Euskal Oiloa ( Basque Thread)

[MonsterClucker]

The hard part with heritage breeds is the long amount of time it takes to know how good they are. Next Fall he could molt and the fluff might go away. He could turn ugly too. It often takes two years to figure it all out.

I would not worry about the fluff. He is very good in most of the areas that he needs to be and you need to work with what you have.

Sometimes you just gotta roll the dice....

Ron

Edited to add: Combs often change colors in chickens. Search for a video of a hen laying an egg--comb loses color as the egg comes out.

Don't worry about it. He is a very healthy boy.

Ahh, I see! Well he's gonna ne perfect for me to jump into breeding this breed of chicken. I'm sure ill have more variety to choose from the 20 chicks coming soon. I have to check that video out too that sounds really interesting.

Thank Ron I definitely always appreciate you help and knowledgeable replies.

 

[FROMWHITEDOGHILL]

Hey James, Ron,Glen, Susan...I may have missed it on some of the few thousand EO posts I have read and I know you all are going to think that I have lost my mind...which is correct...nevertheless...I have yet another question. Do we need to persue DNA testing on our EO's to establish their orgin??? I know most if not all of the EOs in the US came from James' birds at Skyline....is that true of the Canadian birds also???? OR..........does it even matter? When we raised registered horses, we had to DNA test all of our Stallions to be able to "prove" parentage....would it help to know what characterstics show up in what lines????? I told you you would wonder if I lost my mind....but you know the ole saying about an idle mind..............

 

[ronott1]

Hey James, Ron,Glen, Susan...I may have missed it on some of the few thousand EO posts I have read and I know you all are going to think that I have lost my mind...which is correct...nevertheless...I have yet another question. Do we need to persue DNA testing on our EO's to establish their orgin??? I know most if not all of the EOs in the US came from James' birds at Skyline....is that true of the Canadian birds also???? OR..........does it even matter? When we raised registered horses, we had to DNA test all of our Stallions to be able to "prove" parentage....would it help to know what characterstics show up in what lines????? I told you you would wonder if I lost my mind....but you know the ole saying about an idle mind..............

Great Question!

I have not heard of this as a requirement for chickens. They aren't worth as much as a horse, so I don't know if people would still show if they had to test like that.

I probably would not.

Ron

 

[Maggiesdad]

It's my understanding that all of our birds are descendants of parent stock Eric Rivard brought into Canada.

This article was written by Claire of SLF Don't know if you've already seen it but it explains a lot. I've got opinion on the rest of your question, but chew on that link til I can get my thoughts together.

 

[Maggiesdad]

The phenotype, not the genotype, is what drew me to this bird. If you consider why Orozco sought to take a landrace and get it acknowledged as a recognized breed in Spain, you'll understand why I sought to put Marraduna eggs in my basket. This line of chickens wasn't bred over there for show, it was a working farm chicken. That's what I'm after. If these birds put out like folks that have kept them say they do, then that's what really matters to me.






edited to fix dropped s's...

 

[naturespace]

The phenotype, not the genotype, is what drew me to this bird. If you consider why Orozco sought to take a landrace and get it acknowledged as a recognized breed in Spain, you'll understand why I sought to put Marraduna eggs in my basket. This line of chickens wasn't bred over there for show, it was a working farm chicken. That's what I'm after.  If these birds put out like folks that have kept them say they do, then that what really matter to me.

I agree. I wanted a breed of chicken that I can rely on when TSHTF or just to be more self sustainable. I don't care about SOP and showing at our local show. These are for eggs, meat and keeping my yard tilled or eliminating some bugs. I also wanted a breed that could forage well.

When starting my flock, I got EOs, Welsummers and Orpingtons. I got Orpingtons to be my broodies, but was happy to see my EO go broody first. She has 7 eggs under her and it looks like she is committed for 12 days now.
My Welsummers are laying pretty well and are really friendly, but my Orpingtons are the most consistent layers, big, big eggs (for pullets)... So far. I think the Orpingtons are best at foraging, but can't say that for sure yet.

I like qualities in all of them, but still hoping EO come out on top. I have a small amount of EOs, so far, 2 cockerels and 2 pullets, but will have more pullets soon. Thanks CR!

 

[Maggiesdad]

CR closed her genetics mini series today with a topic that would be prudent to comprehend and heed, for those of us intent on preserving the breed.

Heather, thank you for putting forth a concise set of essays on genetics. You have a real knack for pulling together what is vital and relevant!

 

[FROMWHITEDOGHILL]

I agree totally........I was just wondering while we are working on making a good chicken even better...if we need to know what genics we are dealing with.. I wanted to develop a reliable breed that was truely a dual purpose breed that even though they need some maitence.....that I could let free range most of the time and stiill have a source of nice sized eggs and tasty meat...then I stumbled onto this thing called a Basque...............from what I read...they have everything I was looking for...so to-heack with trying to develop something new...when they already exist!!!! And you don't have to feed them alot of 60 dollar a ton hay like you do these durn horses!!! LOL...or Cry out loud! I wouldn't want to do the DNA thing to show either...but if it would help to get the breed to a better place...I'm for it. But then again...maybe time and people realizing that these are a really neat breed will handle that...I'm sold on them and I don't even own one yet!!!! Ain't that a kicker.......

 

[Maggiesdad]

Great Question!

I have not heard of this as a requirement for chickens. They aren't worth as much as a horse, so I don't know if people would still show if they had to test like that.

I probably would not.

Ron

Worth is in the eye of the man that beholdeth eggs on his breakfast platter.

 

[Maggiesdad]

I agree totally........I was just wondering while we are working on making a good chicken even better...if we need to know what genics we are dealing with.. I wanted to develop a reliable breed that was truely a dual purpose breed that even though they need some maitence.....that I could let free range most of the time and stiill have a source of nice sized eggs and tasty meat...then I stumbled onto this thing called a Basque...............from what I read...they have everything I was looking for...so to-heack with trying to develop something new...when they already exist!!!! And you don't have to feed them alot of 60 dollar a ton hay like you do these durn horses!!! LOL...or Cry out loud! I wouldn't want to do the DNA thing to show either...but if it would help to get the breed to a better place...I'm for it. But then again...maybe time and people realizing that these are a really neat breed will handle that...I'm sold on them and I don't even own one yet!!!! Ain't that a kicker.......

+1 That's where I'm coming from in a nutshell.

I've only been keeping chickens for a year now, so you can take my opinions with a grain of salt. But time will separate the wheat from the chaff. When I got started, I bought every book on keeping chickens that B&N carried. (If I remember right, 'cuz I can't lay my hands on it this evening so I'm paraphrasing) One of them had a quote from a poultryman in the1920's that stated there would always be a 'next greatest chicken breed' fad. That may be the case, and there's always those willing to gouge because something is "rare". - but I really appreciate Skyline doing his part to get these birds out at reasonable prices. That's the best way to ensure that the breed gains a foothold here.