He could be lav wheaten crossed with lavender, this would give a very similar coloring but to be honest, leaks are very common in project lavenders such as lav orps, amers..... It is tricky to get back to a consistent solid black after any sort of color outcross. You'll know once you get to hatching his chicks out of the legbars in particular- if this throws some non solid chicks that's proof he is not pure for black and probable explanation for color on his neck.
psst if Isabel strikes your fancy, that's a combo of buff and lavender. You could get there via him and NN like Puppy(awww) or the NH....
Quote: Thanks! Puppy is just so precious. And she goes on walkabout often enough. Maybe I'll put her with him this spring and see what I get. The laying issue with GNHs won't worry me until they're a year old - I'd like to wait to breed them. I don't want them for their eggs, so as long as I can get hatching eggs, I'll be happy. This may be sacrilege here, but I've discovered that I think the GNHs taste as good or maybe even a little bit better than the NNs (though yes, harder to pluck!). I'm beyond happy with them, both as is/pure and the cross options.
I've wanted to grow apples for a while - only finally got the property fenced (excluding all the deer) last fall, so I'm getting the trees in now. Here's hoping they do well (I've got a good site for them, with good deep soil compared to other more rocky parts of the yard).
I have all these neat ideas about breeding, and have gotten a good mix of potential breeders now for all sorts of interesting mixes. But I need to keep the actual number of chickens down (it's already a lot for me at 30+)
Quote: Thanks! He is handsome boy, isn't he - and he has a more regal/aloof bearing as well. Joe is a goof ball.
Actually, Joe sort of "likes" me, and has started to follow me around (from behind) during chores. I don't cuddle my boys - I have my eye on him, because while he has been on perfect behavior, I worry that his ease with me may lead him to come after me one day. I've had the best luck with more standoffish but calm roosters. We'll see - I'm keeping all of them as long as I can house them together. If they start fighting, I'm not sure I can support separate housing. (Chunky Monkey is very dominant - I might be able to just move CM out if it comes to it.)
I decided against fishing line because I was worried of it being in the yard and not seeing it to get it up, and either the chickens or wildlife getting caught in it. With this I can collect it if it comes down. The hawks have never been willing to try to dive under it (I criss-cross it pretty densely).
I think I'm going to go collapse now. Lots of digging to do tomorrow...
I just finished my first candling of the Dorking eggs. Nine out of eleven are fertile and developing nicely, and all three of my NN-crosses are also developing beautifully. I'm so excited!!!!
Hawk pressure is pretty heavy in my yard, as I'm in a bit of a flyway - that's why all my groups have roosters to look after them, and all have an interwoven "net" of green surveyors tape over the paddocks as a deterrent - I realize that hawks can be accurate enough to "thread the needle" through some of the gaps, but it causes them to hesitate long enough for everyone to get under cover. I don't let little bitty ones out in the open unsupervised until they're pretty big for this very reason.
Thanks!!! I figured I might have my terminology wrong, but knew he had red coming through either way. Luane (sp?) at Eight Acres Farm sent him to me as a spare "lavender ameraucana", and I saw on her website that starting in 2017, she's starting to have lavender wheaten ameraucanas available, so I thought maybe he was an early one "by accident" (guess not). He's in with the following pullets who will stay with him: four cream legbars (fertile eggs), one black and three blue copper marans (also fertile eggs), and the olive egger (not often fertile - maybe he doesn't like her as much). The German New Hampshire girls are also with him, but they'll be moved out to be with Tank once I find new homes for the speckled sussex. The cream legbars are offspring of Lissa (and have very nice egg color), but I've had trouble with the original CLs and Avian Leukosis. Lissa is still doing fine, but I'm waiting until her daughters are well over one year old before I consider breeding with them. If they end up ill, I'm giving up on CLs and getting ameraucanas. I just realized today that they have fowl pox (looks to be the dry one), so they're all a little unhappy right now.
Here are some shots of the German New Hampshire boys, who are 7 months old, quiet, docile, and still living quite well with each other, and SO handsome. I love them. I'm planning to cross the GNHs with the Naked Necks - the GNH pullets I have lay VERY poorly so far at 7 months (I don't need lots of eggs, but I'll need eggs to hatch, for heavens' sake!). I think I'll gain egg production as well as naked necks in the cross. Aren't they handsome?! Can't you imagine how good they'd look with naked necks?! (I named them based on their leg band colors)
Boy Blue (Chunky Monkey the Splash Copper Marans in at the edge):
Joe Black (likes to talk to me when I'm doing chores):
Earl Grey (most promising for breeding - I wish I could have caught him full broadside - he's huge!)
