Euskal Oiloa ( Basque Thread)

[markleyranch]

Would this breed be considered flighty in anyone's experience, as far as wanting to get out or over fences/barriers?

 

[UrbanMamaHen]

Would this breed be considered flighty in anyone's experience?

Not in my experience. They are the most sociable birds I've owned.

 

[gootziecat]

I agree with UrbanMamaHen. Mine are between 4-5 wks old and just about ready to get out of the brooder. But without a doubt, these are the friendliest, and calmest chicks I've ever had. If they keep getting better, which indications are they will, they will be my favorite breed of all times. But they have a long way to go before they have grown out and proved themselves in other ways.

I will probably be looking for hatching eggs or drivable distance birds this summer. Maggies Dad, will you have any for sale?

I don't know about flying over fences, but most likely , they won't unless it's a low fence.

 

[gootziecat]

Is anybody there?

 

[3riverschick]

Out of curiosity does anybody know if Skyline is still breeding Basque hens? just curious.
Karen

 

[gootziecat]

The site seems to be under construction but I didn't see them listed anywhere.

It is hard for me to understand why there is so little interest in keeping information among breeders going.

 

[3riverschick]

I think k there are several reasons. Time of year, lack of enthusiasm, cliques, lack of organization. But I think a big reason is many folk don't understand how to talk and use real "breeding" talk. There are discussions that shouldn't be shared. Esp. When they have to do with a Problem a breeder is working through. People don't feel free to talk without being skewered on the net. Most novices judge be finding faults. Breeders judge by finding balance and virtues. It makes problems when all get together.best way to share knowledge is by club newsletters and shared articles by experts.

 

[3riverschick]

Famous statement by artitect Frank Lloyd Wright:
Form follows function has been misunderstood. They should form a sacred union.
---------
I believe that greatness is the measure of the Perfection of union between form and function.

 

[theuglychick]

Just dropping in here to keep up with the EO breed.

This year we began switching out our layer birds for dual purpose birds so we've added the EOs.

I've gotten a juvenile trio out of Texas and another trio from Georgia. I'll be adding chicks from a yet-to-be-determined third breeder this spring.

So far my birds are doing great. I'm very pleased with them! They're a great deal larger than my Legbars, dwarfing my matured rooster. They are beautiful and striking birds.

What age do y'all recommend processing the cocks?

What age do these pullets lay?

Has any of yours gone broody?

 

[GaryDean26]

I don't remember the target weight for the EO cockerels, but there is a recommended harvest age and a target weight for EO cockerels in the Spanish Standards for the breed. If my memory serves me well the harvest age was 14 weeks and the targets weight was 4-1/2 lbs. Mine EO's never made the target weights.

I experimented with milk fattening them for two weeks to get the weight up and I want to try doing Capons with the EO's. I couldn't find anyone to mentor me on caponizing and my wife felt it was cruelty to animals to try to learn it on my own with out a mentor.

We were working on building a breeding flock every year with the EO's so we culled a little later in the 20-22 weeks range so that we had more time to see the development of the cockerels. To get to 14 weeks harvest target you would probably have to breed specifically for growth rates for several years to establish utilities before working on other things.

Our EO's didn't start laying until 26-28 weeks. I believe this to be a line specific things though so your flock will depend on what the breeder in Texas and Georgia were selecting for. Laying age is also feed dependent. One year we put a test group of EO's on 24/7 free range and only feed them a low protein (i.e. 12-14%) diet to encourage them to forage. They didn't start to lay until 31+ weeks. We didn't do a high protein diet with the EO's but did do high protein with Marans and Legbars and they were laying as early as 18 weeks (when the group on the standard feed were laying in 21-22 weeks range).

Yes, EO's are a lot larger than Legbars. I would have to go back to my flock notes to check on wight comparisons but if the EO's were 3-4 lbs at 14 weeks the Legbars were probably 2-3 lbs at 14 weeks.

The legbar is a light weight laying breed that should see cockerels 4-5 lbs and cocks 5-7 lbs. The EO's is a medium weight dual purpose breed and should see cockerels in the 5-6 lbs and cocks from 6-8 lbs.

Who did you get you Texas EO's from? It has been 2-1/2 year since I moved from Texas, but we had lot of contact in the state for the breed before the move.