How do bantam breeds become standard or vice versa?

[Sir Birdaholic]

Hmmm..... I thought you just get 'em wet & put them in the dryer to shrink them. It works on my sweaters!

 

[Svarthona]

Hmm, but wouldn't that give you environmentally induced bantams? Not genetically induced, I mean?
I always thought it would be important to avoid that since it does not get passed on to the next generation

no?

I'm working on it the other way around and try to increase the size of the birds in my flock.
So far I simply bred from lager eggs and kept the biggest hens. And after three years the girls got already bigger. Not much though.

 

[Cat Water]

Robert! You came! Thank you for your very informative posts!

 

[WyandotteTX]

Here is a question for Bob about the topic. I too have crossed LF and Bantam together while I was working on SP Wyandottes. I got a great increase in vigor, egg laying and overall Wyandotte shape in my bantams. I guess I worked on this for about 5 years and it culminated in some really nice looking SP Wyandotte bantams. To the question....did you or do you ever fall hatch? I know exactly what you are talking about when it comes to timing of hatches, I have seen it first hand. I would hatch late in the spring when I was working on this project just like you did but I would also do several fall hatches in october/early november and I got pretty good results from that time also. Just wondering your thoughts about hatching then....
I live in Texas so the heat does play a great factor in how birds grow off down here.
Thanks for all your great info Bob, I do really enjoy reading your posts.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

I've got another question for Bob, Rareroo, Punky and the others on this thread. (Don't scold me too much if it's a dumb question, I'm still learning)
My question; If I wanted to add size to large fowl, would hatching them out in Jan, Feb & March help? I keep pretty good records, but I've always done my hatching in March, April & May mostly.
Just wondering....

 

[Robert Blosl]

Large fowl size goes down as you get close to july. I would loose about a pound but they will still produce good size chicks and large birds if you hatch them out in Jan and Feb. You just got to turn the lights on in Nov or Dec and give them good protein to get the eggs out. I never hatched in the fall. I think there have been people who would hactch out two times per year to get size down . I think the secret is gut it out and it takes ten to twenty years. If you got some good Columbian whandotte bantams and you could cross what you have on bantams that have good type but so so color the large fowl cross of yours may help your goals. I wanted a pure rhode island red with large fowl traits. I could not stand red bantams with pointed down wings which is from the old english genes used in the 1930s. Also I wanted the large fowl look in type which I never did like in the current red bantams.

I have a freind who got a trio of Columbian Wyandotte bantams from some one in the mid west. He is a super master breeder out of N. Lousiana. I dont know where they came from but if he is fooling with them they must be good.

Below is a male who was in my cull pen that I was raising for eating. Then when I was taking pictures of my white leghron banams I saw him out of the corner of my eye. He is to be given to some one with a egg deal shipment if any one is interested. 18 eggs shiped in the same box as the male all eggs will be in the live section of the jet. I call it my decoy egg shipment package. He is just a little big but the chicks this year where standard size. Every once in a while i get a large bird but the type and color is fantastic. bob