Poultry Breeds of Spanish Ancestry

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gjensen said:
 I would not use an Andalusion.

 In fact I would not use another breed at all. There is enough decent Spanish around to use, and there is no need to go outside the breed. Some have went outside to the Black Minorca, and that is an option. But . . . some have already done it. I do not see a need to do it again.

 The word diversity is overused and misunderstood, concerning the genetics of a flock. What you want is a strong ,healthy, viable, uniform flock that represents the breed well. Going outside the breed is a consideration when no accessible strain has the trait(s) that you need and you have become convinced that it is not in your flock to have. Then you play with that on the side and get it right before you commit to it. Otherwise you could make a mess.

 I like the Spanish and have been watching who has what. A benefit that we have with the internet.  I do not know who all has what completely, but I think there is everything that is needed is there based on what I have seen online.

 I have not looked back through the thread to see what you have again, but for now, work with what you have. It will take a generation just to have an idea what you have. You do not just have what you see, you also have what is there that is unseen.

 To make sure that your question is answered, you can change anything into anything by going back to one side continually. It is just a very long term commitment, and there would have to be no other good options to make use of.
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Well put
 
gjensen said:
 I would not use an Andalusion.

 In fact I would not use another breed at all. There is enough decent Spanish around to use, and there is no need to go outside the breed. Some have went outside to the Black Minorca, and that is an option. But . . . some have already done it. I do not see a need to do it again.

 The word diversity is overused and misunderstood, concerning the genetics of a flock. What you want is a strong ,healthy, viable, uniform flock that represents the breed well. Going outside the breed is a consideration when no accessible strain has the trait(s) that you need and you have become convinced that it is not in your flock to have. Then you play with that on the side and get it right before you commit to it. Otherwise you could make a mess.

 I like the Spanish and have been watching who has what. A benefit that we have with the internet.  I do not know who all has what completely, but I think there is everything that is needed is there based on what I have seen online.

 I have not looked back through the thread to see what you have again, but for now, work with what you have. It will take a generation just to have an idea what you have. You do not just have what you see, you also have what is there that is unseen.

 To make sure that your question is answered, you can change anything into anything by going back to one side continually. It is just a very long term commitment, and there would have to be no other good options to make use of.
Click to expand...


Thank you! I will wait 2 generations see what exactly it is that I do have. I will also try and contact a breeder to see if I can get a hold of a trio. Again thanks! That really pointed me in the right direction!
 
Just as an aside, what you have that you don't see will not magically appear. I don't know how experienced you are in selecting birds to go together but you have to select for what you want. Choose specific birds that show more of what you're looking for than the others. Mate them up and know which eggs belong to whom. When they hatch, identify them in some way and keep good records as to the parentage. Keep in mind what you are looking for. You have to let them grow up a bit because they change quite a lot from time to time. Other than obvious disqualifications you don't want to cull at a young age. Still, when they finish growing out, you have to continue to select for that trait. Put the best ones together.
 
I hope this does not post twice, because I just lost the first some how.

Jason, we were discussing egg color, and I thought to take a picture of a tray that I set today. This will give you an idea of the variation that I am seeing.


 
I should be getting camera batteries today and so should be able to post pictures later of these little guys. I got 9 splash chicks and 5 blues. That gives me a lot of choices in my splash birds. These are bantams too. I'll be setting large fowl eggs here in the next couple of weeks. In the incubator I have some yard bird eggs and a few more bantam eggs. I got the last of my breeding pens set up and will be gathering eggs from large fowl. Hopefully they hatch well and I won't be at it long.

Do you guys cull chicks for leg color at this point? I've noticed in this current box of chicks that several of them have white (?) legs and others have nice dark slate ones.
 
Lacy, I do not know if it varies between your breed and mine. I can see mine early on, but I waited a bit not knowing for certain. Last year was my first year with slate legs. I intend this to be an early selection point for me this year. I kept a couple last year that did not have good slate legs, but I will not do that again this year. To hatch in the qty, I want to hatch, I need to identify the things I can separate early.

I might want to hatch a 100 birds in this breed, but I do not want to grow out that many in this breed.

Are the lighter legs linked to whether or not they are splash? Are they completely white, or just a lighter shade?
 
Lacy Blues said:
I should be getting camera batteries today and so should be able to post pictures later of these little guys.  I got 9 splash chicks and 5 blues.  That gives me a lot of choices in my splash birds.  These are bantams too.  I'll be setting large fowl eggs here in the next couple of weeks.  In the incubator I have some yard bird eggs and a few more bantam eggs.  I got the last of my breeding pens set up and will be gathering eggs from large fowl.  Hopefully they hatch well and I won't be at it long.

Do you guys cull chicks for leg color at this point?  I've noticed in this current box of chicks that several of them have white (?) legs and others have nice dark slate ones.
Click to expand...
Leg color can change with age at least with penedesenca ( wheaten and partridge anyways) and ameraucana usually do to. I'd say wait but do not know Andalusians
 

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