Naked Neck/Turken Thread

[Parront]

I'd go with the clean legged from a hatchery. But then you'd probably lose the dark egg color.

Dark eggs are in style, but, they are harder to deal with. I really prefer white eggs!

 

[DesertChic]

Question: NN x feather leg marans, would you get a less feathered leg + heat resistant bird that would lay a nice dark egg? Or, would it be better to use a clean leg marans from a hatchery?

Unless the NN also carries the dark brown egg gene you can expect the offspring to layer lighter colored eggs than the Marans. And yes, first generation will result in less feathered legs, but still feathered in most cases. It's really a matter of personal preference with the feathered legs. At first I wasn't much of a fan, but now I don't really care one way or another on my own birds as long as their body type and personalities fit my goals.

 

[Parront]

Unless the NN also carries the dark brown egg gene you can expect the offspring to layer lighter colored eggs than the Marans. And yes, first generation will result in less feathered legs, but still feathered in most cases. It's really a matter of personal preference with the feathered legs. At first I wasn't much of a fan, but now I don't really care one way or another on my own birds as long as their body type and personalities fit my goals.

I guess I do not care for the feathered legs because of all the stuff that sticks to them. They do not need to keep their feet warm in AZ!

 

[lpyrbby]

@draye When my Ameraucana pick back up (they take breaks, apparently) I can send you some eggs if you'd like. Clean legged and you may get the chance for some blue mottled chicks from them. So far, every chick that has developed here has been naked necked, so the odds are good. I can probably send you some of Phyllis's eggs too. Her eggs are showing a nice light olive color.

 

[lpyrbby]

 

[draye]

@draye When my Ameraucana pick back up (they take breaks, apparently) I can send you some eggs if you'd like. Clean legged and you may get the chance for some blue mottled chicks from them. So far, every chick that has developed here has been naked necked, so the odds are good. I can probably send you some of Phyllis's eggs too. Her eggs are showing a nice light olive color.

Thanks for the offer, but right now I'm not doing shipped eggs. I'll see later though.

 

[Kev]

I honestly don't know what that color description would be called. She's a NN/Easter Egger mix, which provided the pea comb and blue egg. @Kev is the color genetics expert around here, so if he checks in maybe he can help us out.

I've had roosters like what you described as far as lack of meat. They didn't gain any real size until over a year old. The only way I got mine to fatten up was to put them in a smaller, isolation pen so they didn't get enough exercise to work off their feed.

Can't find the pic of Sissy..

 

[Kev]

Well, it's too late for him .... we're not waiting for him to get a year old in the isolation pen ..... he's attacked the wife a couple more times and she wants him gone! As well, the Buff Orpington roo in the pen next to him has become vicious, so we'll butcher him at the same time - I don't know what has got into these birds ..... we'll put some young Brahma cockrels in those pens, and if they turn out to be viscious, I'll tear down those pens and put them up in a different part of the property .... (the pens are built in an area that was a saloon parking lot - since 1908, so there's no telling what might be in the ground there), from the looks of things, by next Spring, it looks like we will only have a Brahma roo for breeding (I wonder what a Brahma/NN cross would look like?) :>)! Oh well, he'll probably be too busy with the 10 Brahma hens, 2 Orps, 2 Australorps, etc., etc., to go after the one NN hen .......

There is no good reason to tolerate roosters that attack people. There's a whole bunch of stuff on 'training aggressive roosters' and how to 'properly raise cockerels' but the reality is, aggression IS genetic but is also variable, not either-or thing and so that is why there is so much talking past each other on this topic. if the rooster attacks a second or third time despite whatever deterring method is used, it usually is untrustworthy for rest of its life. Things like he seems mellow for couple weeks/months, then sneak attacks someone as they walk away.. or he acts up again next spring etc.

One thing about NN that sometimes makes it hard to generalize about them is the fact they are sometimes mixed with other breeds and sold as "NN"(the breed). If it has been bred with "aggressive stock" then that is going to throw aggressive NN, etc... I would not be surprised if there is a fair amount of occasional crosses with RIR and Production Reds because they are common, good layers and have a body type similar to the NN breed. RIR and PR are well known to have lines very prone to human aggression.

Brahma NN is a nice cross, can make very big birds. Most brahmas are mellow birds, so they should also be on the mellow side.

 

[DrumstickRanchTex]

Where can I buy the turken chicks that will lay blue eggs? I only seem to find brown eggers. There must be some blue egger flocks of nn here in the US somewhere. I googled but didnt find any.

 

[Kev]

I guess I do not care for the feathered legs because of all the stuff that sticks to them. They do not need to keep their feet warm in AZ!

Yep, not a leg feather fan here either. Messiness is a big part of the reason. I suspect the claim about keeping chicken legs warm or drier probably is nonsense.. collects water, mud, brings far more blood vessels to the legs etc.. Most walking birds in very cold climates still have scaly legs and the ones with feathered legs have a different type of feathers on their legs than chickens have.