Lavender-Based Leghorn Breeding & Improvement Discussion

[The Moonshiner]

Will any of you guys be breeding for a solid Lavender Leghorn?

 

[The Moonshiner]

Will any of you guys be breeding for a solid Lavender Leghorn?

I trying solid lavender and cuckoo lavender

 

[Tbird84]

Do you show your birds?

I have not shown any of my birds yet, but am thinking of entering some next year.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

My priorities at the moment are select for type and feather quality first. Paint the canvas later. Sometimes things can get a bit muddy though. Like when a cockeral fills out so beautifully but you can't use them because of crooked toes, comb sprigs, etc...

GUESS WHAT!!! Fricassee broke his toe! Little jackass attacked the dogs through the fence while they were looking at him and I think it got hung up or something. I thought about trying to set it back but... that seems outside of my area of expertise in the fine art of Chicken Medicine. I hope it doesn't bother him too much.

 

[Tbird84]

Omg! Lol. Sorry to hear about the toe but they love to fence posture. I don't think there is much that can be done about the toe, to be honest. I'm sure he will be alright.

 

[ChicKat]

Same here, I hope he will be fine. Had a female once who's toe almost got severed, but she self-healed (I think I did put vet wrap on it to keep the two parts together)--- she had an odd angle but she was Okay. With what the chickens walk in -- it is pretty unsanitary, and any bandage would get icky fast.
He's your only male for your bunch isn't he?
Hope he is quickly healed.

 

[Tbird84]

They are amazing at self-healing, aren't they? Keep us in the loop on his progress. On another note, I have a young trio that will be heading to SC after the New Year. Hoping to get more people on board with these babies.

 

[ChicKat]

Hoping to get more people on board with these babies.

Yay -- let's start a 'movement' !!

 

[ChicKat]

OH yeah, and whilst in the pens this morning, it occurred to me that The Moonshiner, or some other reader of this thread -- or someone one of you may know...may have the answer to a question that popped into my brain. I think it was a link or article on genetics from Miami Leghorns that said that slow-feathering-gene males had smaller combs.
I'd like smaller combs on my bunch. Big comb is supposed to show virility - (Like the female lions prefer the male lion with the biggest mane, the female peacocks prefer the male with the biggest tail...supposedly female chickens like the male with the biggest head gear...go and figure).

So the question formulates to -- does anyone have males with slower feathering gene and are their combs, neater/smaller? Seems it would be a bit obvious to find a male that was barred -- so ideally a barred leghorn male with close-together black & white, and thus he would tend to be slow feathering ...... Hmm maybe a lavender barred slow-feathering male would be a good out-cross -- then it would just be a matter of getting the e-Locus back to Duck Wing for me (e+/e+). That could be seen in the chicks right at hatch.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I have a White Leghorn cockerel who feathered in kind of slowly, but he does have a sizable comb.