Peter, i know you aren't always on here, but i figured i would ask this in case someone else may have some input too!
i was just reading a thread about line breeding and some defects that tend to show up in birds-fused toes, curled toes, crossed/scissored beaks, etc (this was mostly about marans though). i am just curious since you have a closed flock of birds if you have ever seen these issues pop up from time to time and if you remedy it in the adult birds any certain way? some people had mentioned that the toe issues are mostly from lack of biotin (vitamin B7) in their breeders' diets and i wasn't sure if you supplement their diets with anything when you are planning on breeding your birds. do you add anything extra for vitamins and minerals or certain foods to help keep them at their prime?
did you start with lots of birds to begin with all your breeding or did you had a very small group you might have been working with and doing line breeding?
i was just reading a thread about line breeding and some defects that tend to show up in birds-fused toes, curled toes, crossed/scissored beaks, etc (this was mostly about marans though). i am just curious since you have a closed flock of birds if you have ever seen these issues pop up from time to time and if you remedy it in the adult birds any certain way? some people had mentioned that the toe issues are mostly from lack of biotin (vitamin B7) in their breeders' diets and i wasn't sure if you supplement their diets with anything when you are planning on breeding your birds. do you add anything extra for vitamins and minerals or certain foods to help keep them at their prime?
did you start with lots of birds to begin with all your breeding or did you had a very small group you might have been working with and doing line breeding?