Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[Pozees]

Does anyone know how to find those folk who just want egg layers. no breeding, just egg layers?
I really don't want to butcher these pullets but I can't find anyone interested in just plain laying birds.
Pretty pullets for a simple backyard flock. They are near POL in Nov. and I need to downsize this flock.
Maybe a BYC thread?
Thanks,
karen

Wish I was closer. Those are some pretty egg layers. Is there a PA thread where someone might be looking for some table egg hens?

 

[3riverschick]

Forum......Buy,sell,trade......8 weeks and older
but I have not seen exactly what you are looking for.

Hi,
I'm not looking for them, I am looking to sell these 7 pullets. Their dam is my best layer and I am looking to place them in an egg flock. Someone who just wants eye candy and lots of eggs. No breeding. being inbred, they will not throw better than themselves, being narrower in the rear.. which is good for laying but not for proper "Roaster" Sussex breed type.
Best,
Karen

 

[Wisher1000]

Does anyone know how to find those folk who just want egg layers. no breeding, just egg layers?
I really don't want to butcher these pullets but I can't find anyone interested in just plain laying birds.
Pretty pullets for a simple backyard flock. They are near POL in Nov. and I need to downsize this flock.
Maybe a BYC thread?
Thanks,
karen

This I can help with!! There are "auctions" here on BYC and you can just go to the threads for your breed and/or your state and let people know how many, how old, and how much. Should be easy to get them to someone who would love to have them! If you need any help, let me know!

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Hi,
I'm not looking for them, I am looking to sell these 7 pullets. Their dam is my best layer and I am looking to place them in an egg flock. Someone who just wants eye candy and lots of eggs. No breeding. being inbred, they will not throw better than themselves, being narrower in the rear.. which is good for laying but not for proper "Roaster" Sussex breed type.
Best,
Karen

Hmmm...I wouldn't think narrower in the rear is better for laying, less fat, yes, but narrower, no. Have you tried posting them on craigslist>=?

 

[Maggiesdad]

Does anyone know how to find those folk who just want egg layers. no breeding, just egg layers?
I really don't want to butcher these pullets but I can't find anyone interested in just plain laying birds.
Pretty pullets for a simple backyard flock. They are near POL in Nov. and I need to downsize this flock.
Maybe a BYC thread?
Thanks,
karen

Craigslist, Karen... or bring them to me lol

 

[Arielle]

Quote: GIven the two thumbs up you received for your post-- I will hazard that a few good breeders agreee with your accessment of the situation and how to manage it.

 

[Arielle]

Does anyone know how to find those folk who just want egg layers. no breeding, just egg layers?
I really don't want to butcher these pullets but I can't find anyone interested in just plain laying birds.
Pretty pullets for a simple backyard flock. They are near POL in Nov. and I need to downsize this flock.
Maybe a BYC thread?
Thanks,
karen

Karen you are killing me!! YOur girls would be a giant step forward.

 

[bnjrob]

I'm glad this topic came up, because I would like some advice from folks regarding how to handle a possible Mycoplasma issue. Especially as it relates to keeping rare breeds and showing (or not showing) birds. My own situation is described a couple of paragraphs down.

From what I have read, the only way to get rid of Mycoplasma gallisepticum ("MG") is to cull all your birds in the affected areas, keep the space bird-free for a couple of weeks and start over with a disease-free flock. Depending on how your birds got it in the first place there is no guarantee they won't get it again - especially if your birds are in contact with wild birds, which are one potential source of the disease. After the initial infection the organism remains in the chicken, and can be transmitted to other birds via close-range airborne transport, or physical transport. It can be transmitted via eggs and equipment. It has a short life outside of a bird, so if you get rid of all your birds and keep the area free of birds for a couple of weeks it should be gone. Since a lot of commercial poultry operations use an "all in, all out" process, replacing all the birds at the same time, they can deal with MG infections by leaving the facility to rest for a brief time before importing a new batch of birds. This procedure works for egg farms, but is problematic for operations with multi-age flocks like hatcheries and small scale breeders.

If you are a small scale breeder it can be a dilemma how to proceed. If you keep your multi-age flock the organism will always be present in the flock. You can use antibiotics but most of us breeding our own birds are trying to avoid antibiotic use. You can gradually select for more resistant birds (breed only the birds that don't appear to get infected.) But the birds you have will likely be carriers - unless you kill them all, wait a period of time and start over. Which kills your whole breeding program up to that point. Which you may not be willing to do if the breed you are working with is relatively rare.

This is a timely issue for me because I now suspect my flock had a run of Mycoplasma this summer. Back in June when my birds were about five months old, virtually every bird in my flock got the sniffles for a day. Very mild, looked like a mild cold would look in a human - some sneezing, a few birds had a minor discharge - and it lasted 24-48 hours. I noticed the first bird sneezing one afternoon and was going to cull the bird the next day - except that bird was better in the morning, and the other birds were sneezing. So I did not cull any birds because I would have had to cull them all and it didn't seem serious. They all got over whatever it was in a day or two and seemed fine. They still ACT fine. But during our first big summer monsoon in July all the cockerels were standing in the yard - soaking wet, in the rain - they had shelter available and didn't use it - and the back edges and tips of all of their combs were purple. They looked like little kids who had been playing in the ocean so long their lips turned blue. The combs went back to normal color after the birds dried off and warmed up. I was concerned but didn't stress over it. Now the weather is cooling off here - nights in the low 40's, days in the high 80's - and their combs have a tinge of purple in the early morning. They are normal color again by mid day. Hmmm...

