Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[gjensen]

Thanks again for your advice , gjensen. I do try to go about things with a purposeful approach. Sometimes there are just conflicting goals and approaches that I need to sort through in my mind and it helps if somebody puts a clear approach in writing, like you did. It would indeed be very easy to get a random Barred Rock "roo" ( sorry, couldn't resist), put him over my hens and be done with it

To purposeful, you will have to get to know them. That is hard to tell in one year. It takes a couple generations to figure out what you really have. You figure out what you have by the performance of the offspring they are producing. You have to hatch enough per hen, to see what you really have. 4 eggs from a hen does not represent her (or the cock) well. It is like rolling dice. You might get some sixes, or you might get some ones. Once you get 16 eggs hatched from a hen, you have a better idea what you are dealing with. The dice is weighted and the averages work out with some numbers. Even if that takes two years.

It is not just the individual birds that you are looking at, but the family behind those birds. There is more at work concerning influence than what we see up front.

Now you do not have to do any of this. It can be simplified. What I am trying to illustrate is what it takes to know what you have. You know what you have once you have put a generation or two on the ground. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Some of the problems that you identify in the first generation, may still be a problem in the second. Now is there enough variation to make improvements, or is some added variability necessary? What can you live with for now, and what can you not live with? All of that is up to you.

I will leave this one alone. I have not tried to be discouraging. I have also not tried to give advice. I know nothing about your flock. I have only tried to stir some thought and conversation. I am still learning myself.

 

[3riverschick]

I love this slim book. Written over 100 yrs. ago by a renowned poultry man who was also Danne Honour's Uncles' Uncle. Danne is a top Leghorn breeder and one of the masters of the Buff color. "Breeding Laws" addresses both breeding tactics and breeding to feather. When I have questions about moving forward in my breeding program, I consult it over again in addition to calling modern experts for help. Judge Card could often be found at a poultry show with a circle of listeners while he explained breeding tactics and rules in simple terms.
He also created the White-Laced Red Cornish breed.
Laws governing the breeding of standard fowls.
Card, Wetherell Henry.
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.087299559;view=1up;seq=5
From page 5:
"KNOWLEDGE is power. While there
are many things still unsolved and
many perhaps unsolvable, the greatest
knowledge of all is to recognize the
fact of the inevitableness, the immutability, the
irrevocableness of certain laws- which govern
every phase of nature as regards a reproduction
of kind.
Right at the beginning I wish to state that
this book contains no theories nor conjectures,
but simple facts regarding these certain laws,
which I have learned, observed and proved in
forty years of breeding fancy poultry."
Best,
Karen

 

[neopolitancrazy]

This year I have been hatching and raising laced Wyandottes, with one big surprise, very slow feathering in some chicks. Any words of wisdom?

 

[DesertChic]

This year I have been hatching and raising laced Wyandottes, with one big surprise, very slow feathering in some chicks. Any words of wisdom?

Maybe increase their protein content? I feed all of my chicks 22% - 26% protein for the first 2-3 weeks, and then drop it down to 20% until they're roughly 10-weeks old. All of my birds feather out much more quickly with the higher protein content.

 

[MagicChicken]

This year I have been hatching and raising laced Wyandottes, with one big surprise, very slow feathering in some chicks. Any words of wisdom?

Some color patterns like barring require slow feathering to get the sharp contrast between colors. Not sure about lacing. If they are well bred birds, talk to the breeder about the slow feathering. If it is there for a reason you can work with it. If not then you can breed for faster feathering in the future.

 

[gjensen]

This year I have been hatching and raising laced Wyandottes, with one big surprise, very slow feathering in some chicks. Any words of wisdom?

No, because I do not know this breed, variety, or strain.

I did notice that you wrote very slow feathering in SOME chicks.

I cannot think of any reason that slow feathering would be an advantage in this variety.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

The Delawares are slow to feather. I have been told it is the Barred Rock in their history that causes this. I think this year I'm seeing faster feathering (comparatively) in the pullets than in the cockerels. But even the "faster" feathering is still slow.

This is absolutely something I hope to work on in the future. Got a few other priorities to address first, but it is on the list.

 

[gjensen]

The Delawares are slow to feather. I have been told it is the Barred Rock in their history that causes this. I think this year I'm seeing faster feathering (comparatively) in the pullets than in the cockerels. But even the "faster" feathering is still slow.

This is absolutely something I hope to work on in the future. Got a few other priorities to address first, but it is on the list.

Unless you have a bird that feathers fast, or one of your partners, you will struggle. Delaware's should be fast to feather.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Unless you have a bird that feathers fast, or one of your partners, you will struggle. Delaware's should be fast to feather.

That's what I suspect. The Standard calls for a productive meat bird, which suggest they should be fast to mature. I think there are some lines that are getting there with maturity rates, but they don't look much like the SOP says they should. This line looks pretty good (for body shape), but don't mature as fast as they should.

I'm happy to report this line does eventually dress out pretty well, and tastes good. But it would sure be convenient of that happened sooner.

 

[gjensen]

That's what I suspect. The Standard calls for a productive meat bird, which suggest they should be fast to mature. I think there are some lines that are getting there with maturity rates, but they don't look much like the SOP says they should. This line looks pretty good (for body shape), but don't mature as fast as they should.

I'm happy to report this line does eventually dress out pretty well, and tastes good. But it would sure be convenient of that happened sooner.

There are none perfect Leslie. You have nice birds. All we can do is work on one or two things at a time, and start with what we feel is the most important. Little by little, and bit by bit.