everyone is mounting just most of them. Head south for 5 hours and you will run right into us.

Hmm? The 'bestun' huhhh? I would normally keep one for body and one for color. The color one is always easy to choose. I guess that is why most of the breeders out there just select for color and combs. Learning to judging for type is a lot of work.

 

[alisar]

Excuse me; in your esteemed opinions, is this a roo? I hope so!

Are they usually so quick to mature? This guy/girl is giant. Like I could make a sandwich with him already at three weeks. From Ms. FP's stock. I am amazed by the apricot color. It looks fake!

 

[Maggiesdad]

Excuse me; in your esteemed opinions, is this a roo? I hope so!

Are they usually so quick to mature? This guy/girl is giant. Like I could make a sandwich with him already at three weeks. From Ms. FP's stock. I am amazed by the apricot color. It looks fake!

More pics of this little one, please!

 

[Maggiesdad]

..........................excuse me...would you mind taking my eggs off the grill. They are exactly the way I like them!

Heather, I have heard all of you say it a million times but I was just reading in The Poultry Magazine how tremendously important your Flock Rooster is to your entire operation. I know that guy isn't as knowlegable as you are in genetics but it seems to make sense??!!! GaryDean26......hey man...pick the 'Bestun'...I tried to find you yesterday on a Texas map....but....I didn't have my glasses on...it's just an ole man thing. Glad to see everyone posting again....I thought everyone was Moulting

.................Mike

Awesome eggs! I was thinking the same thing, Mike!

Step away from the griddle everybody - where's my Texas Pete?!

 

[Maggiesdad]

I see that others are selecting for width, depth, and a thick frame.

What are people's thoughts on length? I evaluated 13 EO's on Saturday and four cockerels looked pretty good. The two with the thickest frames both had short backs. The other two had slightly lighter frames but were wide from the shoulders back through the legs and had longer keels and backs than the first two. What is better longer birds or wider birds assuming all else is equal?

Also on the frame I was told that medium thick to thick frames were good for dual purpose birds, but the extra thick frame were better suited to meat only breeds. Any thought on this? I can only compare with what I have. I don't have any meat breeds to compare to so I don't know how thick to watch for.

That is a very pertinent question! I wish we could get some folks from Biskaia to chip in with some thoughts on that one...

I hang in the heritage breed threads to glean what info I can for these very questions. I don't think that pushing for the meatiest carcass will preclude the 220 per year egg goal.