Model A; KTCL was referring to the roo getting in the proper position for their vent to to touch the hen's when breeding..................... without external reproductive parts, the transfer of 'pollen' depends on that 'kiss'. Unless, of course, Al plays bee and collects the pollen on his finger nail.
{JK Al}
Katy; if you were asking about my DCs, the last three settings of eggs, gathered just before the buffalo gnats killed all the birds in that pen, were nearly all fertile, only one egg in each set failed to start developing and hatch. The fourth and last set was getting old before the bator had room for them, and only about half developed and hatched. Unfortunately, these were small sets because I was limited on bator space and setting Ameraucana eggs also.
For some reason I suspected my two Cornish needed to be on grass to improove fertiliity; whether this was correct or not, they went from no developers to great fertility as soon as they were moved to grass. I also think that that having their legs wide spaced but being more under their bodies than out to the sides helps. According to the standard written by the APA for judges and breeders, the shanks are to be moderately short, widely spaced, and stout............................. but supposedly birds are to be disqualified for having "legs materially affecting the natural movement of the specimen".
[climbing on my soap box] IMO, the extreemly short, stout shanks, set like outriggers on the sides of these birds, should be grounds for disqualification instead of a ticket to a win....................... a good meat bird breed must be able to move well and correctly conformed to enable reproduction. [getting back off]
sigh . . . yes steve, come on over theres enough for you . . . home made sangria too!
"Katy; if you were asking about my DCs, the last three settings of eggs, gathered just before the buffalo gnats killed all the birds in that pen, were nearly all fertile, only one egg in each set failed to start developing and hatch. The fourth and last set was getting old before the bator had room for them, and only about half developed and hatched. Unfortunately, these were small sets because I was limited on bator space and setting Ameraucana eggs also" - glad to hear that, I missed it if you said so before.
Sure is.. I'm baching" it this weekend. The other(better) half went with the other better half of a friend of mine. UP north for the weekend. So while she's out doing the "girl" thing and enjoying the time away.. I'm reading more on genetics and trying to figure out how to keep 20+ adolescent roosters in line. They are tuff on each others tails. And my shoes when I go in to feed them and make notes.. LOL