Minnesota!

[holm25]

I am thinking of replacing my Cochin roo and keeping him for adding a little color to my chicks. Maybe I get my name on a list for a started cockerel from Rick Klerh and use that on any pullets I get out of the chicks from Minnie.

 

[holm25]

Well the BYC calendar I won should be shipped in the next day or so! Can't wait to see it!

 

[athalia17]

@minniechickmama, I forgot! If you know of any really reputable bbs orpington breeders, Lmk! Thank you for the input too earlier. I'm off to Google andalusion splash now!

 

[Minniechickmama]

@minniechickmama, I forgot! If you know of any really reputable bbs orpington breeders, Lmk! Thank you for the input too earlier. I'm off to Google andalusion splash now!

I am sorry, I think I confused you. There are two types of Blue in Chickens. One is from the Andalusian Blue genes, which you refer to as BBS which is just an abbreviation for Blue/Black/Splash because the Andalusian Blue gene produces all three colors since it is a homozygous gene How the two color genes are paired is what determines the phenotype (color) of the bird. If it is a dominant color pairing (BB) in will be a Black bird. If it is a dom/rec pairing (Bb) it is a Blue bird. If it is a recessive pairing (bb), it is a Splash(also called Sport) color bird which is a random scattering of blue and black feathers on a mostly white bird. Depending on what the parents are for color is what determines the offspring. That is where you find the breakdown of percentages (theoretical) of what colors to expect.
Then you have Self Blue, contains the lavender gene, if you are reading about color genetics in fowl, and which some people are calling Lavender, but has already been labeled Self Blue in the SOP for the American Poultry Association. This differs in that it breeds true, meaning if you breed two Self Blues, you still just get Self Blues. However, you can breed to Black and get splits and that is a whole other subject I am not as well versed in, even though I understand it, just find it hard to explain. Anyway, it is a different shade of blue (or what is actually more of a gray shade to me), where the entire feather including the shaft are all blue. If you look at the the BBS type blues, their feathers all have a dark blue/black shaft. Those are some of the simple differences between the two.
There is the Blue Andalusian breed, of course, and I believe that is where all the BBS varieties have come out of, but I would have to go dig around and check that to be sure.
So, all those Lavender Orpingtons that have been around the last few years, they should really be called Self Blue, but since Lavender sounds prettier, everyone liking that better or who didn't have a clue that they should be called Self Blue just kept repeating it. There are other breeds that have Self Blues too, one being the Ameraucanas, and the two Ameraucana clubs are duking it out over trying to get the variety accepted into the SOP, one wants to call them Lavender and the other is happy letting them be added as Self Blue. I have shied away from joining breed clubs because those who have two usually are fighting about something, usually egos.

That one with all the leakage, I would weigh him. Do you have a rabbit scale around? I would put him on it. 18 pounds is ridiculously huge. Ralphies Bert was 20 and he was a CRX who was almost a year old. But the color... I wouldn't be going back to a breeder like that. Leakage is one thing, that was an outright cross, I think. When you say leakage, that would mean little streaks of red or gold coming through, not what he has.

So, you have at least one Black Orp hen. How many altogether do you have?

If you want to use a color calculator, Google "Poultry color calculator" It is a fun tool to use.

Oh, and with the BBS type blue, you don't get just one shade of Blue, it will vary widely. I have had some who are as dark as charcoal gray and some so light it was hard to tell between them going under Blue or Splash. But, it is good to use all three colors in a breeding program because if you breed too much Blue to Blue, then you do start getting gold leakage. If you only use Black and Blue, the color darkens and you lose the darker lacing which should be present. Same goes the other way with using Blue and Splash too much. So, using all three you can attempt to keep the color even and keep good lacing. I have read in a few places that using Splash helps to keep that lacing present in the Blues too. It is not uncommon to see black feathers in a Blue if they are really just a really light blue, which is in that group of "Is it Blue or is it Splash?" I figured out my cockerels by looking at their saddle and hackle feathers this year in my Blue Cochin flock. I had to let a couple of really nice looking boys go because they were too much in the middle of those two colors and since males carry more color influence, I didn't want to make a mess by using them.
If I see any good Orpington breeders I will let you know. I haven't shown since Nov '14 and I forget things like that after a while unless there are some really outstanding birds I make special note of. Do you get the Poultry Press and are you an APA member? If not, you should become one since you may want to be able to participate in some things down the road that you have to be a member for a few years first to do them.

I hope this makes sense to you. If not, I can try to break it down a little more. @destiny_56085 is a good person on genetics on here.

 

[lalaland]

morning All,

Minnie, I could not wrap my head around those genetics! amazing how much you know and are so kind to share with everyone.

Klp[klop, Pigs! I've thought about that a couple of times but have been stopped in my tracks by the stories of how intelligent they are. I used to try to get some meat from folks raising pigs but had two times where the meat just didn't taste great - I think it was from what the pigs were being fed. Walmart frosting rejects from the walmart bakery - no wonder the meat tasted awful. I finally gave it to a woman who has sled dogs for dog food.

