Full Mottle(d) Jacket.. - my journey to a colorful coop...

[Farmgirl283420]

This years breeding session opens with a 50 shades of gray theme. Due to the unexpected death of my nice little black rooster (I think he've gotten in a fight with another one and broke his neck against the coop, I found him lying straight on his back, dead, a hour before he was all well) I put every egg from his girls available into the incubator. Got 7 little chicks with color variation from solid black (comb and beak included) to slate blue, two black mottled maybe.

The millefleurs are still a difficult theme. Currently I have the last batch of hopefully MF eggs in the incubator, due in a couple of weeks.

Anyway, things looking bright this season.

Chicks are just so cute! I’m glad things are going well, sorry about your rooster.

These are somme of my black pearls and the late rooster

Very pretty.

and here some of my Millefleurs, it's still quite difficult tohatch or find birds who respect le standards color scheme, which is quite restrictive when it comes to the color pattern.

This makes me want some

 

[Amer]

and here some of my Millefleurs, it's still quite difficult tohatch or find birds who respect le standards color scheme, which is quite restrictive when it comes to the color pattern.

The millefluers are so pretty!

 

[Amer]

For those who are interested, I had some oddly colored wheaten mottled(?) offspring this year. I bought a light yellow mottled hen this spring and bred her to a) a eww blue mille fleur and later to an black eb-millefleur - i got a whole palet off yellow and wheaten mottled hens, not one alike the other.

The fist was a indefined yellow pullet with lighter wings and tail. I can't say how she turn out definitly because I rehomed her.
Then I got a wheaten without black markings which let me think the hen has to have some dominante white to erase any dark color. this was confirmed by the third pullet, full sister who is now sommes sort of light wheaten mottled.
The cross with the eb millefleur produced a real yellow mottled pullet who is currently very pretty. It looks like a "real" color. as a chick she was buff colored, with a touch of orange.

Wow! She is so pretty! It's like a coral color, pinkish.

 

[AbL]

Meet "Metusalem"... I scrolled through local annonces and stumble upon a post of someone giving away a rooster.
As it's rather rare finding à Japanese Bantam around here I contacted the owner. Well, the new king of the coop is "Methusalem" he's a 5 years old (really battered but magnificent) rooster who was a rescue, after living several years alone in a cage in a dark basement...

He will be spending the rest of his life in my orchard with a couple of "keeper" hens.

 

[Amer]

Meet "Metusalem"... I scrolled through local annonces and stumble upon a post of someone giving away a rooster.
As it's rather rare finding à Japanese Bantam around here I contacted the owner. Well, the new king of the coop is "Methusalem" he's a 5 years old (really battered but magnificent) rooster who was a rescue, after living several years alone in a cage in a dark basement...

He will be spending the rest of his life in my orchard with a couple of "keeper" hens.

He will have a good life with you.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

Meet "Metusalem"... I scrolled through local annonces and stumble upon a post of someone giving away a rooster.
As it's rather rare finding à Japanese Bantam around here I contacted the owner. Well, the new king of the coop is "Methusalem" he's a 5 years old (really battered but magnificent) rooster who was a rescue, after living several years alone in a cage in a dark basement...

He will be spending the rest of his life in my orchard with a couple of "keeper" hens.

I’m glad you took him. Now he’ll have a chance to have a good life.

 

[AbL]

Summer is a busy time for us. This year the last chicks were born early June and growing fast. I had around 20 chicks in total - this year I can't complain not having enough cockerels... 12 male and 9 pullets pecking happily in the coop. I rehomed my breeding rooster after a good year, to keep his offspring this year. Unfortunatly the old Methusalem has passed shortly after moving in, not without bringing a perstaining cough infection with him, which infected all adult hens and some of the youngsters in the second coop too. He was quanrantined for 10 days and fell ill after 14 days... (Next quarantine will be over 14 days...)

The mille-fleur breeding project is difficult. The color is complicated and even the posture matches not yet the standard of the breed. But that will take some time and serious selection.

The black and blue are going better. Last years black rooster has brought promising offspring before his accidental death.
I now have several pullets with black combs and two young cockerels with mulberry comb and jet black feet. Next years crossing will hopefully bring me forward on this project.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

I think they are all beautiful. Sorry about the cough infection, i hope they’ll all get better.