I've been digging all day to put in a mini-orchard - I'm planting apple trees (varieties we can grow here with lower chill hours: Anna, Ein Shemer, and taking a chance with Fuji, Gala, and Yellow Delicious). I am SO SORE. Not near finished either (and I have a small huisache tree to take down and dig out, too) - I'll be starting again first thing in the AM. I need to go take some ibuprofen or naproxen or something, STAT...
I have learned in the marans thread that the chick's size depend on hen (hatching egg). I am not sure if this is the case in marans only. I have a chick, araucana/mutt cross from a huge egg and he is almost double size of my cuckoo marans cockerel. they hatched together. my araucana roo is a bit smaller than his mutt lady.
Egg One is my pure NN x with Bielefelder/Australorp hen.
Daddy = Heisenberg
Mommy = Ivy
Egg Two - Pure NN x Dorking-mix...just for the sake of curiosity.
Daddy = Zazzle
Mommy = Bubbles, the one front in this photo.
Egg Three - Hybrid cross. I'm uncertain about daddy, as he could either be my NN/White Rock cockerel, or my Ameraucana/White Rock cross...or my EE/mystery bird cross. Mom is my NN/White Rock hen, my meat breeder, Willa.
Egg One is my pure NN x with Bielefelder/Australorp hen. Daddy = Heisenberg Mommy = Ivy Egg Two - Pure NN x Dorking-mix...just for the sake of curiosity. Daddy = Zazzle Mommy = Bubbles, the one front in this photo. Egg Three - Hybrid cross. I'm uncertain about daddy, as he could either be my NN/White Rock cockerel, or my Ameraucana/White Rock cross...or my EE/mystery bird cross. Mom is my NN/White Rock hen, my meat breeder, Willa. Mom: Dad could be any of these three: Simon - NN/WR Monty - Ameraucana/WR Harley - EE mix
Egg One is my pure NN x with Bielefelder/Australorp hen.
Daddy = Heisenberg
Mommy = Ivy
Egg Two - Pure NN x Dorking-mix...just for the sake of curiosity.
Daddy = Zazzle
Mommy = Bubbles, the one front in this photo.
Egg Three - Hybrid cross. I'm uncertain about daddy, as he could either be my NN/White Rock cockerel, or my Ameraucana/White Rock cross...or my EE/mystery bird cross. Mom is my NN/White Rock hen, my meat breeder, Willa.
day 4 for this egg...
So after being in the fridge for who knows how long, getting ppo-ed on in the nest, and yoke covered, then wiped clean I still have 4/4 due the 16th, 4 due the 18th are showing signs, and 12 due the 20th too early to tell.
Lot of nice looking roosters. I've done the Marans thing and they're not my type of bird, although I did do a cross with some EE hens and got some good Olive Eggers.
The New Hampshire is my favorite red chicken. I have been looking at maybe getting some ( a rooster) for crossing into my NN for red NN's. Trying to find a good American line though ( just my preference, trying to stick to American lines for American chickens.).
@DesertChic
Looks like nice selections for your matings.
I'm thinking of putting on another hatch for myself but a little hestitant because if room. It's looking like this lad test hatch is going to be like 3/4 cockerels and 1/4 pullets. I'll know more this coming weekend when I'm going to do alittke culling.
Lot of nice looking roosters. I dive tgeMatans thing and they're not my type if bird, although I did do a cross with sone EE hens and got some good Olive Eggers.
The New Hampshire is my favorite red chicken. I have been looking at maybe getting some ( a rooster) for crossing into my NN for red NN's. Trying to find a good American line though ( just my preference, trying to stick to American lioness for American chickens.).
"American" line for New Hampshires is not all that great anymore for size, but better for eggs, I think (NOT an expert, from what I've read... and I could be primarily thinking of hatchery stock). The German New Hampshires are simply the American New Hampshires that we gave to Germany after the war in the 1940s/50s, and they did a better job of maintaining the breed, and then folks reimported them. Eight Acres is great (though there is a minimum of 20). I guess it's all about what you consider "American" lines.
I still just LOVE the way Zazzle looks. This will be interesting to see how this works out...
"American" line for New Hampshires is not all that great anymore for size, but better for eggs, I think (NOT an expert, from what I've read... and I could be primarily thinking of hatchery stock). The German New Hampshires are simply the American New Hampshires that we gave to Germany after the war in the 1940s/50s, and they did a better job of maintaining the breed, and then folks reimported them. Eight Acres is great (though there is a minimum of 20). I guess it's all about what you consider "American" lines.
Zazzle is definitely one of my prettier and meatier NN boys, and he carries the blue/green egg gene. Bonus! I'll actually be putting him in a pen with my meatiest girls soon for a focused breeding project. Then I'll do the same with another of my pretty + meaty NN-crosses, Simon.