No news on my hen who isn't walking. She is still eating and droppings are fine. Not moving much, but can sort of lunge forward a bit. I'm making sure her feed and water are within reach and keeping her as cleaned up as I can and just waiting it out. The longer this goes on though, the less likely it is that she has injured herself somehow and the more likely it is a mareks thing.

With the bitter cold coming, I will have to rig up the water heater thing for her. I don't think she will need supplemental heat as she is heavily feathered, being an orpington, and in a nice hay bed.

 

[KlopKlop]

morning All,

Minnie, I could not wrap my head around those genetics!  amazing how much you know and are so kind to share with everyone.

Klp[klop, Pigs!  I've thought about that a couple of times but have been stopped in my tracks by the stories of how intelligent they are.  I used to try to get some meat from folks raising pigs but had two times where the meat just didn't taste great - I think it was from what the pigs were being fed.  Walmart frosting rejects from the walmart bakery - no wonder the meat tasted awful.  I finally gave it to a woman who has sled dogs for dog food.

No news on my hen who isn't walking.  She is still eating and droppings are fine.   Not moving much, but can sort of lunge forward a bit.  I'm making sure her feed and water are within reach and keeping her as cleaned up as I can and just waiting it out.  The longer this goes on though, the less likely it is that she has injured herself somehow and the more likely it is a mareks thing.  

With the bitter cold coming, I will have to rig up the water heater thing for her.  I don't think she will need supplemental heat as she is heavily feathered, being an orpington, and in a nice hay bed.

Our pigs will be raised on pasture and fed a corn/soy based ration (milled and mixed by me) supplemented with vegetables, eggs, and milk if I can get some
No processed food like that

Have you checked over the feet of your hen? Maybe the start of a bumble foot? That is why had my leghorn layer up for so long until i realized it

 

[athalia17]

@minniechickmama, you are a wealth of knowledge. I just want to pick your brain on this!!! Fantastic info, thank you!! That break down helped HUGE on phenotype! Amazing. I read it lots of times in other places, but it was way too complicated... thank you for simplifying! I actually understand now! Ok, I'm going to weigh the roo today. It could be that I'm losing all my muscles with the winter fluff and I need to lift weights, lol. Maybe I could just do some arm lifts with him, haha. I will take some pics of my hens too. Thank you thank you!!!!

@lalaland I read once that sometimes hens can recover from mareks if you stick it out. If this is what she has and she is able to recover, she will be resistant then... but also a carrier if you introduce new birds. A UMN poultry guy told me that mareks is in 90% of all flocks now. This is why I want to work at breeding virus resistant birds.

@klopklop I have a leghorn with the same issue. Have you tried soaking in that stuff for aquariums? I was thinking about that. I gave up and brought her to the vet. Ugh. She is the mascot for my CSA (farm), and all the little kids that come here love her. She is such a nut. They will sit on a bench and she will fly up right next to them and let them pet her. Ok, she isn't completely a white leghorn... She is a California white. I've heard that is a crossing of gray and white. All I know is that my actually white leghorn is completely opposite... a total nervous nelly.

 

[KlopKlop]

@minniechickmama, you are a wealth of knowledge. I just want to pick your brain on this!!! Fantastic info, thank you!! That break down helped HUGE on phenotype! Amazing. I read it lots of times in other places, but it was way too complicated... thank you for simplifying! I actually understand now! Ok, I'm going to weigh the roo today. It could be that I'm losing all my muscles with the winter fluff and I need to lift weights, lol. Maybe I could just do some arm lifts with him, haha. I will take some pics of my hens too. Thank you thank you!!!!

@lalaland I read once that sometimes hens can recover from mareks if you stick it out. If this is what she has and she is able to recover, she will be resistant then... but also a carrier if you introduce new birds. A UMN poultry guy told me that mareks is in 90% of all flocks now. This is why I want to work at breeding virus resistant birds.

@klopklop I have a leghorn with the same issue. Have you tried soaking in that stuff for aquariums? I was thinking about that. I gave up and brought her to the vet. Ugh. She is the mascot for my CSA (farm), and all the little kids that come here love her. She is such a nut. They will sit in a bench and she will fly up right next to them and let them pet her. Ok, she isn't completely a white leghorn... She is a California white. I've heard that is a crossing of gray and white. All I know of that my actually white leghorn is completely opposite... a total nervous nelly.

My bumble foot issues have passed fortunately

 

[athalia17]

What did you do to treat? I've been doing vet wrap, hemorrhoid cream, and triple antibiotic... after surgery. One foot is cleared up, but the other is a stubborn one. I tried picking the scab off, but couldn't get past that step. I'm new to it, and I didn't want to damage her foot digging around in there.

 

[KlopKlop]

What did you do to treat? I've been doing vet wrap, hemorrhoid cream, and triple antibiotic... after surgery. One foot is cleared up, but the other is a stubborn one. I tried picking the scab off, but couldn't get past that step. I'm new to it, and I didn't want to damage her foot digging around in there.

I removed the scab and cleaned out the 'cheese' which is important in case it had formed a hard kernel. Then triple antibiotic cream and vet wrap for a while