Lavender Orpington project ....

[lildinkem]

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It will take an idiot to retrace the steps that made that color. No one can go out and make it intentionally apparently. And your mutt has just as good a chance of making it happen as any. I would grow them out a bit, then do your best to recreate that breeding. I don't encourge intentional mixing of breed and varieties, unless you have a specific goal and it causes no one any harm. I know my mutts, that can fool even Orp experts, at least some of my Blacks, have enough crap in them to make who knows what? IF I take brother back to sister, who know's? I like the fun and thrill of the hunt.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

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Muscovy pen.... Patti I hate to tell you this but I lost all but two of my muscovys I hatched from you to the stinking fox. All in one night. I couldn't get them to go into the pen for some reason and that fox must have been waiting and watching.

If and when you have more fertile eggs let me know please

 

[lildinkem]

These two girls are from the same mother and father. Mom is a purebred Blue Splash Orp from quality lines. The dad is BUS a true mutt. It will be interesting to see what these two girls will make. I think for anyone to get lucky it will be from a wild off the chart mix breeding like we are doing. There is so much unknown garbage in these two. IF I feel lucky, now is the time to do it.
I consider the recreating the Choc gene in Large Fowl the Holy Grail for color breeders. And I have to remember that. No one has ever found the Holy Grail, but we know it existed. Same here. We know someone made the Choc gene from a mutt breeding. now what was that breeding? It is worth a small roll of the incubator time and feed dice to see.

 

[Cetawin]

Germaine I am so sorry...I hope you kill that fox...shoot him twice! Once for the kill and once for your birds.

I have 3 broody ducks right now sitting on 16 eggs I believe...they will be pure Ancona, pure Golden Welsh Harlequins and maybe some crosses of the two. Wish I could get some to you...they are due to hatch in about 2.5 weeks.

 

[onthespot]

I don't have muscovies any more. i was watching them for Mrs.Smith here on byc until she got her house built. Then she had me place them, and got others. I can try to email the guy that got them and see if he still has them and see if they are laying.

 

[lildinkem]

Quote:
Muscovy pen.... Patti I hate to tell you this but I lost all but two of my muscovys I hatched from you to the stinking fox. All in one night. I couldn't get them to go into the pen for some reason and that fox must have been waiting and watching.

If and when you have more fertile eggs let me know please

Did you see the Fox? That sucks! If you lost more then one it sounds like Coons. My friendly Red Fox just takes one at a time. And he uses the Book of Standards and takes only my best hens. lolol

 

[Germaine_11.20]

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I agree completely. And I love the Holy Grail reference. Good point. I mean, we know it is out there, someone found it... so who knows maybe we can find a purple chicken someday if we don't find the chocolate first!!!!!

I was only crossing for meat chickens. I wanted to see what i would get. It sure isn't meaty but it is a roo so I can use it to play somemore. The other ones are in the freezer now, so it isn't as if it was a wasted project.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

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Rats. I have a male and female from her so maybe they will breed. I have two other females and a Drake but he his woman never have fertile eggs. Maybe this new boy with them all. He is prettier too. Thanks Patti

 

[Cetawin]

If they are like mine Germaine...they just stopped laying recently. They are seasonal for sure but they lay like crazy when they do. My (5 girls laid between 300 - 322 each) eggs their first laying year.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Quote:
Muscovy pen.... Patti I hate to tell you this but I lost all but two of my muscovys I hatched from you to the stinking fox. All in one night. I couldn't get them to go into the pen for some reason and that fox must have been waiting and watching.

If and when you have more fertile eggs let me know please

Did you see the Fox? That sucks! If you lost more then one it sounds like Coons. My friendly Red Fox just takes one at a time. And he uses the Book of Standards and takes only my best hens. lolol

Yes I did see the fox, right after it killed one of my Bama Blue Orps while I was 20 feet away hanging tarps for shade. I googled red fox and they will come and kill many more than they can eat and bury them for later.

All my ducks were literally spaced out on the hill about 3 feet apart. It had gotten some chickens too and eaten some of them but the ducks never had a dent in them. I had to look really really close to see tiny pinpricks with blood dots where it made the kill.

I have weeds galore and was able to track him/them through the weeds to several locations and lo and behold there were piles of feathers everywhere. I was just sick.

The further I went I kept finding more piles and even a duck head. So now I need to learn how to trap or shoot it. I am not keen on the idea of randomly staying up all night waiting for something to possibly show up. How do people catch these predators in the act?