show quality speckled sussex ??

[Orange Ribbon]

I have a question! The breeder I got my birds from was telling me that if ones that have white in the wings also have some dark places mixed in that they are more likely to come back the right color after molting. My birds do have that, so I'm wondering if that is true. If so, that would be some good knowledge for everyone who might be looking at young birds to check out.

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:
That could be true if the bird is really young, but in general that is not true of a mature bird. White in the wings is a common problem in this breed.

Walt

 

[Orange Ribbon]

Thanks Walt. I understand how it wouldn't be a guarantee, but good to know in regards to young birds as it could possibly stack the odds in favor of better color after the first molt if one just knew to look for it. Some of mine are 4 months old and are from a different source than my 2 yr. old birds. I realized I was stuck with what ever the older birds already have. Not that they are terrible or anything, but I can tell the younger SS are going to be better looking. Thanks again for the reply. You have helped us to learn a lot, and I sure do appreciate it!

 

[Howhardcanitbe]

Congrats on the new stock, Orange Ribbon! So happy for you.

My Mt. Healthy SS are very close to 6 months now. The pullets have me encouraged and hopeful. In form, most of them have filled out nicely - broad flat backs, deep chests and curvy wide hips. A lot of pinched tails, but I do have a few that are a little more open. Prior to Irene, I locked the whole flock in the barn as my chicken tractors tend to behave like kites in high winds. When I put them all back on pasture, I did so slowly, weighing each one and checking a few other things. The average weight at 23 weeks was 4.14 lbs for the pullets, and I had 6 girls at 5 lbs or better. A quarter of them are laying, mostly small sized eggs (less than 43g). One lays a speckled egg. Is that a DQ offense?

My McMurrary SS are 16 weeks and though I haven't weighed them, I think they are going to be a little larger than the Mt. Healthy, but the cockerels have a lot of white. The ones from Sandhill are a 7 week old mystery. What dark feathers they have are a much lighter brown than either of the earlier groups, but mostly they are VERY white. Definitely smarter than the earlier groups, though. It will be interesting to see how they all grow up.

Now having said that, I finally read the book that Bob has been recommending - The Call of the Hen. Wow and OMG! If you haven't read this little gem, do so! I wish I would have had it 3 or 4 months ago. I could have saved myself a lot of feed costs and probably picked better roos. So as time permits over the next couple of weeks, I'll be do a lot of pullet groping. One thing I do not understand is what Hogan means by the thickness of the pelvic bone. Is this measured from the front to the back, the top to the bottom, or is it the length the bone extends from the ischium?

Here is a picture of 55. Even though she's got the obvious white primary and her comb is uneven, this is the little gal that draws my eye time and time again, something about the shape of her that is very different. She's on the go in this pic. Her tail is normally not so high. Friendly little thing, too. (I apologize for the small pic size. My new cell phone isn't all it's cracked up to be.)

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:
I can see why your eye would go to her. She is a nice looking bird , but I would need to see other angles to tell you what I thought overall. She looks great now, other than the obvious.

Walt

 

[math ace]

Quote:
Thank You

for sharing all this information with us!

IT is GREAT to get feedback that compares stock from the different hatcheries. Also, thanks for the book recommendation.
Is it widely available or only through specific sources? What have you liked the most from the book so far?
Who is the author?

 

[mrheinz77]

I think this is the book

http://www.amazon.com/s/186-7108038...l hen; or, science selection breeding poultry

 

[Howhardcanitbe]

Quote:
Thank You

for sharing all this information with us!

IT is GREAT to get feedback that compares stock from the different hatcheries. Also, thanks for the book recommendation.
Is it widely available or only through specific sources? What have you liked the most from the book so far?
Who is the author?

The Call of the Hen is by Walter Hogan, originally written in 1914. It's available through amazon and for free online through googlebooks,

http://books.google.com/books/about/The_call_of_the_hen_or_The_science_of_th.html?id=gKs9AAAAIAAJ .

What it does is show you how to feel the bone structure of your birds. Based on the distances between pelvic bones and keel bones, you can determine which birds will put on carcass weight, which will be good layers and which won't amount to anything. Also, by measuring the skull, you are able to determine an individual bird's capacity for transmitting its traits to its offspring. Although you can use a ruler to do the measurements, all can be done in finger widths. There are tables in the book coordinating the various measurements and many, many examples on how to use those tables to determine which birds you save and for what purposes. There are also guidelines (mostly geared to egg producing Leghorns) of when to conduct the exams. Lots of black and white pictures showing the different measurements - white Leghorn being groped by a creepy gloved man dressed in black. But they do illustrate the method. If you get really good at his method, you'll even be able to predict how many eggs a hen will lay in a year. Wish there was a hands on live person class offered on the subject.

 

[Orange Ribbon]

Howhardcanitbe, I love your little hen. Thanks for the info on the different hatcheries too. I also have some Ideal SS and when they get bigger I will post pictures for comparison. At 6 weeks they are filling out very nicely, but they also have white primaries. They are very friendly to me. Had a friend come by yesterday and he watched as I put my hand down and whistled, and they came over and let me pat them on the chest and back. He tried it and they all ran off LOL.

I sat in the pen with my new SS flock for awhile today with some feed in my hand. After a bit most of them came over and started eating, even the big rooster. He sure has some big spurs. But even though he doesn't like to be picked up, when I do catch him he struggles a little bit, but he isn't mean. By the end of my session I had several of them letting me pick them up without running away. And those that did run off came right back. I am going to put some zip ties on their legs so I can tell them apart; then I will get some close up pictures for everyone to look at.

 

[snowbird]

Jeff, the most easy way to gentle any breed of chicken is , catch them one at a time and give them a little of an over ripe banana.