Yeah toes are either genetic or incubation conditions, agreed and I've seen both. Usually incubation affects one toe or the whole foot goes off. Multiple wrong toes on the same bird isn't worth the risk of an entire hatch of crooked toes. You only know if a toe is crooked by genetics, incubation or breaking by breeding the bird. I know Algernon broke a toe, I saw him do it and scream as a baby, he was always climbing the feeder and got a toe stuck but he had a sib or half sib in the same hatch with four bad toes, him I culled.
I picked up Algernon today, oh my he's getting big and his spurs are impressive and he says he's too big for momma cuddles any more but didn't fuss any. He's a good guy, great with hens, tolerates the other roos and isn't all that bad when I introduce new groups. Couldn't ask for a better boy, well except for that idiot comb but none of his progeny show the same weird point shapes he has, and no sprigs in the bunch so we're moving on well. Of the roos growing out now, two are now obviously mixes and showing incomplete columbian in a spectacular way and they're HUGE, the two Del cockerals are nice, lack the dad's odd points and are good sized, just not as huge as the crosses. I haven't segregated him and hens for breeding purebreds for certain because he's such a good Rooster for the entire layer flock and the Bantams. Right now he's doing his best to chase off the Cooper hawks of spring and teaching the new generation to watch for them. I can wait to pen him up until the Cooper's Hawks move on. Some of his mixed breed daughters are fairly spectacular in and of themselves. I'll get pics. There's a real temptation to use them, they have a colored feather on the body, kind of pastel brown blue, edged in white. I think they are the female form of "incomplete columbian" I have a problem, they're huge and gorgeous, as well as sweet Dawn and Toad are good birds, social and already get on with the main group of hens, a rarity in youngsters growing out. They'll probably make my mixed layer flock.
I love the egg size and color from the dels, as well as they are meaty enough for dual use. Can't fault that. I have a nice marans pullet going into the mixed layer flock, I may raise a few del/marans and see what size they are for meat. I'll just keep fiddling at it and get the breeder pen set up in April now that I have a bunch of second generation pullets to work with as well as a second gen cockeral coming up. My! Marans eggs are a cool color. Addiction forming.
