Langshan Thread!!!

[cluckcluckluke]

The question is, should I get some more Langshans...dumb question, of course I should. Just keep adding to the flock.

 

[PetRock]

Took some pics today but the lighting was bad and my crazy birds were not cooperating. The girls shy away and the boys are always coming towards me. I'm going to try to snap a few more before the sun goes down and just post the best of the worst.

 

[PetRock]

I finally have my pics downloaded and edited! I hope that I don't overwhelm you all with pics of my lovelies! I'll start with the 3 boys that I still have here in town. Not a one of them has crowed yet which makes me very happy. You've seen pics of them when they were younger. The gangly splash roo is 28 weeks old. He is from Meek's line and we call him Stilts because his legs are so long. Gandalf the white (Mikaela's line) is 26 weeks old and is the biggest of the 3. The black cockerel is also from Mikaela's line and he is the one that looked like a bowling ball with a tail. He has filled out quite a bit but his tail still isn't as broad as the black boys from Jim's line.

Stilts












Gandolf












Black boy with no name (Monet wants to call him Sauron.)












Some pics of the roos together to show size.


Stilts and Gandalf have been squaring off. Gandalf is the undisputed winner so he wasn't even concerned when Stilts went face to face with him.

 

[PetRock]

Now for some of my girls. I have the one white pullet, 2 splash pullets, 2 black pullets, and 5 blue pullets. I concentrated on taking pics of the black and blues from Mikaela's line as well as a few of the splash pullets. The blacks and blues are 26-28 weeks old.

Black girl 1











Black Girl 2






Blue Girl 1












Blue Girl 2











Splash Girl 1, Meek's line, 33 weeks. This pullet has lighter eyes than the other splash pullet. Is this a common problem with the splash Langshan's?






Splash girl 2, Meek's line, 33 weeks

 

[cluckcluckluke]

I finally have my pics downloaded and edited! I hope that I don't overwhelm you all with pics of my lovelies! I'll start with the 3 boys that I still have here in town. Not a one of them has crowed yet which makes me very happy. You've seen pics of them when they were younger. The gangly splash roo is 28 weeks old. He is from Meek's line and we call him Stilts because his legs are so long. Gandalf the white (Mikaela's line) is 26 weeks old and is the biggest of the 3. The black cockerel is also from Mikaela's line and he is the one that looked like a bowling ball with a tail. He has filled out quite a bit but his tail still isn't as broad as the black boys from Jim's line.

Stilts

OH MY WOW, I love them , I absolutely love your splash (is that it, sorry if it isn't).
I'm so jealous.

 

[PetRock]

Thank you cluckcluckluke! I hope that Stilts fills out some more and grows into his long legs. Looking at the pictures, I just noticed that while my white and splash roo have lots of feathers on their legs and feet, my black boy has very sparse feathering. Interesting that I never noticed that until now. Too many feathered footed friends running around, I guess.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Thank you cluckcluckluke! I hope that Stilts fills out some more and grows into his long legs. Looking at the pictures, I just noticed that while my white and splash roo have lots of feathers on their legs and feet, my black boy has very sparse feathering. Interesting that I never noticed that until now. Too many feathered footed friends running around, I guess.

Yeah if stilts fills out more like your white he will be a fine rooster. Your white has a lovely big chest. I plan on getting some splash Langshans now.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I finally have my pics downloaded and edited! I hope that I don't overwhelm you all with pics of my lovelies! I'll start with the 3 boys that I still have here in town. Not a one of them has crowed yet which makes me very happy. You've seen pics of them when they were younger. The gangly splash roo is 28 weeks old. He is from Meek's line and we call him Stilts because his legs are so long. Gandalf the white (Mikaela's line) is 26 weeks old and is the biggest of the 3. The black cockerel is also from Mikaela's line and he is the one that looked like a bowling ball with a tail. He has filled out quite a bit but his tail still isn't as broad as the black boys from Jim's line.

Stilts




On this bird, I like his back and legs, the tail angle is nice as well. The thing I don't like about him is that his tail comes to a very abrupt point. A Langshan should be one width all the way through the body. His tail just blows the proportions.









His eye may be a tad light as well, but overall a fairly nice bird other than the tail proportions to the back.

Gandolf




Ah Gandolff. I very much like the overall proportion of his body. HATE his tail though. He definitely takes after his mother! I believe his tail may come up with age, but if it doesn't, breed him to a very high-tailed girl and you've got it made in the shade!







This is a good photo, see his width of head and how small that comb is? Very good things that I look for in my breeders. His eye is an excellent color as well. See how the width of body continues all the way through to his tail? Even though his tail is very low set, he will add width of back and help spread out some tail feathers in those females.



Black boy with no name (Monet wants to call him Sauron.)

