I have to talk POLISH!

[Illia]

If you're sexing straight run Polish and are doing it by crest shape, I think if it is really working, the reason would be the stock bieng poor in type, in other words, males with too big of combs which tend to push everything back. Course, this doesn't fully influence a day old, but might. I know that some of my more poor quality Polish boys by the time they reach 3 weeks are easy to sex by crest shape because I know, once they're older, those ugly big combs will start coming out and push the crest to a backwards sweep.

I'm fully aware that my smooth Tolbunt has a bad comb. And so far it really does influence the offspring cockerels. Ugh.

But hey, makes sexing easy.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

OK, so what you're saying is that if you buy a batch of chicks from a breeder (or looking through your own chicks and seeing if there's anything you may want to snag before you sell them), you should actually choose chicks (at a day or two old) by crest shape, not so much for pullets but for better quality?

And then around 3 weeks, if it's a cockerel and the crest is pushing backwards, that cockerel is likely to have a "big, ugly comb"

?

Another question I have been wondering about....when breeding dogs & horses (the two animals I've bred), you picked a stud that would "fix" whatever your ***** (or mare) has that needs fixing. But if I understand correctly, I've read people state here, that once the bird shows something you don't like, they cull. So does that mean I don't look at my girl and say her tail isn't carried correctly and pair her with a roo that has a nice tail set? Because that's how I'd fix it in a dog......and I've read about people breeding mediocre birds that just happen to produce beautiful SQ offspring.

So many questions...

If you're sexing straight run Polish and are doing it by crest shape, I think if it is really working, the reason would be the stock bieng poor in type, in other words, males with too big of combs which tend to push everything back. Course, this doesn't fully influence a day old, but might. I know that some of my more poor quality Polish boys by the time they reach 3 weeks are easy to sex by crest shape because I know, once they're older, those ugly big combs will start coming out and push the crest to a backwards sweep.

I'm fully aware that my smooth Tolbunt has a bad comb. And so far it really does influence the offspring cockerels. Ugh.

But hey, makes sexing easy.

 

[Illia]

In most cases, choice of crest shape is by quality, yes. Not always but most cases.


As for fixing vs culling, depends on how bad the fault is, how genetic it is, and what you have available.

So, if I have a squirrel tailed male, and some well angled tails in my females, and I've no other male or no other source for a better male, I best just work on fixing it with the females.

But if I have a choice, and there's a better male around, I best use that better male. And if the problem is worse than say a squirrel tail, I best cull him, yes.

I guess a better example is with females - If I have a flock of pretty decent hens but one just doesn't par up with the others, and especially has a trait I'd prefer not to see, why should I keep her if I have other better ones? As someone said not too long ago in another thread, it is better to work with a small number of great birds than a large number of birds who are "okay."

Now of course, in my case, I don't have a single Polish here who really is great, everyone here has a trait that surpasses the other but a flaw that drops them below the next, and I've only got so much of each color/line, so, I'm keeping them all right now until I get what I want out of them, otherwise, I could lose them tomorrow and I'm really not in the best position to add new blood or replace some right now.

After getting a really nice scale I've found that I only have one bird who's above the SOP weight, and only 2 others who are perfectly there or nearly meet it. The rest are badly underweight but not to the DQ point. And as mentioned about good vs bad, my heaviest male has a terrible comb issue that I just don't want to continue seeing anymore, so, it's a big struggle. Plus none of my current males have tails below 80 degrees above horizontal, and my hens with such are the lightest in weight.

So, of course, as said, it narrows me down to a slim picking of who to breed for good stuff but in the mean time, not getting rid of anyone yet, as I can't afford to lose the remaining better birds.



Anyway back on the cull vs fix issue, I think of it this way - If I had a bird with a fault, and I "fixed" him with a better female, the offspring will still carry that fault whether it shows or not, and eventually down the road it will pop up again. Best I get rid of it all together unless I really need that bird, and am aware of the fault in the future, and carefully breed it out the next generation. That or replace later when I have more, better stock.

 

[seminolewind]

Do pullets fill out their poofs like this? Sorry, she's wet, but it's better to see the feather spikes. It's such a big spot!

 

[mycutekitties]

We are couped in and ready for the show tomorrow. My daughter is showing 7 bantam Polish.

 

[chickee]

We are couped in and ready for the show tomorrow. My daughter is showing 7 bantam Polish.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[seminolewind]

Help! I can't see their faces!!!

 

[mycutekitties]

Lol! Once I had a friend that couldn't tell what was the front and what was the back. Lol
I swear they do have eyes!

 

[Illia]

Do pullets fill out their poofs like this? Sorry, she's wet, but it's better to see the feather spikes. It's such a big spot!

Are you referring to the large white bare spot with pecked, broken feathers? No. It looks to me like someone's been eating her crest.

 

[seminolewind]

Illia, those are new feathers coming thru. Prior to that she had a bald spot there , but no feathers ripped out-that I know of. So being ripped out was never a theory to me. She has only had contact with 2 other chicks and they are all good together. I guess anything's possible


Ilia, you are right! I just went out and they all got shorter and some are plucked out!!!!!! I can't believe her roomies are doing this! (Okay, gotta find the duct tape!)