Porcelain Project

[ashtree]

Back again with new pictures of four of the six chicks. I've been busy with taking care of a flock of nearly 100 that is 60 chicks under the age of 12 weeks. I'm tending to hatching going on right now in the incubator. Plus...Family came for the weekend visiting from Montana. Blessed time with the Grandbabies. ashtree, I love that pullet! She's beautiful. I would be thrilled to have one like her. I brought home 24 Catdance eggs from the farm and hatched 12. Of those 12, only 3 survived to adulthood. A partridge hen, lavender hen, and a paint cock. I didn't breed them until now because of confusion also. I'm learning as I go and especially by just hatching as many as possible. Unfortunately, I don't have a Porcelain male any longer. Porcelain and partridge chicks at day old do not look alike. The chick I saved called Tick Tick I was convinced was going to look like the mama who is what I think blue partridge. I've posted her picture a couple times. Tick Tick at day old Tick Tick today. There is no penciling in his feathers. Fur n Feathers and I think his under color is blue. I'm pretty sure this is a male. His wings are blue too. Another chick I really like looks a lot like the buff porcelain chicks you both have. I think it's a male too. I had a vaulted chick that looked like this one that was female. She just up and died. If this chick turns out female, I will be very very happy. Very soft coloring at this young age but it acts male. Also has no penciling on the wings or any where else. The under color seems lavender to me. The next chick has four toes on one foot. He is a real knock out in looks and attitude. I'm keeping him until I've tried breeding the best of the rest. I can't describe his under color. Not white. Not cream. Not blue. Must be diluted? Is this lavender? The deep buff in his crest makes him look like a cockatoo. Hah! This last chick from this mornings photo shoot is another nice one. He is colored much like the four toed chick. This one will probably go into the breeding pen first. I will breed him to my Catdance lavender hen, his mother, and his sister. He seems to have it all for a porcelain. I like this chick a lot. I have two more chicks from this cross to take pictures of but chores are screaming to be done. I love love love seeing pictures of your birds ashtree and Fur n Feathers. It inspires me. Thank you for posting them. Truly.

Wow! I love them all but the last 2 are very stunning! I love the buff heads with blue or is it lavender down? Please share pictures of your breeders when you get the chance. I'm really in awe of the colors you're getting! You must love them all so much. I can't wait to have babies from my chickens!

 

[MumsyII]

Wow she is so beautiful! I'd love to see the parent birds, specifically the partridge you used. I have 1 partridge but she is very dark. Almost a black but some blue on her down. I am going to try to get more partridge this weekend. I'd love to see what shade your mama bird is! Also does penciling mean it's a partridge not a porcelain or does it apply to gender sexing? Just wonder the significance in mentioning it.

Thank you. I posted pictures of the parents in the first couple posts.


This is my Catdance Partridge female when she was six months old. She has a lot of gold and a blue under color.

This is/was my Catdance Porcelain male at six months old. I think he has a lot of black feathers but he was excellent in other ways.

I was lucky in the chicks. They are a good cross between the two. I just wish I still had him so I could do it again.
Partridge color is based on wild type e+ gene. e b for brown. It is the wild gene that goes back to the original chicken called Jungle Fowl. It is much too complex for me to explain easily. Partridge involves so much more than a single gene.
You can often tell females from males from the patterning on the feathers. But in a cross like mine (Porcelain x Partridge) there are unknowns thrown in the gene pool.
When you get a chipmunk colored chick (brownish stripes and eyeliner) that is phenotype (what is physically visible) for the wild gene but the feathers can come in many variations.

Porcelain is hard enough for me to explain so I'm keeping this thread about my Porcelain project and started another thread about my Partridge project.

 

[MumsyII]

Ok, I apologize if it seems like I'm highjacking this thread, I just wanted to share pictures of the roo Im thinking about getting. I think he's absolutely beautiful. I love his type, tho his crest could be bigger. But all my girls so far have great crests. Anyway, what do you folks think? Hows the coloring? And hows his comb? Im so new to this and to me he looks about perfect! But I would love some feedback. Here he is:





I just love the way he saunters!

I think he is magnificent! If you cross him to females with good crests, some of the chicks should balance out. Also choose females with nice, soft, cushy cushions (bum) His tail appears to have a lot of hard feathers. The trick is to breed him to females that excel where he doesn't and vice verse. And then try to get as many chicks as you can so you can grow them out and see what he produces from a variety of hens.

 

[ashtree]

I think he is magnificent! If you cross him to females with good crests, some of the chicks should balance out. Also choose females with nice, soft, cushy cushions (bum) His tail appears to have a lot of hard feathers. The trick is to breed him to females that excel where he doesn't and vice verse. And then try to get as many chicks as you can so you can grow them out and see what he produces from a variety of hens.