I didn't put any of this together with Mycoplasma until a few weeks ago. In early September I butchered a couple of cockerels. One had a normal liver, as had all the other birds up to that point. The other cockerel had a weird, gray liver. The liver had a matte gray coating, with a few spots of normal-liver surface showing through. It was the weirdest thing I ever saw and I am still kicking myself for not saving the liver for testing, or even getting a photo of it. Since then I have been combing resources to find out what that liver issue could be. I found the Cornell University site, and the liver photo (#15 of 21 under Gross Lesions under Mycoplasma gallisepticum - see link below) is very close to what I saw in my bird. Uh oh. And it turns out purple comb edges are a symptom of Mycoplasma infection. In hindsight, the round of sniffles this summer was probably a mild case of MG.

I was hoping to show my birds next month but I don't want to show them if they are carrying Mycoplasma. I need to get them tested. And if they do carry Mycoplasma now, as I suspect, then what do I do? I have no idea where they got it, unless it came via the wild birds in my yard, and there is no way I can keep them separated from the wild birds. My current birds are great for a backyard flock that is somewhat resistant to stuff on my property - it was a mild case. The birds have not been significantly affected in terms of vitality or production. But I won't feel right about trading breeders with anyone, or selling chicks. Or showing birds that are potential carriers.

There is only room for one breed on my property. Culling the affected birds means culling the entire flock and starting over some time later. I am reluctant to do that but will if it is necessary. I'm glad this topic came up, because I would like some advice from folks regarding options for handling this issue. Especially in terms of showing birds.


Here is some more information on Mycoplasma. It is geared for commercial poultry, but it explains the issues in relatively plain English: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps034

For a more technical explanation designed for veterinarians and people doing necropsies, this Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine site is fascinating:
http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/disease

Thanks for any insight you all can give me.

Sarah

Mycoplasma is everywhere. Short of sticking chickens into sterile bubbles to live, there is no absolute way to keep them from getting it. When my veterinarian husband gets worried about something, then I will worry. He is not worried about mycoplasma.

 

[3riverschick]

Karen you are killing me!! YOur girls would be a giant step forward.

I wish that were true, Arielle. However, the 1/2 bro to 1/2 sis breeding brought out narrower rears and prominent cushions in the females. The boys turned out much better. I have 2 who are very close to their sire in quality. I am looking at bringing in a new cockerel next Spring. because this breeding was cleverly set up with quality stock, which did not manifest these defects, I think these defects are warning blood I am too close in breeding. So bringing in a new cockerel from a distantly related flock next Spring. I will breed my best hen and a couple of her best daughters to him. Then take the get back to my foundation cock the next year. I do wish I could take advantage of one of Darwin's Laws of Variation but that would mean 3 strains and I don't think Walt will go for that, I am not sure I want to do it either. I really like these English birds. If Walt thinks it is a good idea, I could also bring in a couple of pullets from that same flock and breed them to my foundation cock. Then cross the strains. That would work. There are those who say I should breed the girls back tot heir sire and see if I can breed past the cushions and narrower rears. But from what I have read, I am not sure that is a wise course because these are not simple defects like comb or color of shank or color of eye. These are major "sticky" show or structural issues.
Best,
Karen
What Law of Variation? Darwin states that if :
1. One takes a male from pure strain (Variety) A and breeds it to female from pure for strain (Variety) B.
Darwin doesn't state which parent should be which sex. Rather he discusses how much one parent's genetics
override the other parents genetics, thus setting the stage for "2" below.
2, One breeds a female from A/B to male inbred and pure for strain (Variety) C, the get will resemble the
sire C as much as if they were his siblings. It works in plants, I have seen it work in collies ( as Darwin postulated
it would). I wonder if it would work in poultry, given the plethora of sex-linked genes? http://bellwethercollies.webs.com/breedingplans.htm
If this does work in poultry, it could be a roadmap for founding a strain on 3 families.

 

[maryhysong]

Ditto here. Stromberg's has a "how to" book and supplies but with my poor experience trying to vent sex baby chicks based on their "how to sex baby chicks" book, I sure would not want to try it. Not without someone right there showing me how to do it. Not into torturing chickens

I would also like to learn to caponize. But I'm with you Marcia, I would like to watch it done, up close, personal and in the flesh. I am adventurous and will try most anything with good photos and written instructions, but I haven't seen an instruction book OR video that is good enough for me to practice surgery on my own yet. BUT if we could find somebody that might be willing to show us, I bet we could find a few other people to make a class!