Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[fisherlady]

Mira returned to the coop Friday evening. She's quite a bit smaller than all of her sisters/brother now but she's doing well and eating good. She has to find her new place in the pecking order now which is looking like the very bottom at the moment but she's not getting beaten up, just pecked here and there. She's still very people friendly though. She's learned her name during her time in the house and will come when called and hop up in my lap

Glad she is so much improved! e

 

[stake]

Mira returned to the coop Friday evening. She's quite a bit smaller than all of her sisters/brother now but she's doing well and eating good. She has to find her new place in the pecking order now which is looking like the very bottom at the moment but she's not getting beaten up, just pecked here and there. She's still very people friendly though. She's learned her name during her time in the house and will come when called and hop up in my lap

Good to see Mira is back in the saddle....and you've got her trained too...

 

[stake]

Anyone have any LF polish hatching eggs they'd like to share with me for the Halloween hatch a long lol

I thought I had put the bater to sleep til spring now you've got me thinking.....humm, they wouldn't be ready to go outside til New Year's day or so....have to think on this one....

 

[stake]

Aw, so sorry, how old is she?

Aurora, Mira looks like she's doing so well! So glad for you guys. My Cali Grey is looking better too, which is wonderful. I hate to see anyone suffer, man or animal.

Anne:

I don't know....she stopped laying about 6mos ago....she was up on the perch this am....though her comb is really pale....

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Looks delicious! The turkeys are enjoying their freedom. Came home this morning to find the in the neighbors yard... This pic is from my yard though.

[COLOR=0000FF]Oh my Goodness! They're gorgeous. I haven't been on in so long, great to hear you're settled into your new place. [/COLOR]

Thanks! It's the most amazing home! We feel like we are on vacation all the time, and I am loving all the hard work so far. Winter may be a different story. Stake,

 

[Chaos18]

@dheltzel or anybody else who fancies themselves to be smart enough to answer the question.

When breeding birds towards the breed SOP which of these faults would be the easiest to breed out and correct?

Poor Body type
Comb and wattles that are to big for SOP
Poor feathering

 

[dheltzel]

@dheltzel or anybody else who fancies themselves to be smart enough to answer the question.

When breeding birds towards the breed SOP which of these faults would be the easiest to breed out and correct?

Poor Body type
Comb and wattles that are to big for SOP
Poor feathering

No idea. I don't try to breed to the SOP, I don't even read the SOP for the breeds I keep. I am more interested in the inheritance of comb types than the "perfect size and shape" that is in the SOP.

There are a bunch of threads on this site where the hard-core show breeders will be happy to give an opinion, in fact, I believe everyone will give you one, and they will mostly disagree with each other because focusing on one trait might really mess up some others, or it might not, depending on the genetics in play for that breed and strain.

If this stuff was easy or even just well understood, there would be no competition, everyone would have SOP perfect birds by now.

 

[hippiechickX4]

We are in the process of trying tO design the inside of the new coop. We are housing 28 chickens. Any suggestions or an "if I had it to do over again" tips? I read some where that you should put your roost at the same level so their is less fight for a spot in the higher roost. We will need at least 2 roost to accommodate them all. Anyone heard if this? Nesting boxes...inside the coop or built boxes that hang off the coop?

 

[Chaos18]

No idea. I don't try to breed to the SOP, I don't even read the SOP for the breeds I keep. I am more interested in the inheritance of comb types than the "perfect size and shape" that is in the SOP.

There are a bunch of threads on this site where the hard-core show breeders will be happy to give an opinion, in fact, I believe everyone will give you one, and they will mostly disagree with each other because focusing on one trait might really mess up some others, or it might not, depending on the genetics in play for that breed and strain.

If this stuff was easy or even just well understood, there would be no competition, everyone would have SOP perfect birds by now.

I'm not interested in breeding for show, I just don't want to breed poor quality birds is all. Show-breeders I'm sure would be more then happy to give an opinion on the subject and then argue amongst themselves. I haven't read the SOP in it's entirety for them either, I usually just look at the pictures and read the captions

 

[fisherlady]

@dheltzel
or anybody else who fancies themselves to be smart enough to answer the question.

When breeding birds towards the breed SOP which of these faults would be the easiest to breed out and correct?

Poor Body type
Comb and wattles that are to big for SOP
Poor feathering

I'm not sure any would be easy, but some would offer easier clues to go by.
The body shapes and comb/wattle issue are more notable on exam and can often be adjusted by breeding to a bird with strong positives where the other bird lacks.
Feathering is much more difficult in my opinion, primarily when there is a pattern involved, not so much if just trying to correct for being too fluffy around the legs or too much puff near the tail. Color and patterns involve many genetic factors and recessive genes can be very hard to weed out or even be uncovered as a culprit without many generations of genetic info known. Some birds have base silver instead of gold? But aren't silver or gold colored...yet those base genes can greatly impact the coloration of offspring. I get overwhelmed very quickly when feather genetics become an issue.
I try to breed to standard as far as good body types, personalities, egging and proper feather colors...I still get birds sometimes with feather color problems and have made a point to not breed these birds forward to avoid messing up otherwise good genetics, but honestly, feather color and pattern is lowest on my list of what I consider important in a bird. Go figure...it is usually the most important first impression or disqualifying factor but does the least to benefit a backyard bird.