Euskal Oiloa ( Basque Thread)

[ronott1]

Well since this thread has been quite I thought I would try and wake it up again. Here are some pictures of my birds. What do you think? Any faults I should be aware of?
My Rooster




Charlotte - 4 month old hen





Name TBD - 1 month old hen

Nice looking!

I really think I did. Lots of beige. We'll see. Tom in Pa is going to send me some more in Sept. He lost one of the 2 pullets he has so won't get many. The one coronation sussex is smaller but just as active.

I hope you get some nice ones!

 

[lauragutknecht]

Those Basques in your pictures look like mine. I am in Central Texas. I started with a breeding pair I got from a guy who was getting out of the chicken business, and I am so glad I got them. They are favorites, for sure. I have had good luck with incubating the eggs, so I should hopefully be ready to sell hatching eggs this fall.

 

[OrangeRooster11]

Does anyone else have a problem with their Basque hens laying on the floor of the chicken house rather than in the nesting box?

 

[Flat Rock farm]

Well since this thread has been quite I thought I would try and wake it up again. Here are some pictures of my birds. What do you think? Any faults I should be aware of?
My Rooster




Charlotte - 4 month old hen





Name TBD - 1 month old hen

Lookin good tiana29

 

[ronott1]

Does anyone else have a problem with their Basque hens laying on the floor of the chicken house rather than in the nesting box?

Mine lay in the nest box.

Do you have pictures to share?

 

[OrangeRooster11]

I don't have any pictures, but I can try to take some tonight. Almost everyday we find the Basque eggs on the floor. Sometimes they do lay in the nesting box, but they seem to have a big preference for laying on the floor of the hen house. Thanks for your reply.

 

[RFR of CA]

My babies this year have been a disappointment. When compared to the first year, these are greatly reduced all the way around. They are harder to hatch, are not as fertile, they catch ill easy and die when others recover, they are most often the only newborns I lose, and they are slower growing/smaller than before.

This is my third year. My 9 month old roo and a one year old hen died of sudden death which is linked to heart valve issues in inbred birds. I know their genetics are WAY too tight. I know Greenfire only brings in a few hens and a roo or two so all our birds are basically brothers and sisters. I kept my original Greenfire roo for two years and brought in a few others making sure I did not breed father to daughter, but it has not helped.

Since I don't see anyone running off to Spain anytime soon for fresh blood, is there some way we can set up an egg or chick exchange or does someone have a solution before I scrap the project? What is telling is the extreme health and vigor of my heritage wyandottes and rhode island reds. One cannot compare the extreme genetic diversity of an american born line, but they really show the problems of a rare, tightly bred import! I would like to import in the next few years, but we are just not set up for that quite yet.

Thank You for any input,

Christine
Rare Feathers Ranch - CA

 

[Maggiesdad]

I don't have any pictures, but I can try to take some tonight. Almost everyday we find the Basque eggs on the floor. Sometimes they do lay in the nesting box, but they seem to have a big preference for laying on the floor of the hen house. Thanks for your reply.

I've had a few that like to lay low, I just give them a 5gal bucket turned on its side with some chips in it. Girls are happy and the eggs stay clean.

 

[ronott1]

My babies this year have been a disappointment. When compared to the first year, these are greatly reduced all the way around. They are harder to hatch, are not as fertile, they catch ill easy and die when others recover, they are most often the only newborns I lose, and they are slower growing/smaller than before.

This is my third year. My 9 month old roo and a one year old hen died of sudden death which is linked to heart valve issues in inbred birds. I know their genetics are WAY too tight. I know Greenfire only brings in a few hens and a roo or two so all our birds are basically brothers and sisters. I kept my original Greenfire roo for two years and brought in a few others making sure I did not breed father to daughter, but it has not helped.

Since I don't see anyone running off to Spain anytime soon for fresh blood, is there some way we can set up an egg or chick exchange or does someone have a solution before I scrap the project? What is telling is the extreme health and vigor of my heritage wyandottes and rhode island reds. One cannot compare the extreme genetic diversity of an american born line, but they really show the problems of a rare, tightly bred import! I would like to import in the next few years, but we are just not set up for that quite yet.

Thank You for any input,

Christine
Rare Feathers Ranch - CA

Check with @Meg2000000

 

[lauragutknecht]

No, mine lay in the nest box. They all fight over the same box, howeve