Redcaps

[bantiebabe1200]

I know I havn't commented in while but, I love the progress your making. You've selected the best birds out of your flock to start off with and I think your well on your way. I'll be excited to see what you get out of the egg swap too. Keep us posted!

 

[flitter]

My first batch of Red cap chicks arrived 3 weeks ago. I thought they were scheduled for mid April but they arrived mid Feb! They've lost their cute fluffy yellow and are very dark now... lots of feathers... and growing fast. If the feather test works there is a nice mix of cockerels/pullets. Anyone else with wee ones?

 

[flitter]

Hi... introducing to of my 5 week old Red Cap chicks. The extras are "mystery chicks"... filler when they were shipped from the hatchery.

 

[flitter]

And again at 8 weeks.

 

[flitter]

Someone else must have Redcaps? Anyway here are my February chicks at 3 1/2 m and the newbies at 3 weeks with some Hamburg chicks..

 

[flitter]

I know that this thread is deader than dead but we are still getting Hurricane Sandy rain so I'm going to add some photos of this year's cockerels and bump the thread one last time.




Just a pair of last year's Redcaps on a free range stroll.

In case anyone is looking these next two photos are not chickens... I'm just rain sick and delirious... sorrry!

 

[NYREDS]

I know that this thread is deader than dead but we are still getting Hurricane Sandy rain so I'm going to add some photos of this year's cockerels and bump the thread one last time.




Just a pair of last year's Redcaps on a free range stroll.

In case anyone is looking these next two photos are not chickens... I'm just rain sick and delirious... sorrry!

I'm glad there are at least a few of these still around. I had Redcaps many years ago & liked them. I think your males have potential but do all your females have the white spangling? It is a disqualification you know.

 

[flitter]

Two of the three pullets that I kept are spangling free. The third one has very light brown spangles... kept her because she's from a different line (I hope... but who can tell for sure with this breed?)
The two pullets without light spangles have slightly hollow combs. I'm hoping they will fill in but know they probably won't. I kept six Redcaps to overwinter from 40 days olds from two different sources. Six from 40 isn't a bad ratio but I wasn't as selective as I would have liked.
The cocks look better than the pullets but the largest one (weight wise) is developing a poor comb and a white fluffy tail base. It will be a choice of making size paramount over DQ/faults, I'm afraid. Depending on how the others develop. I'd like to keep both because of the "different" line. I think I have a Don Quixote bent.
Thank you for the encouraging words.

 

[NYREDS]

Two of the three pullets that I kept are spangling free. The third one has very light brown spangles... kept her because she's from a different line (I hope... but who can tell for sure with this breed?)
The two pullets without light spangles have slightly hollow combs. I'm hoping they will fill in but know they probably won't. I kept six Redcaps to overwinter from 40 days olds from two different sources. Six from 40 isn't a bad ratio but I wasn't as selective as I would have liked.
The cocks look better than the pullets but the largest one (weight wise) is developing a poor comb and a white fluffy tail base. It will be a choice of making size paramount over DQ/faults, I'm afraid. Depending on how the others develop. I'd like to keep both because of the "different" line. I think I have a Don Quixote bent.
Thank you for the encouraging words.

Hang in there. Combs are usually easy to correct & that fluff is a very minor fault. Culling hard is the way to go. Better to breed from the 2 best pair than a larger group of poorer birds. See what you can do in a couple of generations.

 

[flitter]

I sure hope so. I'm planning to use the best two from the six I kept. The Redcap roos seem to be slow developers.