Euskal Oiloa ( Basque Thread)

[texasmomma]

And never mind the little girl underwear in the background.

I do love the look of them; I never thought I would like how a lighter chicken looked, but these are great.

 

[ronott1]

And never mind the little girl underwear in the background.

I do love the look of them; I never thought I would like how a lighter chicken looked, but these are great.

It's ok, I have three daughters so I know how it is!

Ron

 

[buckabucka]

I'm happy to say that "Eddie" has not attacked me for the past 3 days. I think he must have overheard me talking about caging him. Here he is on his first full free-range adventure. Eddie is in the foreground, Zuri is in back. The Basque hens are off wandering around somewhere. The French blue Marans directly behind Zuri has turned out to be a champion layer. Even the Basques have stopped during these short days, but the Marans just keeps on going. Please remind me of this next summer when I complain she is broody!



Here they are hanging out at home. The Basques live on the far side:

 

[flowerchild59]

I haven't read through this whole thread so pardon me if this was addressed. I know these birds were listed as "tasty" on the arc of food thingey, but has anyone eaten any of them lately and compared them to other birds they had raised??? Just curious.

 

[1muttsfan]

Does Eddie have white tail feathers? Zuri is a good looking bird, don't worry too much at this point about the white legs - temperament and type are much more important for now.

 

[buckabucka]

Does Eddie have white tail feathers?  Zuri is a good looking bird, don't worry too much at this point about the white legs - temperament and type are much more important for now. 

Yes, Eddie does have a big cluster of pure white tail feathers. Zuri is slightly bigger (taller at least), but with the white legs and side sprigs on his comb. I don't know which flaws are worse. Eddie has a nicer comb and yellow legs, but his feather coloring is off. I may get some of Zuri's offspring accidentally, although I have only seen him mate with a few hens, and never the Basque, so far. None of my birds, male or female, are at all friendly, which brings me to my next question:

Should I bother to breed these birds? Is there any chance I will get the exceptionally friendly birds everyone is talking about if I am starting with non-friendly stock? They are pretty, and good layers so far, and despite my occasional tussle with Eddie, I would not call him mean, just excitable.

The only local source of eggs I know has a mix of friendly and non-friendly Basque. Should I proceed with what I have, or find someone who's stock is ridiculously friendly and start fresh, even if it means shipped eggs? I'm going to be getting other shipped eggs this spring anyway...

 

[ronott1]

Quote:
The Marans breeders have a lot of trouble getting rid of side sprigs in the comb. Color seems easier to fix by breeding with the right hens to compensate for the fault. The problem is, we do not have a standard. My guess is people will work on the Mille Fleur pattern and that will become a new type here.

I would breed them and see what you get. Next year swap eggs with someone that has the friendlies....

 

[ronott1]

I haven't read through this whole thread so pardon me if this was addressed. I know these birds were listed as "tasty" on the arc of food thingey, but has anyone eaten any of them lately and compared them to other birds they had raised??? Just curious.

Of the ones that I have processed this year(Partridge Rock, Delaware, EO Basque, Dorking x Rock Cross), the Basque is at the top. The Dorking Rock was very good too, so I may work on those as a meat cross. They were ready to process at 12 weeks and were crossed using hatchery breeds. I can get some big old line BRs and a friend of mine has been working on improving SG Dorkings for about 8 years and hers are getting big now.

I will still process the Basque roos though....

 

[Maggiesdad]

I haven't read through this whole thread so pardon me if this was addressed. I know these birds were listed as "tasty" on the arc of food thingey, but has anyone eaten any of them lately and compared them to other birds they had raised??? Just curious.

pm sent

 

[buckabucka]

Does Eddie have white tail feathers?  Zuri is a good looking bird, don't worry too much at this point about the white legs - temperament and type are much more important for now. 

Yes, Eddie does have a big cluster of pure white tail feathers. Zuri is slightly bigger (taller at least), but with the white legs and side sprigs on his comb. I don't know which flaws are worse. Eddie has a nicer comb and yellow legs, but his feather coloring is off. I may get some of Zuri's offspring accidentally, although I have only seen him mate with a few hens, and never the Basque, so far. None of my birds, male or female, are at all friendly, which brings me to my next question:


Should I bother to breed these birds? Is there any chance I will get the exceptionally friendly birds everyone is talking about if I am starting with non-friendly stock? They are pretty, and good layers so far, and despite my occasional tussle with Eddie, I would not call him mean, just excitable.


The only local source of eggs I know has a mix of friendly and non-friendly Basque. Should I proceed with what I have, or find someone who's stock is ridiculously friendly and start fresh, even if it means shipped eggs? I'm going to be getting other shipped eggs this spring anyway...

The Marans breeders have a lot of trouble getting rid of side sprigs in the comb. Color seems easier to fix by breeding with the right hens to compensate for the fault. The problem is, we do not have a standard. My guess is people will work on the Mille Fleur pattern and that will become a new type here.

I would breed them and see what you get. Next year swap eggs with someone that has the friendlies....

Thanks. That's good to know about the side sprigs, and gives an advantage to Eddie, who is top dog anyway. I think I will see what I get with the few birds I have to work with. At least they are productive and very pretty, and who knows, maybe there is a very friendly gene that will pop up in the next generation!

I think I will let them out to free-range once last time before the big snow arrives.