Ideal poultry?

[speckledhen]

I look forward to seeing pictures of those after they hatch!

 

[Southern28Chick]

I have 6 RIRs from Ideal. They are very dark and very pretty. They have some black feathers on their wings and tail.

You'll love you RIR roos. They are Sooooooooo sweet.

 

[speckledhen]

I myself thought my own RIRs from Ideal were dark, until I saw this one RIR pullet from the breeder next to them. It's amazing the difference. I'll try to get a picture of them side by side, if they'll get that close to each other, LOL.

 

[joannamarie]

sorry for barging in on your post but i have 2 rir/light sussex chicks and was wondering how dark they will end up. they are both hens and are now 2 weeks old.
the feathers that are coming through on there wings are quite dark brown/red with bits of black in them will they stay the same or get lighter in colour like orangey/brown

 

[speckledhen]

Didn't know if you were asking me or aran. I'm sorry, I dont know the exact answer to your question, but I know it does matter is it was the rooster who was the sire or the Lt. Sussex.
I tried to get the teens to stand next to my older RIR girls, but Scarlett wasn't having any of that, LOL. These pics are the best I could do. I got Meg, the RIR/Buff Orp cross, next to one of the older RIR girls from Ideal-see how close their coloring is? Meg is at the bottom of the pic facing left. Then I got one of my breeder quality RIR, Scarlett, next to a pullet with alot of black in her because I think that will actually show how dark the red is on the RIR.

 

[aran]

yep you are right she really is very dark! I dont know if ours have as many black feathers on them as your girl does. I will try and get some pics today...my daughter is at the shop buying a new digital camera now since the one i bought only shoots video ( at least i dont know how to get the still pics off the video!)

 

[chickenwoods]

Those birds are beautiful!! My favorite birds are the reds,and the whiteleghorns.

I have 5 or so hens that are about 5 months old,Thier comb and waddles look fully matured,thier 3/4as big as my dominique rooster.Should i be excpecting eggs any time soon?

Hens just about to lay---
W/leghorn
gold neck featherd sexlink
black sexlink
2/ rir/pro-red? (they look exactly like speckleds light colord birds)

 

[speckledhen]

Your sexlink may lay before anyone else. Meg started laying a few days ago, but Scarlett has not. They are 22 weeks this week. Her comb and wattles are just now beginning to enlarge. Hard to say, since it is such an individual thing.

 

[chickenwoods]

Is thier any signs or behaviors that will tell me that my hens are about to lay?

What are thier actions when they lay thier first egg,will they just set on it or be amazed that something that size came out of themDo they become motherly when they start laying,or will they still be the meanies that they are!!

Thanks for all the input,i am just really eager for my hens to lay!

 

[speckledhen]

One sign is when you reach for a pullet, she will suddenly squat down with her wings slightly out at the shoulders. That is her being submissive for breeding and her hormones kicking in. Eggs are usually not far behind. They dont all squat, but most do. They may start investigating the nests, going in and out of them, too.
Not all hens are motherly, but sometimes they will sit on the egg for a long time and sometimes just run out of the nest cackling. It won't be long for you, though.