Project criticism - what do you think a project is?

[Katy]

I enjoy reading about and seeing pictures of everyone's projects. I agree that unless you've got pure jungle fowl I would suppose that all the other breeds can trace their ancestory back to several different breeds.

I wish I had developed an interest in some of these different breeds 20 or 30 years ago instead of just being happy with my laying flock. It wasn't until I got my first Cukoo marans going on 7 years ago that I became interested in really hatching a purebreed rather than just my mutt chickens. Now sometimes I feel like it's really too late for me to do too much so I'm enjoying other's projects..especially Jody's

....right now. I might still get motivated tho and start working on my own little project.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

I also love reading about other peoples projects, sometimes they give me ideas for projects

.
I agree with almost everything that has been said so far.

When I start a project I do it because either that color isnt in that breed or because the birds that are available in that color are too few and far between so they become weak and all. What I mean is with my dun laced wyandottes. The ones I could find were all related and the stock was going down hill fast because it was all inbred. The breeder wanted an arm and a leg for one bird so I decided to make them myself. I got a line of silver laced wyandottes that were kinda inbred and I got a line of solid dun wyandottes that had been crossed to unrelated strains over the years. When I crossed them I got hybrid vigor which was amazing. The line of DLW's I made werent related to any other DLW's that I know of and I got the satisfaction in saying "I made those".
Or with the crele phoenix. When we started it was when the crele longtails were the "in" breed and everyone wanted them. We decided to breed them to the phoenix bantam standard so we would have a goal to work towards. Looking back I would have done some things differently and I would have done them in largefowl because there are more birds to work with.

I get alot of messages and emails asking about how to make new varieties and all and I always ask/tell the person a few things that they have to think about. First is why do they want to make that color in that breed. Second is will they be able to make something close to that color in that breed in less than 5 generations. Third is once they get that color in that breed will there be enough animals to breed or to outcross to.

One of the projects I am thinking about is just a color. I want to make double laced silver, if you look at the barnvelders on feathersite you will see what I am talking about. I love the color so I figured out how to make the color but now I dont know what breed to breed towards. I was thinking about doing it with bantams. I was going to use a SLW cock on dark cornish hens then breed the offspring together and get 1/8 the color I wanted. The problem I ran into is what breed will I make the color in. I could easily make double laced silver cornish bantams but I dont really care for the cornish. Then I thought about using barnvelders but they are too rare. Then I thought about doing it with wyandottes which I could do but there isnt an easy way to introduce new blood. So now I am stuck on what to do.

Some projects that I have in mind are easy. Such as the deleware patterned vorworks/lakenvelders. I could breed a deleware male to lakenvelder hens. I would get the desired color that I want so I would just keep roosters and breed them to lakenvelder hens. Another project is the crele leghorns. I would breed barred leghorns to some light brown leghorns. Once I got the first ones I could breed them together and get more creles. If I needed new blood I could easily out cross to either light brown or barred.

There are many more projects floating around. There have literally been times when I wake up from a dead sleep because I have a cool project in my head so I write it down and go over it the next day.

My ultimate goal with any project would be to get it in the standard. I would be happy to see them become popular even.

 

[fowlafoot]

I've always thought that the word 'pure' shouldn't apply to chickens. It misleads so many people into thinking that their beloved stock was never crossed and selected towards the traits that define it as a breed. Once your project breeds true to both type and color, it is in my opinion allowed to be called both color and breed sans the project...

The word 'mutt' gets over used as well, my mutts are chicks that the yard hens hatch and I can't be sure which hen laid the egg and or which rooster fertilized it. My mutts freerange and sometimes jump into the hands of someone who stops by just wanting a chicken who'll lay a few eggs. My crosses are bred with an intention, they are bred from a pair underwire so that I know exactly who laid the egg and which rooster fertilized it. My crosses are culled with the long term goal and intention in mind.

I'm lucky enough to have the space, time and feed money to breed what I want how I want, I'm perfectly honest about what's in each bird I sell and I don't sell project eggs since I can't be sure what's going to come out

... so go ahead and call them 'ugly mutts'

 

[Cuban Longtails]

No ways can you call them ugly! They're beautiful, Fowlafoot!

Here's the brother to the stag pictured in the first photo she posted:

 

[Cara]

I'm afraid I think it's just a case of sour grapes, Lavender ones in this case! Certain people can't handle the fact that by your own hard work you have something that they don't, that other people want. It makes them feel better to run you down. It may be known as Chicken Envy.

BTW could I pick your brains on a couple of projects of my own?

 

[Buster]

"Chicken Envy"

LOVE IT!

 

[Cara]

It could be worse ... thinking along the lines of other words for rooster

 

[Pumpkinpup]

I think folks are way to quick to open their mouth about that which they have no knowledge

I think your birds are awesome, Jody! May I offer my highest praise for your efforts to further enrich our color pallet of fowl.

 

[fowlafoot]

Yay, Headcase's brother, although I'd argue that he's less likely to be called ugly since he has all his head feathers! He looks great Cuban Longtails, here's hoping his "little projects" hatch for you today

I think I'll accuse everyone who doesn't like my projects of having chicken envy from now on

feel free to pick away Cara, if project breeders don't support each other who will?

 

[Cara]

OK, I have an elaborate project and i've probably bitten off more than I can chew. I'm aiming for the Citron Mille Fleur Orpington. Try saying that three times fast. Or once. Slowly.

I have clean legged Mille Fleurs. I have clean legged single combed Cream Buttercups. If I cross the two, will I have a Cream Mille Fleur? I tried the chicken calculator but it about blew my mind. I knew I should have listened in class about the man and his peas. Who knew it would come back to haunt me.