Langshan Thread!!!

[mrheinz77]

Thought this boy of Buffy's had nice lacing (at least on my phone he does)

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[rodriguezpoultry]

It just depends on what someone is after in their breeding. The male does have nice lacing, but the outer lacing is a bit light. It needs to be a darker shade. It is possible that the lacing on the outer edges of the feather "could" be borderline bronze. Bred to a black female with enough melanizers to cover the bronze of the breast, the blue chicks from the breeding could have very nice and dark lacing.

But, I have no idea what the UK standard is for blue?

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

My blues are a bit too dark. The entire color is a bit too dark. Some birds could be blue OR black sometimes when they hatch. I usually call it a toss-up until after they get their feathers in.

 

[thorleif]

Sorry, Rodrigues, you are right. Black on a white hen gives a result, but they say you get a better result by using a hen from black parents. I cannot remember where I read this, but I have never done it myself, so I got the order mixed up.

 

[PetRock]

I like the darker color blue but is that not what we are wanting? Is the ideal a light blue with dark lacing?

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Yes, the ideal is:

Head: Glossy Black
Neck: Hackle- an even shade of clear bluish slate, distinctly laced with glossy black
Front of Neck -Same as breast

The only feathers that shouldn't be bluish slate, distinctly laced with glossy black, are those of the undercolor. the "fluff" if you will.

That's just the American Standard for blue though. Does anyone have a description of what the color blue is described as having in the UK standard? Since blue Langshans aren't allowed, any breed with blue would work!

I did the blue x white breeding, I wasn't impressed with the results. The birds just looked washed out instead of the nice dark lacing that we desire over here. The black x blue and splash x blue, so far, have given be the better results. I prefer blue x blue, but after a few generations, the lacing can start to decline and another black is introduced.

 

[buffy the eggslayer]

Thanks for the replies they are really intereresting. The lacing on Rufus is the most pronounced of all my blues and the strongest that I have seen in the croads ( not that anyone ever displays any blue croads any where) my hens vary in colour from light to dark but non have the highly defined lacing that you would see on a silverlaced wyandotte for example. That must be hard to achieve but very striking when you achieve it.

My birds free range all year so their feathers do get bleached and lightend with the sun and Hatty below (one of my origional bought in birds) does seem to go a little bronze in the summer.

I will play around with some or your suggested pairings next year and see what I get.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

So far, this is the closest I've gotten to the "desired" lacing. She's got the right slate color, but the lacing is a bit thin and not glossy black. More like a dark blue and not as distinctive as I'd like. I'm hoping that she to another dark blue male will throw some good chicks. But, I have to wait for the blue male to get to breeding age. If I don't lose another 30 to Fowl Pox.


I like the lacing (it's nice and dark) on that last female you posted! Maybe her to a black male would be a good pairing? I wish I could free range my birds. I hate having to keep them locked up 24/7, but it's to keep them from the foxes, coyotes, raccoons, possums and skunks that seem to permeate the forest 10 feet from the barn.

 

[tinkseattle]

Question for my poultry friends... My chickens (5 full-grown, 6 pullets, 2 cockerels) free range in the back yard. I lock them up at night. Apparently there was a hawk yesterday that took my Sicilian Buttercup and scared my favorite Blue Andalusian into my neighbors yard where her dogs almost killed her. I had to put her down when the neighbor brought her home - she was bleeding from the mouth and wheezing - my first time to personally euthanize a hen... very sad.

Two questions. 1 - what is the most humane way to put a hen down. Cutting off the head was violent and difficult. Any better options? 2. I want to get a flock guard dog. My yard isn't huge, but I live alone with 2 small dogs, the hens and a cat. I need to have a dog that is easy going but big enough to keep hawks at bay and be a big enough presence that the racoons continue to stay away. My large poodle passed a couple months ago and he was very loud. I would prefer quiet and watchful. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

[PetRock]

Okay, I finally have the pics of my cockerels edited! I'm only posting pics of the 20 week old and the 15 week olds. I do have a 12-13 week old black cockerel, also. I'm going to put the pics of each boy in a separate post. Thank you so much for any comments, critique you can give me!

Cockerel 1 - "Romeo" 20 weeks old from Skyline I think that he must be going through a juvie molt because he has 3 stray feathers sticking up on his tail.

Even though I am fond of this bird, I do think that he does not have a consistent width down his back and has a narrow head. His chest seems a little flat and not quite the upside down bowler hat shape. He has bulked up in the 2 weeks since I took these pics. His tail is molting so I'm not sure whether it will be pinched when it grows back in. His feathering on his legs and feet is good with no feathering on his middle toe. Are his legs too stilty? I am also wondering after looking at him this week if he has split wings. Also, his eyes aren't as dark brown as the other boys. I'm not very good at this but I'm trying to learn!

Here are two pics from yesterday. Does his wing look like split wing? I need to catch him and spread his wing to make sure.