German New Hampshire

[TeaChick]

Share some pictures.

I finally got them posted.
I've been super busy lately, finals in science and statistics.

 

[Zanna]

Here is a cockeral from last years breedings that I am using over Mom and two Aunts. Just started collecting eggs. I would like to see a more rounded chest on this one but I love his width, open tail and size, he is a big boy for 11 mos. old. He should fill out much more, his Dad took his time.This is one I took to a show months back, his back looked so long then but his tail has come up and I think he has a fairly correct backline now.

Dad/daughter setting/hatchings are finished up for this season. First 15, 6 week old chicks went out to the adult coop last week. 3 more batches in the brooder and 2 more batches in the incubator.

Predator season has started, the peeping of the youngsters in the coop at night always brings them out. Noticed digging around one of the coops yesterday AM and first skunk of the season in the trap this AM. They will tear the youngsters to pieces if they manage to get in to the coop.

Hope everyone is doing well and HAPPY HATCHING

 

[TeaChick]

Here is a cockeral from last years breedings that I am using over Mom and two Aunts. Just started collecting eggs. I would like to see a more rounded chest on this one but I love his width, open tail and size, he is a big boy for 11 mos. old. He should fill out much more, his Dad took his time.This is one I took to a show months back, his back looked so long then but his tail has come up and I think he has a fairly correct backline now.

Dad/daughter setting/hatchings are finished up for this season. First 15, 6 week old chicks went out to the adult coop last week. 3 more batches in the brooder and 2 more batches in the incubator.

Predator season has started, the peeping of the youngsters in the coop at night always brings them out. Noticed digging around one of the coops yesterday AM and first skunk of the season in the trap this AM. They will tear the youngsters to pieces if they manage to get in to the coop.

Hope everyone is doing well and HAPPY HATCHING

He's pretty.

 

[Ifish]

Hello. This has been a very fun thread to read through. Some fantastic info and great looking birds.

I am currently searching out breeders of New Hampshire's. I am looking for some quality chicks to start our flock. We plan on breeding toward the SOP, showing the birds in poultry competitions, and using them as they were intended to be here on our farm. I have exhausted all of my local sources here in Adams County and have not been able to find any.

Any leads or recommendations on who might have some eggs or chicks would be great. Thanks.

 

[stac545]

Hello. This has been a very fun thread to read through. Some fantastic info and great looking birds.

I am currently searching out breeders of New Hampshire's. I am looking for some quality chicks to start our flock. We plan on breeding toward the SOP, showing the birds in poultry competitions, and using them as they were intended to be here on our farm. I have exhausted all of my local sources here in Adams County and have not been able to find any.

Any leads or recommendations on who might have some eggs or chicks would be great. Thanks.

Check out Eight Acres Farm for eggs and chicks

 

[gjensen]

Here is a cockeral from last years breedings that I am using over Mom and two Aunts. Just started collecting eggs. I would like to see a more rounded chest on this one but I love his width, open tail and size, he is a big boy for 11 mos. old. He should fill out much more, his Dad took his time.This is one I took to a show months back, his back looked so long then but his tail has come up and I think he has a fairly correct backline now.

Dad/daughter setting/hatchings are finished up for this season. First 15, 6 week old chicks went out to the adult coop last week. 3 more batches in the brooder and 2 more batches in the incubator.

Predator season has started, the peeping of the youngsters in the coop at night always brings them out. Noticed digging around one of the coops yesterday AM and first skunk of the season in the trap this AM. They will tear the youngsters to pieces if they manage to get in to the coop.

Hope everyone is doing well and HAPPY HATCHING

We are going to have to get the tails shortened up. Mine come in late to. Mine lift late also. The cockerel I had in the Avatar ended up with good lift. He was in the 30wk range then.

One of the hang ups is the length of tail. It will require an outcross to accomplish it. There is a gene that dictates this. All of us with this strain has this problem. Some with the American crosses have it, IF they selected for it. Mine came from Joe, so none of mine have it. Selecting too early in the American crosses could hurt us concerning the tails. Mine bow up late.

He is a little short. Though they should be shorter than some breeds, the legs should be centered. There is as much behind as in front. In this case the blown up tails help provide balance, but if we view the bird without it, we see it.

The shafting will give us fits if we are not careful about it.

His color is not as far off as some would say (though it is not quite right) though there should be a more harmonious blend. The wings get us. Our wings are too dark. The especially dark wings contrast too sharply with the hackles and saddles. I have some variation in breast color, and hackles etc. I do not have any variation in the wing color. Good colored wings should be on our minds.

