Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

how many  are planning on group mating vs individual mating? what are the pros and cons.  getting ready to set up light this week.


The smaller your matings are the easier it is to know exactly who produces what. If you're trying to fine tune your line, or win big, it's a good benefit.

Personally I prefer small matings, usually not pairs, but never more then 4 females to a male. This year I'm using three breeding pens on my Langshans, (4 black females, 4 white females, 3 Blue females with my two cocks, one black and one white, rotating over them) because I'm blending lines and trying to even out quality between the three colors. The Buff Leghorns have two breeding pens, a pair and a trio. Two main goals with them, size and apparently this line has a lingering issue with greenish legs. The Old English get two trios as well. Just trying to refine fine points here as the birds are already at a great spot. One the last two breeds will probably swap males halfway through the season to help create the two additional "clans" as I make the transition next year to the first year of a rotational four clan breeding system that Mr. Blosl talked so frequently about in this thread.
 
THe reason I asked is that I wondered the shortest day length in case your area was special and kept a min. of 12 hours to keep uup the production. If I"m understanding all this, at 10 hrs of light your hens and pullets are still laying?

I dont' want to get too far off the subject, but would like to come back to this: which breeds lay when . . . .Would like to fins a bird that lays allyear round even thru molt would be nice. OR have 2 breeds that fill in the calendar year round.
I picked up the birds on Dec. 21 in Va., but they came fro Pa. Within a couple days of them being here, I started seeing eggs. There was an egg in the box when I picked them up. I do not know if they were under lights or not in Pa.
I set my first batch of 12 eggs on Jan 13. 11 hatched. There was three original pullets. No lights and I kept hatching. The first batch of NH eggs was Jan 25, but I did not write down how may eggs etc. I save them for seven days. No lights.
They are laying now without lights. I have 12 pullets and a couple hens. We got 6 eggs yesterday. No lights. A few are molting.
 
I am so bummed. I went out to check on Tux and May ( my avatar) this morning. Opened the nest box and got both an egg and Tux right in my face. He bolted out past me and I made a wild grab and got him by the rear. Got a good hold of him and got him into a proper holding position but in the process, pulled out his large long sickle feather on his tail. Oh nuts! And it was so pretty too. Anyone now how long it will take to regrow?
Thanks,
Karen
 
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I am so bummed. I went out to check on Tux and May ( my  avatar) this morning. Opened the nest box and got both an egg and Tux right in my face. He bolted out past me and I made a wild grab and got him by the rear. Got a  good hold of him and got him into a proper holding position but in the process, pulled out his large long sickle feather on his tail. Oh nuts! And it was so pretty too. Anyone now how long it will take to regrow?
 Thanks,
 Karen


4-6 weeks to fully regrow a sickle feather on average.
 
How many of you are starting to get your breeding pens set up? Making final selections? I got off easy this year with small numbers, cuts are made, pens are set up. Lights go on for large fowl next weekend.
Same here. I have "Knight and Day" with Sweetie in one breeding coop. ( Knight and Day is closely line-bred on Walt Boese's "Champ" ( multiple APA Grand Ch.) Sweetie is this years outcross hen, a proven show hen with a 1st and 3rd place.. I am real excited to see what they produce. Sweetie will also be bred to Tux later on in 2014 season.
Tux and May ( my avatar) in the other breeding coop. This is a son to dam breeding. Tux, Knight and Day, plus Rocky are all full brothers, being sired Junior , out of May.
Rocky is in with the egg flock, that should be interesting as he and the egg flock are full brother and sister. We shall see if excellence has skipped a generation and the offspring from season 2014 don't have cushions. I still haven't found out if the cushion comes from sire, dam, or is polygenic. I am looking for all the boys to stamp their nice combs on their offspring. So we will come at this strain from 3 directions and how excellence expresses itself.
Best,
Karen
 
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I got it wrong its in harrisburg jan 4 before congress
The PA Farm Show? You might want to check on that. I got it from a 4H poultry leader last Fall that PA has changed the rules
and folk showing at the Farm Show need to vaccinate with that live vaccine. The one which sheds in your flock. I would just
check again with them and see if an uproar has caused them to change their mind. I don't want to vaccinate my birds and
don't want vaccine shedding in my flock if I decide to show birds therefore I will defer until I double check the news.
Best,
Karen
 
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Hi,
Picked this up from the BYC Buckeye thread. I have heard Mr. Akers is quite a talented breeder. Anyway, thought it might be interesting. I haven't watched it yet.
"slide presentation by Doug Akers from 2010 on judging show poultry. In that presentation he teaches there are three important factors in exhibition judging- Type, Condition, and Color.
http://www3.ag.purdue.edu/counties/perry/Documents/4-H/Judging Chicken Breeds.pdf "
Best,
Karen
Just finished. Interesting, educational and very illustrative PowerPoint presentation.
 
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Here's a little know fact for you. From my house to Tucson and back is 1007.2 miles.

My wife and I with the 2 kiddos did that trip this last weekend in 28 hours through snow and rain storms. We're either nuts, or this chicken thing is growing on us.

Any way, here's why we made that trip. 8 White Rocks(4 cockerels, 4 pullets). Marvin is a great guy who spent quite a while talking to me about his chickens plus some others at the Tucson Poultry Show. They've been toe punched, but I'd like to get some leg bands on them for quick and easy identification.

He said they're not at POL yet, and that they'll get bigger. OMG, the smallest pullet is bigger than any hatchery cock we've ever had. Anyone thinking they got good DP birds from a hatchery needs to go to a show and look at the sheer size of SOP chickens. They're massive.



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