Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

[U_Stormcrow]

Is this the look you're after?

https://www.freedomrangerhatchery.com/shop/product/sasso-chickens/

Or too pale?

Is this too dark?

https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/partridge_rocks.html

Split the difference. and what is that bottom bird, that's gorgeous! Clean legs, sharp pencilling, an actual comb... If I need fresh genetics in a few years...

Let me guess, eggs are small-medium and dark brown, right???

/nevermind I sat on my lazy @$$ and asked Google to search images for me. Partridge Rock. I had no idea. Assumed they would be silver base, not gold. Apart from egg color and the mahogony, that's quite promising.

and I see now i could have simply read the link address, too.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Is this the look you're after?

https://www.freedomrangerhatchery.com/shop/product/sasso-chickens/

Or too pale?

Is this too dark?

https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/partridge_rocks.html

They, want a red incomplete Columbian bird.

 

[3KillerBs]

Split the difference. and what is that bottom bird, that's gorgeous! Clean legs, sharp pencilling, an actual comb... If I need fresh genetics in a few years...

I couldn't remember if you wanted something more barred or more laced but when I was looking through hatchery catalogs this winter I saw something that made me think of your project -- which I more-or-less identify as being almost exactly opposite my preferences except for the big single combs and blocky body shape.

I had to do some browsing.

Except that you don't want blue eggs and need a heavier, meatier bird, I think that the color/pattern you like is common in the various designer "eggers".

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

and melanized ducking, in spite of her nice weight, is out of the desired mix?

while the occasional silver byproduct is going to be unavoidable???

Hmmmm....

That hen isn’t silver or a silver/gold split. She is pure for gold, since she has red tones and no white.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Split the difference. and what is that bottom bird, that's gorgeous! Clean legs, sharp pencilling, an actual comb... If I need fresh genetics in a few years...

Let me guess, eggs are small-medium and dark brown, right???

/nevermind I sat on my lazy @$$ and asked Google to search images for me. Partridge Rock. I had no idea. Assumed they would be silver base, not gold. Apart from egg color and the mahogony, that's quite promising.

and I see now i could have simply read the link address, too.

If you want some of the coloring of the top bird, you’re going to have to breed forward some of the birds with barring (without barring, the top bird looks just like a Hoover “rainbow”).

 

[Fallenone05]

Split the difference. and what is that bottom bird, that's gorgeous! Clean legs, sharp pencilling, an actual comb... If I need fresh genetics in a few years...

Let me guess, eggs are small-medium and dark brown, right???

/nevermind I sat on my lazy @$$ and asked Google to search images for me. Partridge Rock. I had no idea. Assumed they would be silver base, not gold. Apart from egg color and the mahogony, that's quite promising.

and I see now i could have simply read the link address, too.

I had a hatchery partridge rock and she was the BROODIEST bird. Worse than my Brahma hens. Not sure if that's desirable for you or even a trait in these particular partridge rocks. I have no idea where my neighbor got her from hatchery wise but she'd sit on rocks if she could.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I had a hatchery partridge rock and she was the BROODIEST bird. Worse than my Brahma hens. Not sure if that's desirable for you or even a trait in these particular partridge rocks. I have no idea where my neighbor got her from hatchery wise but she'd sit on rocks if she could.

I don't desire or not desire, broodiness - other, much more important to me concerns first.
If it is broody, it would help if it successfully hatches. I'm looking, once again, at probably thirty chicken eggs under a broody that should have hatched already, and at least as many under three ducks, in two seperate nests, that also should have hatched already. I've already given up a clutch of close to thirty under the aforementioned hen once this year - one day she was sitting a pile, the next day, all the eggs were gone... Last year, I gave up dozens and dozens of eggs under broodies, with zero successful hatches - but if they are like last year, and I inspect even a single egg, they will abandon the nest.

Honestly, didn't think I smelled that bad...

 

[NatJ]

You could get get what you want by breeding your red Columbian hen, with a rooster like Ugly, just breed the poor quality partridge based birds, to get that coloration. Of course you'll end up getting some silvers out of the mix, because the rooster is Gold/Silver split though.

and melanized ducking, in spite of her nice weight, is out of the desired mix?

while the occasional silver byproduct is going to be unavoidable???

You will not be stuck with silver forever. Once you have only gold birds, they will breed true for gold.

But @MysteryChicken was suggesting that Ugly has some of the genes that might help your project. Since Ugly also has the silver gene, you cannot use HIM without getting some silver birds (about half of his chicks should be silver, and the other half could be gold.)

So silver is "unavoidable" only if you continue to breed from birds that have silver.

@MysteryChicken is talking about how to get one specific pattern.

But if you just want SOME pattern of black and red, and you do not care what pattern you get, then you certainly can use the melanized duckwing hen. She has some gold/red, some black, and no white or blue; and she has a good weight. Depending on who you breed her with, she has the potential to produce chicks that are less dark than she is.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Well, it finally happened (look carefully).

One of my ducks, finally, successfully sat a clutch. We have ONE baby duckling so far. Had to remove some contaminated eggs yesterday - thought I'd lost the whole clutch. Still no signs of new life from the clutch two other ducks have been sitting for a month.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Well, it finally happened (look carefully).

View attachment 3119858
One of my ducks, finally, successfully sat a clutch. We have ONE baby duckling so far. Had to remove some contaminated eggs yesterday - thought I'd lost the whole clutch. Still no signs of new life from the clutch two other ducks have been sitting for a month.

Hey, one is usually better than none