Java Thread

[bnjrob]

Quote:
Originally Posted by KittieChick


Okay, thank you. Yellow soles? I have some with, some without. Thankfully they are all beetle green on black.
Yes, you need the yellow soles. Eye color is not as important as the yellow feet. Try to avoid using birds for breeding that don't have yellow feet if you can. If you feel like you need to use one that doesn't have yellow soles - say because you have a bird with great type and size but has white/pink feet, make sure that it is mated with a bird that has good yellow feet. Then you can do the culling of their offspring and hopefully get some good birds with yellow soles.

One thing to remember, a lot of times they will lose their yellow feet if they are kept penned. They often start this when they are hitting sexual maturity, around 5-6 months old. The only way that I've been able to get their yellow feet back is to let them free range all day every day, or to feed them a ton of corn (which is not good). I've tried to get the yellow feet back while they are penned by feeding them greens, but I've never been able to get enough greens for them to get their yellow feet back. But after I've moved retired breeders to the free-range flock, after about a month of free ranging, their yellow feet came back. Of course if you free range your good breeders, they are at higher risk for predation, so I just make sure to note which young birds have yellow feet, before they lose the yellow, and then I know who is ok for breeding once I make breeder choices.

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:
Yellow soles are tricky because they can fade as the birds get older. I wing tag my chicks and keep notes about sole color as the birds develop. Can't tell you how many times I've butchered a bird that had white-looking soles and the yellow came through after the bird bled out. I prefer to use birds with distinct yellow soles for breeding, but if there are other reasons for using a particular bird I will use one whose soles have faded with age. If you don't know what the bird's sole color was when it was young, and the bird has white soles as an adult, be extremely careful about breeding it. White is dominant and all the chicks will look like they have white soles if you use one white-soled bird in the pair. It will take several generations and a lot of culling to get back to yellow soles after you do that. It's not fun.

 

[KittieChick]

Thank you! I picked the nicest cockerel last year and many of his babies had bright yellow feet. I'll look at his daughters tonight and band the ones with good yellow feet. I'm keeping a son who has nice feet, good comb and medium dark eyes along with a nice broad back.

So order of importance is feet/comb followed by eye color.

I've got 3 hens, 2 have a nice sized comb and one has a jagged smaller comb. I'm thinking of selling her as a layer, and I'm putting her sons into the freezer. That should help rid my lines of that comb.

 

[MagicChicken]

Thank you! I picked the nicest cockerel last year and many of his babies had bright yellow feet. I'll look at his daughters tonight and band the ones with good yellow feet. I'm keeping a son who has nice feet, good comb and medium dark eyes along with a nice broad back.

So order of importance is feet/comb followed by eye color.

I've got 3 hens, 2 have a nice sized comb and one has a jagged smaller comb. I'm thinking of selling her as a layer, and I'm putting her sons into the freezer. That should help rid my lines of that comb.

Actually, the most important thing is body type but you can't ignore the yellow soles.

 

[KittieChick]

Actually, the most important thing is body type but you can't ignore the yellow soles.

Thanks. I've narrowed my 6 boys down to 2 keepers. One will go live a ways away and one is a backup boy. Nice pullets are next on the list for next spring.

 

[Java Farmer]

Thought it appropriate that my first post here on BYC should be the Java thread! I am on the hunt for quality java chicks so I can set up a breeding pen in the spring. Looking forward to learning all about the Javas! I am also into Heritage breeds, old style RIR, BR, and any of the Heritage dual purpose old style farm/homestead type bird.

 

[MagicChicken]

Thought it appropriate that my first post here on BYC should be the Java thread! I am on the hunt for quality java chicks so I can set up a breeding pen in the spring. Looking forward to learning all about the Javas! I am also into Heritage breeds, old style RIR, BR, and any of the Heritage dual purpose old style farm/homestead type bird.

If you want quality birds and a breeding pen next spring you would be better off with started birds rather than chicks. A good breeder can set you up with a quality breeding trio, assuming they still have extras at this point. Many of us are culling down our flocks for the winter. Where are you located?

 

[bullrunslabs]

Hello everyone, please forgive me, I am new to Javas. I purchased two mottled java chicks back in the beginning of the year from a Wilco here in Oregon. I lost one young and the other is now 39.5 weeks. I have a very beautiful bird, but I am uncertain of gender. I have never seen the roosters trying to breed with this chicken, and I have never seen it try to breed anyone else either. I noticed the other day, it has fairly large spurs forming, though they are very round. It is very quiet, fairly shy, which I thought was odd since when we had them in the brooder, it looked so different, the kids constantly held it. I have never stumbled upon it in the coop unless it was on a perch after dark. It is a great flockmate, I have never seen it in a squabble... Just have no idea if it is a late blooming roo or late blooming hen.


















Sorry for the photo dump on you all, Thank you for your time!

 

[bnjrob]

Quote:
Originally Posted by bullrunslabs

Hello everyone, please forgive me, I am new to Javas. I purchased two mottled java chicks back in the beginning of the year from a Wilco here in Oregon. I lost one young and the other is now 39.5 weeks. I have a very beautiful bird, but I am uncertain of gender. I have never seen the roosters trying to breed with this chicken, and I have never seen it try to breed anyone else either. I noticed the other day, it has fairly large spurs forming, though they are very round. It is very quiet, fairly shy, which I thought was odd since when we had them in the brooder, it looked so different, the kids constantly held it. I have never stumbled upon it in the coop unless it was on a perch after dark. It is a great flockmate, I have never seen it in a squabble... Just have no idea if it is a late blooming roo or late blooming hen.

It's female. They sometimes grow little spurs/nubs, no big deal.

 

[bullrunslabs]

It's female. They sometimes grow little spurs/nubs, no big deal.

Thank you. It was the first time I had noticed them on a hen. I just wasn't sure because I had heard they are slow to mature, I just didn't know how slow, slow was. Thank you!