I have heard Walt mention that there is some tolerance concerning shade. I think we could get more room for forgiveness if the wings were not so dark.

This is just an opinion, but I believe our combs are too large in the males, and too small in the females. I think it is hormones affecting to the females. The females should have just a touch more comb, and perhaps lean. The Standard calls for our combs to be medium large. I would call what we have large.

I hope this is not taken as criticism of your nice bird. I have some of the same issues. I had focused on width, depth of keel, and the breast. I was at a point to shift emphasis, but my Catalanas have had me distracted. I hope that I can start tightening up with them by this spring, and give the NHs more attention. I need an outcross for the next two traits to emphasize. The problem is I do not know of anything that I feel good about trying, and not risk my gains. I may have to play on the side. I want to shorten up the tails without losing the color in the tails, and lighten up the wings a shade, and have some variation to work on color in general. I do not want to lose the depth and width.

I hope we can get these right in time. It is a shame that they ever fell to the state that they did.

 

[gjensen]

double post

 

[Zanna]

We are going to have to get the tails shortened up. Mine come in late to. Mine lift late also. The cockerel I had in the Avatar ended up with good lift. He was in the 30wk range then.

One of the hang ups is the length of tail. It will require an outcross to accomplish it. There is a gene that dictates this. All of us with this strain has this problem. Some with the American crosses have it, IF they selected for it. Mine came from Joe, so none of mine have it. Selecting too early in the American crosses could hurt us concerning the tails. Mine bow up late.

He is a little short. Though they should be shorter than some breeds, the legs should be centered. There is as much behind as in front. In this case the blown up tails help provide balance, but if we view the bird without it, we see it.

The shafting will give us fits if we are not careful about it.

His color is not as far off as some would say (though it is not quite right) though there should be a more harmonious blend. The wings get us. Our wings are too dark. The especially dark wings contrast too sharply with the hackles and saddles. I have some variation in breast color, and hackles etc. I do not have any variation in the wing color. Good colored wings should be on our minds.

I have heard Walt mention that there is some tolerance concerning shade. I think we could get more room for forgiveness if the wings were not so dark.

This is just an opinion, but I believe our combs are too large in the males, and too small in the females. I think it is hormones affecting to the females. The females should have just a touch more comb, and perhaps lean. The Standard calls for our combs to be medium large. I would call what we have large.

I hope this is not taken as criticism of your nice bird. I have some of the same issues. I had focused on width, depth of keel, and the breast. I was at a point to shift emphasis, but my Catalanas have had me distracted. I hope that I can start tightening up with them by this spring, and give the NHs more attention. I need an outcross for the next two traits to emphasize. The problem is I do not know of anything that I feel good about trying, and not risk my gains. I may have to play on the side. I want to shorten up the tails without losing the color in the tails, and lighten up the wings a shade, and have some variation to work on color in general. I do not want to lose the depth and width.

I hope we can get these right in time. It is a shame that they ever fell to the state that they did.

Thank you so much for your comments on this cockeral, always appreciated. Honestly, I have very little clue what I am doing and rely on all of your opinions. After taking this one to a show I realize there is so much subjectivity and I try to follow my interpretation of the SOP.

Saturday we butchered two brothers of this one and four of my F'5 Kathy line Dels. All were nearing a year old and had been free-ranging long distances following around my Royal Palm turkeys. The Kathy line Dels had fat, compact legs/thighs (just finished cutting them up!) and the NH were much less meaty and very leggy in comparison. The breasts of both were comparable, a little long and skinny. When we finished Sat., my husband looked at the birds and said that the Dels. were much better meat birds, they looked as a broiler should and the NH looked rangy. I would love to beef up my NH but not sure how to acomplish that...... My females seem to have much more "heft" than the males so maybe this years crosses will be an improvement. I would like to work on that before I worry to much about colour but that is on my mind as well. If you think I am off base here please tell me. When you say he is a little short, are you referring to his back/ overall length of body? Again, butchered the brothers looked long and skinny and i bet this one would as well.

I also hope we can get these right with time, will do my part to the best of my ability and hope at least I can make some difference!

 

[gjensen]

Thank you so much for your comments on this cockeral, always appreciated. Honestly, I have very little clue what I am doing and rely on all of your opinions. After taking this one to a show I realize there is so much subjectivity and I try to follow my interpretation of the SOP.