Thank you for the feedback. Do you think he's worth getting to breed with or should I keep looking? I mean, I love him but if its going to set me back a few years it might be worth it to look elsewhere. I do love that he's small and compact. I do know he spends his days with another rooster so I'm going to ask the lady if his crest has maybe been plucked a bit. Thank you again! I'm so new and this is so exciting.
I love your catdance partridge. Wow! I sure hope to get one when I finally order eggs

 

[MumsyII]

Thank you for the feedback. Do you think he's worth getting to breed with or should I keep looking? I mean, I love him but if its going to set me back a few years it might be worth it to look elsewhere. I do love that he's small and compact. I do know he spends his days with another rooster so I'm going to ask the lady if his crest has maybe been plucked a bit. Thank you again! I'm so new and this is so exciting.
I love your catdance partridge. Wow! I sure hope to get one when I finally order eggs

If he doesn't have any disqualification traits such as four toes, red comb, or wrong comb, I see him as definitely breeder quality. From what I see his comb is mulberry and walnut type. Porcelain (Blue Cream) is a project color so he is fine from what color I see. Whether it takes you one or more generations of offspring depends on so many unknowns. What is it you want in your project? A diluted lavender/buff will be your project color. What hens you put him with will determine how long it takes you to get to your goals. Remember. With the male you cover more hens and get more results quicker. If you only had one porcelain female it would take you longer. I would breed him for sure if he is the only porcelain boy you can get this year. Put him with your chosen hens and start collecting eggs after a week or so. Test fertility and hatch what you can. His offspring would be used to cross back on any offspring you get from a future male that comes in as cock #2. Breeding beautiful well bred Silkies is exciting! I just hatched a paint chick an hour ago and I am over the moon in love with it. Paint is my other project besides Porcelain and Partridge. Each egg in a project could produce the best bird in my flock. It's like opening a present. I can't wait to see what I get.

 

[ashtree]

Ok. Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and offer honest feedback. I'll be getting more porcelain chicks soon but they won't be ready to breed for quite awhile. But I do have the 1 pullet and possibly getting another adult girl in a few weeks. All that said its good to get an idea of what I want and how to get it. I'm so glad I found this thread! Thank you.

 

[ashtree]

@MumsyII Your catdance rooster was incredible. I just keep looking at him and thinking "thats what I want"

I hope you get a good boy from him. Im so sorry you lost him. He really was something special.

 

[Fur N Feathers]

Mumsy has helped me a lot too Ashtree. She very knowledgeable with the chicken genetics, it is so different than other species - I don't grasp it. I love your potential rooster's color and stance. I thought, it looks like another rooster has been pulling at his tail and when you just mentioned he was with another rooster I thought aha! You aren't hijacking the thread. We love seeing all the pictures and comments. The more the merrier. It gives us all very important comparison factors. If we can't do that it doesn't really make any sense to do it. We all want to do it right, you know? Do you plan on showing? I don't know where you are in Oklahoma, but I think there is a big show in Shawnee in December. It may even be Nationals - I'm not positive about that though.

Mumsy those babies just keep getting more beautiful if that is possible. I'm thinking and hoping that second one may be a little girl. Fingers crossed! That last baby is really going to be spectacular I think!!!

 

[ashtree]

Mumsy has helped me a lot too Ashtree. She very knowledgeable with the chicken genetics, it is so different than other species - I don't grasp it. I love your potential rooster's color and stance. I thought, it looks like another rooster has been pulling at his tail and when you just mentioned he was with another rooster I thought aha! You aren't hijacking the thread. We love seeing all the pictures and comments. The more the merrier. It gives us all very important comparison factors. If we can't do that it doesn't really make any sense to do it. We all want to do it right, you know? Do you plan on showing? I don't know where you are in Oklahoma, but I think there is a big show in Shawnee in December. It may even be Nationals - I'm not positive about that though.

Mumsy those babies just keep getting more beautiful if that is possible. I'm thinking and hoping that second one may be a little girl. Fingers crossed!

That last baby is really going to be spectacular I think!!!

Im not sure if I plan on showing. I think I probably should but Im super scared of chicken diseases. But Im sure theres some kind of testing right? Im trying to get to the point where I can maintain a closed flock after getting my initial chicks/chickens. After that I will only get fertilized eggs from reputable breeders. Im a big worrier! But it would be a great thing for my oldest son who absolutely adores his chickens and specifically silkies.

And I will be at the show in December.

It is nationals! Im so excited. How do I find out what breeders will be there and who should I look for? I would like to get chicks or eggs or maybe even a pair while there. But I just dont even know where to begin and Ive been told I should try to get ahold of breeders before hand to get the word out that Im interested. I know its a bit early now, but I would like to be prepared when the time comes.

 

[MumsyII]

You all are very kind.

Losing my porcelain cock was a blow and an awful set back but it's my own fault for not breeding him sooner and more often. Those six offspring are now all I have by way of his DNA. If five of them are males as I suspect, fingers crossed one will be as good or better than him.

I am so happy the two of you are joining in this thread. Otherwise it would be like talking to myself in an empty room. Hah!

ashtree...I'm a hand wringer too when it comes to transmittable disease. I have had terrible experience buying birds from the sale area at big shows. I agree with Fur N Feathers that it's best to make arrangements with a known breeder with stellar reputation ahead of the show. And then isolate and quarantine before letting the new birds into your main flock. It is recommended to put a barnie (barnyard chicken) as sacrificial bird in with the new birds in their isolation and after a month, if he is still unaffected, it is safe to integrate new ones into the rest.

I love large poultry shows. Where I live is quite a distance to reach any but when I get to go it is a special treat. You can learn so much!

Thank you again for the kind words. It makes me blush. Truly.