Maryland: Opal Legbar Male Chick - 1day old

[fightingbunny]

I do not have a lot of hopes for this batch. I got 12 eggs, out of them, probably 10 looked okay (a few were very porous and 1 had a fractured air sack), and then only 5 have developed any veins so far. The ones that were porous and fractured air sack did not develop. Hopefully I get chicks from these 5, but odds are just one or two We will see. Can't count them until they hatch!

 

[lebrowne]

Disappointing, Well, we'll see. So the parent birds are your own??? Porous shells etc. Personally I don't like feeding laying feed. I offer oyster shell separately and the hens regulate their own intake. The roosters aren't receiving unneeded and harmful overdose of calcium.

I don't know much about Lavender, Isabella (Opal) chickens other than the feather issues but I wonder......Blue and Isabella dogs and caged birds are weaker genetically maybe chickens as well?

 

[fightingbunny]

So far all 5 are developing!!!

 

[lebrowne]

Good job! 10 more days!

 

[fightingbunny]

I have a hen acting broody and I am debating moving them under her. Then again I would hate for anything to go wrong!

 

[lebrowne]

If you decide to do that probably best to wait until she's sitting tight for a couple of days of course.

If not at least you have a backup if the incubator fails!

 

[fightingbunny]

Glad I didn't do anything. She already has given up!

 

[lebrowne]

Again, Good job!

 

[GeneGoddess]

I’m following this thread! Those chickens are quite interesting and I’m not far away, so if you hatch more, I’d be interested. The TB website has some pretty pictures. I’m curious, though, if these chickens will have the shreadded tails that some of the other Lav chickens have. Good luck with the hatch!

 

[lebrowne]

Though I have not had any Opal Legbars it is most likely they will be subject to the same genetic feather quality issues found in other Lavender, Isabella (Opal) breeds. Back crossing to the creams periodically would probably help though I would assume to a lesser degree than outcrossing to BLACK as with a Lavender Orp to a BLACK Australorp for instance. I'm told many lavender birds in the UK are of a much better feather quality so apparently very strict breeding with only nicely feathered birds can do a lot. Most of the photos I'm finding locally for Opal Legbars and Isabella Leghorns show some splitting already occuring in the cocks tail feathers.