"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[Cody A]

Hey Camping! You eat'in dem possums?

Glad you've been able to get them under control.

 

[Cody A]

Upon closer inspection I have one hatch hen I kept that has them they are so tiny on a hen you wouldn't know if you weren't looking. Now the culling begins. I sure hope the ones I bought direct don't have them. Thanks for the info. Pam

Pam, what if say I had a male with the sprigs but with good color and weight and bred it to a clean combed female to pass on the good characteristics and then culled the sprigs the next generation. All the offspring may not have the sprigs. Since your birds have them and the 2011's have them you know they came from stock that had them also or carried the gene? Sprig-less combed birds may not express the gene but can carry it. You see where I'm going?

Or is the beginning or should I say my beginning the best place to start to try and eliminate or reduce this defect?

 

[Ron Skekel]

Pam, what if say I had a male with the sprigs but with good color and weight and bred it to a clean combed female to pass on the good characteristics and then culled the sprigs the next generation. All the offspring may not have the sprigs. Since your birds have them and the 2011's have them you know they came from stock that had them also or carried the gene? Sprig-less combed birds may not express the gene but can carry it. You see where I'm going?

Or is the beginning or should I say my beginning the best place to start to try and eliminate or reduce this defect?

Weather off spring have it or not the ones that don't have a 50/50 chance of having that gene. So it's all and educated gamble. It won't hurt to start with the next generation it will just take longer to get that gene out. Are you breeding to show or sell for show? If not and your just raising to have eggs and meat why worry about it? I am breeding to sell stock so they will be culled. Roo's for meat and hens are expensive egg layers. Pam

 

[campingshaws]

Hey Camping! You eat'in dem possums?  Glad you've been able to get them under control.

Haha, no way.

But I did buy a trap earlier at TSC. I've been eyeballing a $35 model for raccoons, etc. today I ran in for feed and saw that same model with a BONUS trap (squirrel sized?) inside it. $29.99 for both. SO glad I waited.

A possum got into our trash last night. I went out for scissors and startled it off the porch. So now the trap is set on the porch, baited with smelly canned cat food.

 

[campingshaws]

Haha, no way.

But I did buy a trap earlier at TSC. I've been eyeballing a $35 model for raccoons, etc. today I ran in for feed and saw that same model with a BONUS trap (squirrel sized?) inside it. $29.99 for both. SO glad I waited.

A possum got into our trash last night. I went out for scissors and startled it off the porch. So now the trap is set on the porch, baited with smelly canned cat food.

Number 5.

 

[Jamco6000]

Ok La yers. I've located my BOs. I realize determining the sex of chicks is tough stuff and pretty much a guess unless you know how to vent chicks. Baton Rouge only allows three hens. I want to raise them with the family and dogs as early as possible to better my chances of a friendly household. On the other hand I can't have a Roo and I'm told they are hard to get rid of. Should I buy extra chicks and give them roos/extra pullets away our should I just buy three chicks? Are there any consequences to adding another hen later or should they all be raised together?

 

[Cody A]

Hey that's awesome you trapped another one. It doesn't look too happy at the moment.
Possum stew tonight eh

...........

 

[Cody A]

Weather off spring have it or not the ones that don't have a 50/50 chance of having that gene. So it's all and educated gamble. It won't hurt to start with the next generation it will just take longer to get that gene out. Are you breeding to show or sell for show? If not and your just raising to have eggs and meat why worry about it? I am breeding to sell stock so they will be culled. Roo's for meat and hens are expensive egg layers. Pam

I'm not breeding to sell or show but I'd like to work towards a standard should they ever be recognized by APA. I will also learn a lot from the process of selective breeding.
You never know you may want some of my bloodline one day if I stick with the Bieles.

I have the book "Genetics of the Fowl" and read what I could on sprigs and genetics but the book is a just a tad bit over my head when it comes to the genetics aspect.
You reinforced what I thought I understood as correct just had to make sure. Pam, thank you for your never-ending help.

I posted some pics of some of my birds with sprigs on the Biele thread. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/727364/a-bielefelder-thread/1870#post_15526190

 

[campingshaws]

Ok La yers. I've located my BOs. I realize determining the sex of chicks is tough stuff and pretty much a guess unless you know how to vent chicks. Baton Rouge only allows three hens. I want to raise them with the family and dogs as early as possible to better my chances of a friendly household. On the other hand I can't have a Roo and I'm told they are hard to get rid of. Should I buy extra chicks and give them roos/extra pullets away our should I just buy three chicks? Are there any consequences to adding another hen later or should they all be raised together?

I would think it would be better to buy extras and rehome the ones you can't keep. It's generally not advised to add a single bird to a flock. I did it once (because I didn't know any better) and even the babies were SO mean to her. She's still afraid of her own shadow.

It's difficult to get a return on your initial investment, but it's not hard to get rid of extra chickens. I'm sure there's a swap or auction nearby you can find in a few months. I would think it's easier to rehome a roo in the fall or winter, after flocks start experiencing predator loss. Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[Jamco6000]

I would think it would be better to buy extras and rehome the ones you can't keep. It's generally not advised to add a single bird to a flock. I did it once (because I didn't know any better) and even the babies were SO mean to her. She's still afraid of her own shadow.

It's difficult to get a return on your initial investment, but it's not hard to get rid of extra chickens. I'm sure there's a swap or auction nearby you can find in a few months. I would think it's easier to rehome a roo in the fall or winter, after flocks start experiencing predator loss. Just my thoughts on the matter.

Thanks, I'm going to check the feathers and do my best buy I'll just give the extras away. I've spent more money on this dang coop a few extra bucks on chicks is the least of my worries.... with 50/50 odds I guess I'll pick up 6 or 7 in order to get 3 hens....