Once Upon A Breed

[SourRoses]

I put together a pen of my best birds for this upcoming season.
Dolly, of course, then we have these 3 month old juveniles...

Chocolate Mottled pullet

Kahlua, Choc Mottled, molting and lost the nice tail just in time for pics.
I'm hoping he's a cockerel!
The docile personalities of this line, along with pea comb, make it so hard to tell. But the legs are a little thicker and comb a touch broader.

Same Pullet with the Black Mottled cockerel to the right.

Oh! I found his head!

If Kahlua winds up a cockerel, I'm more likely to choose him for the breeding season than the black Mottled. But we'll see how they develop.

Did I mention how mild this line is?
There was zero integration period with the adult hens Dolly and Satin. I just dumped them in together during the day because I knew they would let me get away with it. No picking on the juveniles, they even eat together.
Although some naughty kids started billing out feed once they had an adult feeder! I've replaced it with another fence feeder since, as the lip on those is resistant.

Oh! I didn't talk about adding Satin in this pen. She's the pure black Ameraucana who mothered this whole project. She's also Dolly's broody mom and they are inseparably bonded.
She's getting old but I'm hoping to backcross to her this spring. She carries the gene for bull neck, shown by some of her previous sons... I want that to balance out the heavy chests.
I also want to lengthen the backs, but more on that later.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Wow, Roses, that's awesome! What a pretty egg and a lovely hen!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Wow, Roses, that's awesome! What a pretty egg and a lovely hen!

This was in response to the pic of Dolly and her egg.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I LOVE Kahlua!!! He's gorgeous! And I also love the sweet disposition you've bred into this line. Did you know I have a black Am cockerel and some black Am pullets, have ordered some Ermine Am pullets for this spring and hope to start a little breeding program soon? I don't have much room though ...

 

[SourRoses]

I LOVE Kahlua!!! He's gorgeous! And I also love the sweet disposition you've bred into this line. Did you know I have a black Am cockerel and some black Am pullets, have ordered some Ermine Am pullets for this spring and hope to start a little breeding program soon? I don't have much room though ...

Thank you, I'll tell him Auntie Blue Hen said so!

Yes, I'm excited to see your Am chicks in different colors too! I want to see what you make with them. Blue eggs are the best

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thank you, I'll tell him Auntie Blue Hen said so!

Yes, I'm excited to see your Am chicks in different colors too! I want to see what you make with them. Blue eggs are the best

I won't be doing any projects, I'm afraid, chicken genetics are beyond me. I'll just be breeding the best blacks and ermines I can, and hope to sell hatching eggs.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Jumbo eggs will be kinda hard to get without a hen, or rooster that carries the trait.
You can tell with hens easier then rooster which is obvious, but just had to say it. I have a hen who lays Jumbos(Cuckoo Easter Egger), & a hen that lays colossal eggs(Easter Egger/Brahma cross). Both lay pink eggs, but one almost always has white speckles.

 

[SourRoses]

Jumbo eggs will be kinda hard to get without a hen, or rooster that carries the trait.
You can tell with hens easier then rooster which is obvious, but just had to say it. I have a hen who lays Jumbos(Cuckoo Easter Egger), & a hen that lays colossal eggs(Easter Egger/Brahma cross). Both lay pink eggs, but one almost always has white speckles.

Very true! I'm hoping the roos are carrying some beneficial egg genetics.
The father of the juveniles above was George (not pictured). He kept up the fast growth of Monty. 4 months old and he had kids. These juveniles are also fast growing (compared to my first several gens, including Dolly). So that tells me at least some of the leghorn genes from (jumbo laying) KitKat are still in there... Hopefully?

I'm also hypothesizing that egg size begins with physical structure.
Maybe not all the aspects of layer build, but some. Like a wider pelvis, longer back, thinner bones.
How are your jumbo/colossal layer hens shaped?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Very true! I'm hoping the roos are carrying some beneficial egg genetics.
The father of the juveniles above was George (not pictured). He kept up the fast growth of Monty. 4 months old and he had kids. These juveniles are also fast growing (compared to my first several gens, including Dolly). So that tells me at least some of the leghorn genes from (jumbo laying) KitKat are still in there... Hopefully?

I'm also hypothesizing that egg size begins with physical structure.
Maybe not all the aspects of layer build, but some. Like a wider pelvis, longer back, thinner bones.
How are your jumbo/colossal layer hens shaped?

The eggs size more has to do with the size of the yolk within.
Here are some Colossal Eggs, jumbo are are behind the Colossals in the carton.
There's a Colossal in my hand. I had a better picture of jumbo, but can't seem to find it.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Forgot to add. Jumbo are alittle smaller then the colossal.