Java Thread

[MagicChicken]

Virtually all of my Black Java pullets developed cushions this summer. Now that the weather is cooling down (highs in the 80's and low 90's, lows in the low 50's) I've been surprised to see a pullet or two with no cushion every once in a while. Back line actually looked pretty good. Now that I finally have these birds banded I can tell who they are for future breeding. Crossing my fingers that the cushions flatten out in colder weather, since our main show here is usually in late November.

This is my first experience with cushions. Has anyone else noticed cushions that rise with extreme summer heat and fall with cooler temps? Or am I hallucinating? The pullets are nine months old and have not molted recently, so this change is not due to a new set of feathers.

I am very curious to see what these birds look like as mature hens.

Sarah

 

[bnjrob]

Size and eggs are the things that seem hardest to breed for though. I think I would be tempted to keep the best of the big ones and ignore small flaws because of how tough working type is.

It sure is a fine line sometimes trying to figure out what you can "overlook" for a bit in order to improve something else.

 

[bnjrob]

Virtually all of my Black Java pullets developed cushions this summer. Now that the weather is cooling down (highs in the 80's and low 90's, lows in the low 50's) I've been surprised to see a pullet or two with no cushion every once in a while. Back line actually looked pretty good. Now that I finally have these birds banded I can tell who they are for future breeding. Crossing my fingers that the cushions flatten out in colder weather, since our main show here is usually in late November.

This is my first experience with cushions. Has anyone else noticed cushions that rise with extreme summer heat and fall with cooler temps? Or am I hallucinating? The pullets are nine months old and have not molted recently, so this change is not due to a new set of feathers.

I am very curious to see what these birds look like as mature hens.

Sarah

You just have weird chickens!

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:

The cockerels were looking pretty good tonight. Here's my largest bird, just over 7 pounds at nine months. Still smaller than I would like. Yes, he always carries his tail that low. I hope it comes up when he's fully grown. His wings are a little low and his comb, wattles and earlobes are huge. But he's got a hunky wide back and tail, and he is relatively gentle with people:



Here is the same bird on the right, next to my other large cockerel (also 7 pounds). The cockerel in the left foreground is my only dark-eyed male. I like his head and his overall size. His tail is a bit narrower than I would like, and his back slopes up slightly toward the rear. There is a bird right behind him in the photo - he does not have a humpback. The dark-eyed bird was the slowest cockerel to mature. I thought he was a pullet for a long, long time. He lost his beautiful sickle feathers a couple of months ago. They are slowly growing back in.



And here is a bird I was planning to cull but he's starting to beef up so I'm holding off for a while. He's getting feisty with me, which I don't like. He weighs 6-6.5 pounds at nine months:



Sorry about the weird pink overtones to the photos. They were taken just after sunset with my phone's camera. I can't believe the birds were almost cooperating with their poses!

Just for kicks I tried taking a photo of the pullets in their coop in the near-dark. The flash is creating some weird effects. They do not have white eyes! The cockerel in this photo is my only yellow-soled bird. I decided to put him in with all of the pullets hoping to get some yellow-soled chicks out of them. I do not want to lose that trait from the flock. When I finish getting my breeding pens set up I will be doing individual pairings for specific traits. In the meantime I have a broody sitting on a bunch of random eggs from this gang. Yellow-footed guy should be the father. We'll see how it goes.

(Edited to add photo I forgot to upload)




Sarah

 

[bnjrob]

I don't think they look too bad Sarah. Without seeing them all the time in all their different poses, of course I can't see as well as you can what the flaws are. But remember that no bird is perfect either.

You're probably gonna be stuck with the huge comb and wattles like the rest of us that live where there are really hot summers. But the good thing is that the males don't seem to get as hot as fast as the females do with their smaller combs.

By this time next year I think you'll be more confident in how things are going. It really makes a difference after you have hatched out some birds and see what they look like by about the time they are 5/6 months old in giving you a better understanding of how the genetics are coming together with the matings and where you want to tweak things a bit.

I'd say to try to get ready to start hatching in mid/late December. Getting these guys hatched when it is coolest so they will eat more and feel more frisky for exercising when it is cooler helps with size.

 

[MagicChicken]

I don't think they look too bad Sarah. Without seeing them all the time in all their different poses, of course I can't see as well as you can what the flaws are. But remember that no bird is perfect either.

You're probably gonna be stuck with the huge comb and wattles like the rest of us that live where there are really hot summers. But the good thing is that the males don't seem to get as hot as fast as the females do with their smaller combs.

By this time next year I think you'll be more confident in how things are going. It really makes a difference after you have hatched out some birds and see what they look like by about the time they are 5/6 months old in giving you a better understanding of how the genetics are coming together with the matings and where you want to tweak things a bit.

I'd say to try to get ready to start hatching in mid/late December. Getting these guys hatched when it is coolest so they will eat more and feel more frisky for exercising when it is cooler helps with size.

Yeah, the cockerels I've kept look pretty good. Except for that absence of yellow in the soles thing, which would disqualify most of my flock from showing...

I thought it was interesting that several of these guys had developed huge combs and wattles in early spring, before the heat arrived. These birds were bred in Minnesota. This is their first year in Tucson. I suspect that comb size variation in these particular birds - this year - is mostly genetic. I also suspect that consistent selection pressure for smaller combs and wattles would help everybody , but most of us are (rightly) focused more on body type than combs and wattles at this point. Once the breed is more stable in terms of body shape and size we can work on the combs and wattles.

One reason I've been posting details is to encourage people to look at their birds more critically, so they can help improve the breed. Even folks who see themselves as backyard chicken owners can help improve the breed if they know what to look for. Java owners should know what makes a Java a Java, and not an Australorp or a Jersey Giant or an Orpington. It's not just the color. Body shape, head shape and size all factor in.

Sarah

Sarah

 

[MagicChicken]

Breeding pens are under construction. Aiming to have them operational by the first week of November, and begin hatching in early December. I want to be done with hatching by the beginning of February. Chicks need to be out of the brooders by early March, before it gets too hot.

Sarah

 

[Robert Blosl]

Look true to breed so much better looking birds that I saw my first time two years ago. Thanks for the pictures and post. Anymore pictures out there you folks are proud of to share with us?

 

[ashandvine]

Nice weights on these!! Wishing for the same in the mottled.

 

[MagicChicken]

Look true to breed so much better looking birds that I saw my first time two years ago. Thanks for the pictures and post. Anymore pictures out there you folks are proud of to share with us?

These birds are direct from Duane Urch. All I've done is feed and house them, and try to keep them out of trouble. They have their issues but they are darned nice-looking birds, and they make me smile every time I see them. Can't ask for more than that.

Sarah