Saturday we butchered two brothers of this one and four of my F'5 Kathy line Dels. All were nearing a year old and had been free-ranging long distances following around my Royal Palm turkeys. The Kathy line Dels had fat, compact legs/thighs (just finished cutting them up!) and the NH were much less meaty and very leggy in comparison. The breasts of both were comparable, a little long and skinny. When we finished Sat., my husband looked at the birds and said that the Dels. were much better meat birds, they looked as a broiler should and the NH looked rangy. I would love to beef up my NH but not sure how to acomplish that...... My females seem to have much more "heft" than the males so maybe this years crosses will be an improvement. I would like to work on that before I worry to much about colour but that is on my mind as well. If you think I am off base here please tell me. When you say he is a little short, are you referring to his back/ overall length of body? Again, butchered the brothers looked long and skinny and i bet this one would as well.

I also hope we can get these right with time, will do my part to the best of my ability and hope at least I can make some difference!

My focus had been carcass (breast and thighs), type, and rate of growth. It was getting time to shift emphasis. I am only ably to emphasize one or two traits in a season. These are more important than color, of course. There are some things with color that can hurt us if we neglect it however.

Our (My) NHs have had too much feather. They can be larger than they appear. My best ones have had good weights, and reasonable fleshing. They put all of that feather on first, so it comes a little too late. Selecting for earlier weights have pushed my oversized birds larger. Starting out I had more variation concerning fleshing. My point is that I had some variation to select from. Without it, I would have been where I started. More can be done still, of course. Maybe your heavier hens will help.

The reference to his length is a comparison to what is front of his legs and behind. Visually cut off all of the tail, then visually measure from the breast bone to the center of the legs, then from the center of the legs to the end of of the spine, before the uropygium. Looking at what is behind the thighs. It could be that the legs could be centered up better. It did not appear that there was too much in front, but you know how pictures are. You know him better than my impression.

You are right. Much can be subjective. Especially in discussions. I do believe that some of the subjectivity is lost as the whole picture comes together. Some we will discuss this with are not NH breeders, and will not know them as we may years down the road. They are not as established in everyone's minds as the Rocks, and Reds. Then of course there is some room for preference.

One observation in the Standard that is helping me see them, I call them the medium everything bird. Medium length of tail, medium length of back, etc. etc.

My comments on the combs is just an opinion (really all of them are). Yours looks very good. The biggest thing that bugs me is the leghorn blades. It does not look good on NHs.

I will see what pictures I may have, and we can beat them up some. They have some of the same problems, and different ones. It might be helpful for discussion. You could share with me what you see.

I do not know what I am doing either. I am only figuring things out as I go.

 

[TeaChick]

We are going to have to get the tails shortened up. Mine come in late to. Mine lift late also. The cockerel I had in the Avatar ended up with good lift. He was in the 30wk range then.

One of the hang ups is the length of tail. It will require an outcross to accomplish it. There is a gene that dictates this. All of us with this strain has this problem. Some with the American crosses have it, IF they selected for it. Mine came from Joe, so none of mine have it. Selecting too early in the American crosses could hurt us concerning the tails. Mine bow up late.

He is a little short. Though they should be shorter than some breeds, the legs should be centered. There is as much behind as in front. In this case the blown up tails help provide balance, but if we view the bird without it, we see it.

The shafting will give us fits if we are not careful about it.

His color is not as far off as some would say (though it is not quite right) though there should be a more harmonious blend. The wings get us. Our wings are too dark. The especially dark wings contrast too sharply with the hackles and saddles. I have some variation in breast color, and hackles etc. I do not have any variation in the wing color. Good colored wings should be on our minds.

I have heard Walt mention that there is some tolerance concerning shade. I think we could get more room for forgiveness if the wings were not so dark.

This is just an opinion, but I believe our combs are too large in the males, and too small in the females. I think it is hormones affecting to the females. The females should have just a touch more comb, and perhaps lean. The Standard calls for our combs to be medium large. I would call what we have large.

I hope this is not taken as criticism of your nice bird. I have some of the same issues. I had focused on width, depth of keel, and the breast. I was at a point to shift emphasis, but my Catalanas have had me distracted. I hope that I can start tightening up with them by this spring, and give the NHs more attention. I need an outcross for the next two traits to emphasize. The problem is I do not know of anything that I feel good about trying, and not risk my gains. I may have to play on the side. I want to shorten up the tails without losing the color in the tails, and lighten up the wings a shade, and have some variation to work on color in general. I do not want to lose the depth and width.

I hope we can get these right in time. It is a shame that they ever fell to the state that they did.

The two males that I've processed (at about 30 weeks) have had nicer breast meat than other roosters I've processed (Leghorn, NHxBO, and BOxGLW among them). Also, my lead male feathered out very early (much earlier than the rest of his flock) and matured very early (much earlier than the other males).

"in time" for what? If I may ask.