Question for other serious breeders

[Henk69]

If she is the only one with that DQ I wouldn't worry about it.
Make sure her mates do not have it and select her offspring for it.

 

[blackred]

It is always tempting to keep a bird that has a lot going for it but one major issue but serious breeders do not. That is why they say cull till it hurts. Trust me you will feel better once you have turn this corner.

There is an old saying - Bad points are dominent and Good points are reccessive.

And just to throw another wrench into this. With large tailed breeds like Rosecombs or Old English there is a difference between Wry tail and Lazy tail.

Bob

 

[Krys109uk]

What is known about the inheritance of wry tail?

 

[JanieMarie]

I'd be interested to know this as well as one pullet I have from a prominent breeder is wry tailed.

Also I apologize for asking this here Urban Coyote but seems eyes of breeders are on this thread so at what point do you cull in your breeding programs. Culling til it hurts certainly can't mean growing out all the chicks til theyre a size for eating can it?

Also in my very naive breeding knowledge I would think a consideration in deciding to use her would depend a bit on the number of times this DQ is showing up in other chicks. And as others have said the ease of breeding it out.
Thanks

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

I was just going to mention the lazy tail. I had a hen like that last year and she had a normal tail most of the time but when she would get relaxed her tail would turn and sometimes it wasnt the same side, thats how I knew it wasnt wry tail.

Another DQ that is easy to take care of most of the time is a color DQ like having too much white or something.

 

[blackred]

Quote:
Yes it can, especially if you are in the beginning of a breeding program where you have to raise a number of birds to try and find enough top notch ones to breed from. As the breeding seasons pass you don't have to raise as many to find the good ones and you are more in tune as to what to cull for early.

That is why when a successful breeder of 20 years charges what you consider an outrageous amount for his stock; you just smile -say thank you for allowing me to buy your birds, hand over the money and think about all the years of breeding you have saved.
It is also why when you see a beginner with 10 varieties of 5 different breeds you know they will not be successful.

Having said all that. You always try to cull as early as you can. Study your birds daily and try to find faults. White feathers, eye color, size, wry tail, crooked toes, any abnormalities to your breed or variety. Get rid of them as soon as possible so that the ones that show promise can have more room and attention. Rarely will these cull birds pan out.
Then when they are about 3-4 months old you can start culling for type and color. I raise Modern Game so at this time if they don't have good leg length or do have real long backs I start to cull. I will separate these into what I call my cull pens. They are for sale or give away, but I will keep my eye on them and see if I made any mistakes. I have been known to pull a bird out of the sale area.
After my initial cull I will go into my growing pens every 3 or 4 weeks and do my best to cull half of the birds in it. There may be 30+ birds in that pen, I will try to cull at least 15. IT IS NOT EASY! But I make my choices and then TRY to live with them.

Remember that females mature quicker than males so give the males a lot longer time to mature before making your final choice. In my male lines (BB Red Modern) I always keep 4 or 5 promising cockerels to see how they finish out as Cocks. I almost always breed to cock birds anyway, and you would be surprised how much better a male is as a cock. But then this is in Moderns.

One last thing and then I will leave y'all alone. There is another old saying- If you want to breed something out of your birds, Keep it out of your breeding pens

Bob

 

[JanieMarie]

Thanks for the helpful practical information! I feel I'm off to a pretty good start then. Picked 2 breeds to work with that I'm passionate about. Invested in good birds. I've got plenty of room to work with. And my favorite part is sittin in the chairs watching 'chicken TV'! Better than anything on the networks! Now if I can just keep my heart out of it at cull time!

And... Old sayings become old sayings for a reason!

Jane

 

[HatTrickSilkies]

Quote:
I could not agree more. Hiding a gene for a "quick fix" will come back to haunt you for generations.

~ Nikki

 

[jimnjay]

I can't help you from a serious breeder point of view, I don't have nearly enough experience. I do know that as a person trying to build a quality flock, I a very discouraged by the number of eggs I have bought and hatch and culled for those recessive DQ's that pop up. I think I have a great breeder and then I get a Single comb from the pair. It is very frustrating as a person trying to breed to standard to get what one thinks as quality stock and then have all sorts of DQ's pop up.

It seems to me if you are working to become a quality breeder you should make as few choices as possible in breeding a bird with any DQ's. As you mentioned, if you do keep the girl then keeping very good records of her prodigy would be essential to your breeding program.

 

[Smoky73]

Quote:
And to do that if you do keep her would be to add food coloring to her vent so her eggs come out with streaks of color. You might have to do it every few days though but it does work.