Now...this bird. This is my favorite conformationally. Love the slope to his tail, the width of feather is very nice. Issue is, his legs. Those legs are lacking some feathers. Now. If you use this male, you will need to use him on a female that has way too much feathering in the middle toes. I love this bird's wing carriage, tail carriage and breast. Even more so than Gandolff. If you could cut his legs off he's a great bird.








See the nice dark eye color going on? Also notice you can see that he carries the width all the way to his tail. It doesn't "pinch."



Now, this photo tells a tale. The head is very nice and broad. The comb is small and tight to the head. I believe the base of his comb will be nice and large as well. (The wider the base of the comb, the less chance there is of the comb flopping over.) The thing that concerns me is the spread of the legs. The should be straight up and down, regal. He has a bit of an issue in that the legs come to an "A" shape. It's not drastic, but shouldn't be overlooked either.



The tail tends to do this at this stage. They are building up the muscles to keep the tails up and straight. I'm not concerned about the tail falling to one side at this point.




See how Gandolff has a "ramping" back? I don't like to see that at all in any of my birds. In this photo, I like the splash better, but Gandolff is also relaxed in this photo. He seems to be relaxed in most of the photos? ha!




In this photo, you can really tell the difference in the tails. See how Gandolff has a wider tail spread than Stilts? Another thing to be VERY careful of is a "cushion." A "cushion" on a Cochin is desirable, but a cushion on a Langshans is not something I like to see.




I am really not a fan of Stilts comb. It looks undefined and actually quite large for his age. The black also has a wider breast at this point. So far, he is still my favorite even with the poor leg and foot feathering.

These are all just observations. I have looked at them objectively as if I were putting them in my own breeder pens. If any offense is taken by any parties on here, please message me privately as I do not want to clutter this thread with any small issues other than learning.

Any questions, please feel free to ask!

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Now for some of my girls. I have the one white pullet, 2 splash pullets, 2 black pullets, and 5 blue pullets. I concentrated on taking pics of the black and blues from Mikaela's line as well as a few of the splash pullets. The blacks and blues are 26-28 weeks old.

Black girl 1

Absolutely keep this pullet. Great topline, good tails spread, nice tight comb, dark eye and nice rounded breast.









If you don't keep this girl as a breeder I will slap you.

Black Girl 2

I am not a fan of this bird. She has similarities as the first one but the tail comes together awkwardly and the back lacks any type of U at all. The breast is poorly put together. See how it looks like a "chunk" was taken from the breast where it meets the legs?





Blue Girl 1

I see more of an Oprington look to this pullet, but I would keep her around to see how she develops. She has a nice eye and it looks like her tail is starting to come in and lifting a bit. She might turn into something good, but overall I see an Orpington body style on feathered legs.







She does have nice straight legs though!




Blue Girl 2

I much prefer this blue bird over the first one. She has a more stream-lined body and a nicely uplifting tail. She has a ways to go in the U-shape department but overall a better bird than the first.







The more I look at her, the more I like her. Definitely keep this one as a prospect! You know what. Not even a prospect. Keep this girl hands down over the other one.



Splash Girl 1, Meek's line, 33 weeks. This pullet has lighter eyes than the other splash pullet. Is this a common problem with the splash Langshan's?

The splashes I have seen have dark eyes. All of the ones I've hatched from my birds do. Although I can't seem to keep them alive...Man...how I want a splash! Light eyes are a problem you do not want. This bird also seems to have a small cushion on her back. See how it's not smooth and flowing to her tail? Her tail is also pinched at the rear. She has a good leg width but everything is thrown off by the tail pinching so tightly.





Splash girl 2, Meek's line, 33 weeks
This bird has a better underline and better tail width and spread. Thing is, that cushion is going to become a HUGE problem and is very difficult to get rid of.

 

[PetRock]

Mikaela, Thank you so much for your critique on my birds!!! I'm such a beginner and I appreciate all of your help! I was kind of thinking that I would just pick the best of the roos and use almost all of the females. But I sure don't want to have to deal with hard to get rid of characteristics like light eyes. I had not noticed the cushion on the splash pullets. I'm going to look at my other 3 blue pullets tomorrow to see if they have it.

Gandalf is very relaxed most of the time. He is top boy bird and knows it. Today, I saw him running across the yard with his tail high and spread like a turkey. I have no idea what set him off unless he was running to see what Stilts was up to with the girls. He and Stilts go head to head several times a day and frequently, one of the blue pullets charges in and breaks it up. It is hysterical to watch. I sure wish that I could keep them here for the long haul instead of moving them to the farm. I love watching the roosters.

Back to the discussion on breeding. I only have the one white pullet but she seems to have a high tail set. If I breed her to Gandalf, is there a chance that they could have some nice looking offspring? Here is a new pic of Galadriel: