Langshan Thread!!!

[199787]

Can you please explain what you mean by cushioning? Much appreciated.

Here is a langshan pullet with a "cushion" see the padding at the base of the tail. That is the cushion. This hen is extremely large, like both the mother hens put together!

 

[barkersbirds]

Thanks, it looks like we have some of that going on in "Buster" as well. It sounds like that is not preferable in the breed then. Is that correct?

Any place you can point me to best breed traits?

 

[199787]

Just the American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection (SOP) book. It's $60 on their website. You wont find it printed online because they are very good about making websites remove it.

The cushion is more of a hen thing. I am not the expert, lol. I come here to ask people who know much more than I do. How old is your rooster?

Lisa

 

[barkersbirds]

He is 25 weeks old and one of three BL roos of the same age. We also have two black pullets and a roo/pullet pair in white Langshans

They are part of a rare breed mixed flock in which we have a sicilian buttercup roo, blue andalusian pullet, two rhode island red dark heritage pullets, a columbian wyandotte pullet, a bluelaced red wyandotte roo, two silver laced cochins, two ameraucana pullets, a buff orpington pullet, a golden polish roo, and a plymouth barred rock pullet...i've included some photos of the other members of the family...

All came from Murray McMurray hatchery and were part of my son's honors biology project. Once we had them all we were hooked

We spent the entire summer building them a home to live in and are having so much fun at it we just hatched eight more chicks today (Polish and Sultans) !!

Thanks for the advice on the APA SOP. Sounds like I should invest in one of those.

 

[199787]

He is 25 weeks old and one of three BL roos of the same age. We also have two black pullets and a roo/pullet pair in white Langshans

They are part of a rare breed mixed flock in which we have a sicilian buttercup roo, blue andalusian pullet, two rhode island red dark heritage pullets, a columbian wyandotte pullet, a bluelaced red wyandotte roo, two silver laced cochins, two ameraucana pullets, a buff orpington pullet, a golden polish roo, and a plymouth barred rock pullet...

All came from Murray McMurray hatchery and were part of my son's honors biology project. Once we had them all we were hooked

We spent the entire summer building them a home to live in and are having so much fun at it we just hatched eight more chicks today (Polish and Sultans) !!

Thanks for the advice on the APA SOP. Sounds like I should invest in one of those.

Sounds like a lovely and colorful flock. You generally wont get show quality chickens from hatchery's, but you will get good layers. Sometimes you luck out, but for the most part they aren't concerned with SOP breeding. Just the way it is. My layer flock is hatchery stock and they are lovely, but terribly lacking in SOP. They mostly all have pinched tails, are smaller than they should be, etc. I have a Buff Orpinton with a floppy comb...gee did they mix in some Leghorn...? LOL. The more I learn the more I see things I would have never noticed. Why just today I learned my favorite young rooster should be out of my breeding program. Such is life

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I've seen some pretty bad cushions in males as well, BUT, I think with those, they have the saddle feathers which naturally create a better flow with the body. If you see a "rumpled" look when looking at the side, be sure to breed to females that lack that, otherwise you might wind up with cushioned birds later on.

I highly suggest getting an SOP. You can usually get any/all questions answered in there as to how a Langshan should look and then you're more than welcome to ask all the questions you'd like for clarification/thought processing. We all need people to bounce things off of.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I remembered your name is Mikaela (SP?) while I was outside putting up the horses...delayed response. Thanks for helping me!

Ugh!! Your right he has a narrow area at the base of his tail. He will have a Peacock tail someday as it grows bigger. I guess I will not be using him then. Sadness...I really wanted a splash...
I like the top cockere. His main tail feathers are VERY wide. He's got a nice sized comb and a gorgeous green sheen. Good width of feather. The tail usually goes up once they get a bit more "dominant." It's weird how that happens. Go 9 months and one day the tail is up. I also like that pullet in the background quite a bit. Very nice and I like her tail spread!


same as above and one of Gavin's daughter that doesn't have a cushion.


This male concerns me a bit. I like his comb better, BUT there's an issue with his hocks. It looks like he might be a bit cow-hocked. like you said, it could be the stance he's doing but definitely something to watch out for. To me, the wider the stance, the wider the bird. I want the bird to be able to hold himself up without looking like he's carrying a bowling ball between his legs and without looking like he has to pee.

 

[199787]

Thank you for looking at them and letting me know what you think. So as far as my breeding plan...if I don't use the blue rooster, then I may put this nice black son of Gavin with the blue pullet as a pair, put Gavin's nicest daughters with him and drop my original hens from my program since one of them has a slight cushion and I can see that it went amok. My other original pullet is small and bad tempered. Has a great tail, but a terrible comb and feathers on her middle toe. The middle toe feathers didn't seem to carry much to the offspring though, although there are a couple with a few feathers on the middle toe. Does that sound reasonable to you? OR I could put the blue pullet with Gavin too and keep the son as a back-up, but I have a feeling the son is going to be better than he is overall...


Lisa

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I would keep the largest framed birds first. I didn't do that initially because I simply didn't have the birds and it cost me in the long run. If you have a hen that has good stance, high tail and a better frame with a slight cushion, I'd use her on a male that shows little to no cushion in that area. Is her back nice and wide? Why not try her on that blue male and see what happens when they're bred together?

Whichever male is the better male, Gavin still looks nice, I'd take his daughters back to him. Anything not his daughter use on another male. Since the blue needs to be darkened up a bit anyway, breeding to the black male might help you get the nice splashes and a little ahead. I love splash too...LOVE them. I don't know why since I can't seem to keep them alive for any length of time, but I still love them!

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Thank you for looking at them and letting me know what you think. So as far as my breeding plan...if I don't use the blue rooster, then I may put this nice black son of Gavin with the blue pullet as a pair, put Gavin's nicest daughters with him and drop my original hens from my program since one of them has a slight cushion and I can see that it went amok. My other original pullet is small and bad tempered. Has a great tail, but a terrible comb and feathers on her middle toe. The middle toe feathers didn't seem to carry much to the offspring though, although there are a couple with a few feathers on the middle toe. Does that sound reasonable to you? OR I could put the blue pullet with Gavin too and keep the son as a back-up, but I have a feeling the son is going to be better than he is overall...


Lisa

On this...if she has middle toe feathers (not one of my main concerns) and has a smaller body and poor comb, I wouldn't use her. If the other female has a slight cushion but larger overall size, better tail angle and lacks feathering in the middle toes, I'd use her. Alot of times, with larger size, that cushion starts to level out, especially with a longer backed bird.