How About a Jumbo Co Op

[Omniskies]

I am definitely part of the Co-Op. I think I'm even going to move my quail into four (low ceiling) hutches so I can have an excuse to keep more from each line. And I've bought tons of little zip ties in order to keep the bloodlines sorted.

This shall be the year of the quail.

 

[mhwc56]

Quote:
"the year of the quail" ...i LIIIIIIKE IT!!

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

Well, I think its the year of the rabbit overseas, but we can always call it what we want.

So here is several tid bits. I have 2 different Jumbo Browns in this line. One is more of a plain brown with the gold strippings. The other is Brown but has reddish tints to it and the stippings are white or cream. It has nothing to do with the season of fertility. They are different and they are fertile at the same times. I breed the one in F to the other in M and vice versa. Pen 1 has Brown gold Females and a Brown red Male. Opposite for pen 3. I actually didn't plan that, but that is what Big Bad Bertha wanted. Remember she killed any male she didn't want near her and her male is as large as she is, though he was a little slower getting there.

As you saw from my Jan 1 hatch, I don't have the greatest hatch rate. But you may do better, with different incubators or even the same. I do have tape holding down one corner of my bator top.
You are going to be hatching Manchurian Golds, too, so plan for that. Sometimes there are a few Whites that get thrown also. When saved and bred together the whites have - black - leaf patterns on their heads and gold tan coloring on their bodies. I loose a lot of whites when hatching and after the hatch, up to I think it was 3 weeks old. That's why I haven't really talked about my Whites but right now I have about 30 of them and will do a separate hatch later. They and the Manchurian Golds is what I want to keep working with.

So this tells you that the whites have lethal also, and its in the browns. There may also be a lethal factor coming from the Black. I don't think it will be anytime soon gettig past the lethal factor. But that's OK with me. Somewhere in the distant past these birds also had Range added to them, where the Black is coming from. Neither I, nor my breeder has had a range thrown though, so this is far in the past or is something else. The babies at 3 weeks from the last hatch from the breeder in my light yellow brooder, looked like the light Range (Rosettas) when they are full grown. But they look like normal browns when adult. Interesting, hugh.

This is why I wanted eggs from Shelleyd, I knew her birds were put together for just a year or less. I wanted to compare them. It was easy to see the different matings in the chicks from her eggs. I saw that the chicks from her eggs were very different from mine. Until these birds throw something different its hard to know what's in them. So this line goes way back in time. And yes, I did get a few Jumbo Browns from Shelley's eggs and kept one, she is in Vanillas cage.

Then you have to figure out how to deal with the large eggs. And they are still getting larger.

Then there is the little surprise inside, that makes it all worth it. Gotta go do chores.

Court was cancelled, I am off jury duty this week. Cool, cool, cool.

 

[mhwc56]

UGH CHORES why did you have to remind me? ! haha
fascinating stuff , genetics and bloodlines. I will be so much happier when i understand it all better!

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

OK, guys, I ordered foam trays for shipping back in mid December and the supplier still has not shipped them.

I just ordered from another supplier. My girls are coming off rest and hopefully the boys are gearing up to. Once they get going, I'll work my way from the South to the Northern States and hope all these eggs get out by the end of April. I also have more Jumbo Browns, though that batch was not as large to start out - didn't weigh them either. But I can include their eggs and they are just as large. These new foam trays are larger and hold .... Can't remember, but they hold more eggs. So you will have them to send eggs back and forth in your CO-OP exchange.

The first to go out will be to the southern breeders. mhwc - I think your eggs are going the farthest north, so they will probably be the last to ship, when you are ready.

After the last go out I will make some changes. I was going to stop raising the J Browns, but now I think I will keep them, for a while anyway. So I am also building a few large colony pens, well DH is for my 3 varieties.

 

[RiverOtter]

Glad you didn't have to go for jury duty!

 

[mhwc56]

Quote:
Really? MARYLAND is the furthest NORTH you have orders for ? Being from Massachusetts originally THAT just sounds weird to me ...LOL

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

Quote:
Me too.

Yes, Maryland to the North and New Mexico I think to the West of me was the farthest that requested eggs. To bad, I would have liked to get them from sea to sea. Maybe you's can keep passing them farther West and North.

Not everyone wants to deal with the Gold Lethals that these birds carry. Not everyone believes me as to their size, the eggs or the birds. Not everyone wants to deal with the logistics of hatching, feeding and if they are a breeder shipping the really large eggs. To that I say, separate the Shipping + Packaging then add in the cost of the eggs themselves. But you will have to keep them large and maybe get them a little larger. Shouldn't be to hard, it wasn't for me and I have only had them since June last year.

That's where the fun comes in. I know you people are going to experiment with different feed, with lighting, with cage size, etc. Not all of you have access to the high protein GB feed. That is going to be a challenge for you. I think people in the Northern colder states will need different protein % feed for the cold months. (I found something on that, gotta find it again). But the genetics for growth will still be there. When they aren't getting the high protein, they should be stabilizing. This is where the passing of the eggs logistics comes in. For instance, if someone is making up their own feed formula then he should pass them to someone that feeds the high protein GB feed then that person passes them to someone that can't get the high % GB feed, so on and so on. If you can pass the eggs North to South, back and forth all the better.

So if you are passing eggs around, they should (I don't know for certain) keep their size, stabilizing and being more consistent in size. This is what the breeders of the BIG birds did back when. They exchanged or bought and sold from each other - back and forth - with their own lines to keep them big. If adding new blood lines, it needs to be from BIG bird blood lines.

This is why I feel that you need to know who else has these birds, even if they haven't joined the CO-OP. You will also be able to get more from this line from a breeder a little later. Remember, I am sending them the eggs first so they can get to hatching them. They are used to dealing with shipping eggs and the problems that arize, not me that's for sure.

I warn you that are in the CO-OP, save the shipping foam that my eggs come in to trade eggs with. Your gonna need it cause my eggs are still getting bigger. I remember telling JJMR that I would just hold them back if they got to large (eggs or birds). Well, I am utterly failing at keeping the egg size down. So good luck on that one. Heck, I have a hard time getting them to take a rest as it rarely freezes here.

 

[rjs55555]

Dont forget me up in PA!

Thanks
Randy

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

Quote:
I didn't forget you but I did have to get my atlas out. For some reason I was thinking you were west of Martha but your north of her too. By a smidgeon.

Now you know why I want to send these eggs out. Memory fails and the birds get lost. So pass them on early.