Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

[U_Stormcrow]

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and Splotch has the same red tips on black at this young age which resulted in Pretty Boy. Its also resulted in some nearly complete black birds with red edging.

Fingers crossed. Really hoping Stripe isn't a male, either - unless this pattern somehow goes red, penciled and beautiful (which does not seem to be the current trend in the little chipmunk).

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

and Splotch has the same red tips on black at this young age which resulted in Pretty Boy. Its also resulted in some nearly complete black birds with red edging.

Fingers crossed. Really hoping Stripe isn't a male, either - unless this pattern somehow goes red, penciled and beautiful (which does not seem to be the current trend in the little chipmunk).

If it’s a cockerel, it’s likely only one gene away from being gold, since it’s probably a gold/silver split (one gold gene and one silver gene).

 

[U_Stormcrow]

If it’s a cockerel, it’s likely only one gene away from being gold, since it’s probably a gold/silver split (one gold gene and one silver gene).

He'd have to be gorgeous to knock Sneezy aka "Pretty Boy" off the perch as my preferred breeding Roo right now, but its encouraging to hear that I might see some progress towards my end goals later this year, rather than two years down the road when I expected to start seeing the hint of hopeful individuals.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

{{WARNING - GRAPHIC}] If I can get pictures to load.

Short form, while you are busy scrolling down, is that the whole hip structure was rotated and lifted. Appears to have been a back injury at a young age, completely healed, pronounced twist in the spine, once I got inside the bird. 2.42# processed weight.

Pictures below (I did NOT scald the bird before plucking. Should have. Ripped the skin in the usual places, still need to do some tweezer work. Mostly the feathers pulled free and easy.) Muscadine grapes in the background.

Oh, and this was a lady bird, in spite of the thick-ish legs.


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I'm amazed you can see that! I might have been able to watching her walk, but I can hardly tell anything off in the processed pictures

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'm amazed you can see that! I might have been able to watching her walk, but I can hardly tell anything off in the processed pictures

Much easier to tell when you are up close and personal, with a hand inside the bird, and a good view of the backbone. Also, the photographer SUCKS!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

So... was expecting to make this update tomorrow, but when did Chicks ever stick to a calendar???

Phase 2, Hatching 01 ("Pretty Boy" aka Sneezy over...) had 9 fertile eggs of 12 set. Most of the fertile eggs are beige/cream (meaning I can't ID the mamas), but I do have one of the darker brown shell I know to be a Comet mama. Several have externally pipped today, and i expect photos of at least a few in the next 8 hours or so.

That means P01-04, Spot, Stripe, Splotch, and Sprawl will be moving to the grow-out pen and "see and be seen" run attached to the barn, starting today. Pictures in the comments above from a couple days ago, I'll get weights as I move them out.

Because I have so many cream colored eggs, and because Sleepy of P01-02 (the green-tinged black pullet of Sneezy's hatching) isn't laying as of last check at 22 weeks, a few days back, I'm strongly considering setting nothing but Pretty Boy over Comet eggs this time around, which will take a few days to gather - I've set two aside already, still warm, from my girls this AM, but only get 7-8 every three days between the three remaining Comets, so it will take five days to fill the incubator, most likely.

On the plus side, I'll be crossing with a known very early maturity breed with a good sized egg, and good red in the feathering. Single comb, clean legs, good skin pigmentation. On the down size, I'll be crossing back with the darkest egg shell, my smallest birds, and I haven't a clue how the white ring around their necks and tail fan will present in the offspring. Nor do they have any barring, penciling, or lacing. I feel like I'd be taking a big step backwards, but my Comets are hitting 14 months of age, I expect to cull them soon.

Open to the collective wisdom of the community here...

 

[JacinLarkwell]

So... was expecting to make this update tomorrow, but when did Chicks ever stick to a calendar???

Phase 2, Hatching 01 ("Pretty Boy" aka Sneezy over...) had 9 fertile eggs of 12 set. Most of the fertile eggs are beige/cream (meaning I can't ID the mamas), but I do have one of the darker brown shell I know to be a Comet mama. Several have externally pipped today, and i expect photos of at least a few in the next 8 hours or so.

That means P01-04, Spot, Stripe, Splotch, and Sprawl will be moving to the grow-out pen and "see and be seen" run attached to the barn, starting today. Pictures in the comments above from a couple days ago, I'll get weights as I move them out.

Because I have so many cream colored eggs, and because Sleepy of P01-02 (the green-tinged black pullet of Sneezy's hatching) isn't laying as of last check at 22 weeks, a few days back, I'm strongly considering setting nothing but Pretty Boy over Comet eggs this time around, which will take a few days to gather - I've set two aside already, still warm, from my girls this AM, but only get 7-8 every three days between the three remaining Comets, so it will take five days to fill the incubator, most likely.

On the plus side, I'll be crossing with a known very early maturity breed with a good sized egg, and good red in the feathering. Single comb, clean legs, good skin pigmentation. On the down size, I'll be crossing back with the darkest egg shell, my smallest birds, and I haven't a clue how the white ring around their necks and tail fan will present in the offspring.

Open to the collective wisdom of the community here...

I think it's a good plan. Just curious, have you considered adding calico princesses to your project? They're similar to what you're looking for and throw big babies in my experience. Only possible down side is they're* pretty docile

Asian blacks bring the size great too (about 4.5 for my male that was about 9 weeks old, still growing)

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I think it's a good plan. Just curious, have you considered adding calico princesses to your project? They're similar to what you're looking for and throw big babies in my experience. Only possible down side isntheure pretty docile

I've never even HEARD of a Calico Princess, but I'm trying to do this without bringing new birds into the mix, I've got so much in the blender already, and I'm not sure I can convince the wife I need to buy birds when I hatch, on average, 10+ a month already.

I'd much rather have a Red bird with a black pattern on my property than a red bird with white. But I see that TSC/Hoovers is a ready source for them, at need.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I've never even HEARD of a Calico Princess, but I'm trying to do this without bringing new birds into the mix, I've got so much in the blender already, and I'm not sure I can convince the wife I need to buy birds when I hatch, on average, 10+ a month already.

I'd much rather have a Red bird with a black pattern on my property than a red bird with white. But I see that TSC/Hoovers is a ready source for them, at need.

Here's my girl. Doesn't have any white at about 15 months. She lays a bit larger than an XL light brown egg, but was notorious for laying double yolkers as a pullet.

Nice thing is that you could always theoretically get st. Run and just eat any males, since I can't imagine they'd be smaller than a female

 

[3KillerBs]

I've never even HEARD of a Calico Princess, but I'm trying to do this without bringing new birds into the mix, I've got so much in the blender already, and I'm not sure I can convince the wife I need to buy birds when I hatch, on average, 10+ a month already.

I'd much rather have a Red bird with a black pattern on my property than a red bird with white. But I see that TSC/Hoovers is a ready source for them, at need.

If you *were* to add new birds from an outside source I wonder if Speckled Sussex would suit your needs. IIRC, they were historically a favored meat bird and have that intricate patterning.