Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

[3KillerBs]

The Six Chicks hatched thus far, one more has externally pipped, high hopes on two others.
Of the remaining three eggs set, two were seemingly infertile, one was an early quit.

View attachment 3134639

Honestly, these are all looking like culls for the dinner table to me at this moment.

I thought you'd managed to get the majority of the black out of your flock.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I thought you'd managed to get the majority of the black out of your flock.

Someone's decided to start throwing it

 

[U_Stormcrow]

UGLY is the likely cuplrit on the male side, I still have plenty of mostly black girls I've not culled out yet, and I have two red bodied Roos with near black fluff, plus the one with the gene that turns red to mahogany. Lots of ways, unfortunately, to end up with darker spectrum girls.

I'll just be baking more this year, and crockpot less.

/edit Actually, given his disappointing weight, I'm thinking about removing Ugly from the mix - he's around a year old, so its time anyways.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

The Six Chicks hatched thus far, one more has externally pipped, high hopes on two others.
Of the remaining three eggs set, two were seemingly infertile, one was an early quit.

View attachment 3134639

Honestly, these are all looking like culls for the dinner table to me at this moment.

Cute. Hopefully they're not all culls. Perhaps you'll get a more promising chick from the remaining eggs.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

While we were typing, another hatch. ALSO black. Updating my sig, then headed out to gather eggs (again), empty and refill buckets (91 today, its the last "cool" day for the next week or more) and get some work done. Thankfully last hatch had some more promising colors and patterns.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

and that's one more, leaving just one to go. Another white/yellow one, again no obvious pattern. Certainly no chipmunk.

 

[NatJ]

and that's one more, leaving just one to go. Another white/yellow one, again no obvious pattern. Certainly no chipmunk.

Do you want patterned chicks?
Or are you just using the chick down as a preview for adult colors?

I'll be curious to see how they look as they grow, because I've seen some almost-solid chicks that grew up to be patterned adults, and I've also seen some chipmunk striped chicks that grew up to be almost solid red.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Do you want patterned chicks?
Or are you just using the chick down as a preview for adult colors?

I'll be curious to see how they look as they grow, because I've seen some almost-solid chicks that grew up to be patterned adults, and I've also seen some chipmunk striped chicks that grew up to be almost solid red.

Chick Down as preview - and yes, I can quickly point at several of last years very hopeful chipmonks whose patterns faded considerably as they aged up. I can point to a handful of mostly black chicks which became more interesting as they grew too - but no overwhelming soft yellow downed hatchlings that did anything noteable.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Snagged a few pictures of the birds in the grow out pen from last hatch. These were all "Chipmunks" at birth, and were photo'd here, age about two weeks. Current age, just over four weeks. No, I don't know which became which...

Of course they wouldn't hold still.

Egg 9 of the current hatch was a very late quit. Never internally pipped, but otherwise seemingly fully developed. Will start a new incubation in a week or so.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

The second one down looks kinda like my crele boy did when he was growing