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Good morning.
I do not have a waiting list, but it's important to note that I don't sell chicks or eggs. Adult birds only.
With a variety like this, it wouldn't be advisable to go with chicks or eggs anyway. How would you know what you are getting?
Something to keep in mind... It is my intent to work toward a qualifying meet for Self-Blue Cochin Bantams sometime in the future. That said, when I am satisfied that my Self-Blues are to a point in my breeding where I am comfortable letting some go, I'll be looking for breeders willing to continue breeding and improving the Self-Blues, and willing to attend and exhibit the required number of birds for such a qualifying meet. I am currently on the f3 generation, so the f4's will again be Self-Blue. If I am not satisfied with the f4 progress, I will then go back to Blacks for the f5 generation, meaning that f6 will again be Self-Blue. Certainly by f6, they should be fairly nice with consistent results. The f3's have much better feather quality than the f2 Self-blues, but what I've noted in the short time that I've been working with Self-Blue, is that they tend to have poor feather quality compared to the other varieties. Hopefully, the infusion of good characteristics from my Blacks will help in that department. Also, and I've made note of this in previous posts. The leg color on most of what I've seen in Self-Blue Cochins to date is incorrect. All varieties of Cochin Bantams call for Yellow, or swarthy yellow legs, and that is also the leg color I am breeding for in the Self-Blues, so as to remain consistent with the current Bantam Standard descriptions. I have culled most of the non-yellow legged birds in the f3 generation, but the best typed cockerel (previous post), has white feet. So, in using him for breeding crossed to a yellow legged female, I should see 50% yellow legged offspring. When you consider that only 25% of the f4 generation will be Self-Blue and then only half of the 25% of the chicks out of any breeding I use that male in will have yellow legs, it means a considerable amount of hatching, which I knew going into this would be required. 75% of what's hatched can be culled out of the incubator in the f4 generation because they'll be black.
If I am satisfied with the f4 progress I intend to show some Self-Blues at the Crossroads Show in Indianapolis next October. I won't know until next year if I'll have any to sell.
As far as qualifying meet requirements for the ABA. I will have to check to make sure, but I believe, for a new variety, that there must be a minimum of 25 Birds exhibited in all four classes, by 5 or more exhibitors. I believe the qualifying meet has to be at either the semi-annual or annual meet. A new breed would have those same requirements but at both the annual and semi-annual. I'll look tonight and confirm what I've said is true.
I didnt' mean the above to sound uppity or snobbish, I just want to share my intentions and get across that I won't let any of the Self-Blues go until I think they are ready. I am treating them like a fine wine.
Tom
Tom - Thank you so much for your response. I can appreciate where you are coming from with only selling adults. With regards to the "how would you know what you are getting" comment, the same really could be said for just about anything. You can breed the best of the best and still get crap. Just the way it goes. I absolutely adore Bantam Cochins and the idea of having them in my favorite color is a dream come true. I am not a big time breeder, I am a casual backyard chicken enthusiast but anyone that knows me can tell you that I don't do anything half way. If I do something, I do it right. With that said, I really want them just to enjoy them. I really like your birds though and while I have found a few eggs listed for sale here and there, when I look at pictures of the adults and then look back at your birds, I just can't seem to bring myself to do it. Of course, I would love to be able to breed a few of them and if I am going to do that then I would really like to get the best birds that I can. Again, I am not looking to get into a big breeding project but I would love to have a few of these birds to work with for myself and see what I can do.
If I understood your response correctly though, you are not going to be selling anything but adults and that could be later next year or even later. I also got the impression that you are only going to be willing to sell birds to people who are "full on breeders" who will continue with your work idea and get the breed recognized. While I would love the chance to work with them ( on a very small scale ) I definitely got the impression from your response that I am not the kind of breeder that you are looking for. So I guess I will reluctantly have to continue on with my search and find the best birds that I can. I already know that my odds of finding anything even half as good as what you probably cull are slim but I am desperate to have some of these birds for myself so I guess I will just have to start from the bottom. I will just have to work with what I can get and do my best to improve them, just as you have been doing.
Thank you again for your response.
