Silver-Laced Breed for the Heat?

[K0k0shka]

This definitely looks like a single to me:

What do y'all think of this one? Maybe a single?

And this one has the flat look, yeah:

The rest are too blurry to tell I sympathize with the photo challenges!

 

[3KillerBs]

I see one flat spot (rose comb), and I'm not sure about the others (blurry).

The rest are too blurry to tell I sympathize with the photo challenges!

I am so very bad at chicken photos!

 

[K0k0shka]

There's something I've been wanting to do, but never got around to it, and now your thread might just push me to try harder I want to see if there's a way you can tell boy from girl at this young of an age based on the comb (for single combs specifically). I have noticed significant differences from chick to chick when freshly hatched. Just with this batch I have right now, which are all supposed to be high quality Lavender Orpingtons (so all single combs), some hatched with real little combs with points on them and everything, yet others have pretty much nothing up there, just what looks like flat skin, or the tiniest hint of a central line where the comb would someday rise from, but no points or any definition at all. In previous hatches, I've had chicks that came out of the egg and my first thought was "oh man, well THAT's a boy!" - that's how prominent their little points were. And it did turn out to be a boy! But I never put in the work of photographing and tracking all of them. It will be hard to tell these guys apart now because they are all the same breed and all look the same... but I want to try.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Good to know that ideal had single combed wyandottes so I know not to get those ever lol I hate single combed birds frost bite makes them so ugly after the tips fall off I'm my projects im trying to get rid of single combs have a nice looking pullet but will be eating her as she has a single comb. It keeps popping up im hatching more single then rose

 

[Auntiejessi3]

 

[3KillerBs]

There's something I've been wanting to do, but never got around to it, and now your thread might just push me to try harder I want to see if there's a way you can tell boy from girl at this young of an age based on the comb (for single combs specifically). I have noticed significant differences from chick to chick when freshly hatched. Just with this batch I have right now, which are all supposed to be high quality Lavender Orpingtons (so all single combs), some hatched with real little combs with points on them and everything, yet others have pretty much nothing up there, just what looks like flat skin, or the tiniest hint of a central line where the comb would someday rise from, but no points or any definition at all. In previous hatches, I've had chicks that came out of the egg and my first thought was "oh man, well THAT's a boy!" - that's how prominent their little points were. And it did turn out to be a boy! But I never put in the work of photographing and tracking all of them. It will be hard to tell these guys apart now because they are all the same breed and all look the same... but I want to try.

That would be an interesting experiment.

I think you saw my little California White cross boy who popped a strong comb at only 2 weeks, right?

Good to know that ideal had single combed wyandottes so I know not to get those ever lol I hate single combed birds frost bite makes them so ugly after the tips fall off I'm my projects im trying to get rid of single combs have a nice looking pullet but will be eating her as she has a single comb. It keeps popping up im hatching more single then rose

I am told that even the best breeders keep some single-combed birds that they don't show in order to keep their fertility up since the rose combs can be linked to poor fertility.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

That would be an interesting experiment.

I think you saw my little California White cross boy who popped a strong comb at only 2 weeks, right?



I am told that even the best breeders keep some single-combed birds that they don't show in order to keep their fertility up since the rose combs can be linked to poor fertility.

Thats an excuse to sell mutts is all. The breeders ive seen to has been breeding for years and have never had fertility issues

 

[Sally PB]

@3KillerBs, Sorry if I missed this from earlier in the thread... are you aiming for laced Australorps...?

I agree on the single combs. When we had 80 a bit ago, everyone was too hot. My hens/pullets have never gotten frostbite, but my roo did both of his two winters. (RIP, Darl.)

 

[NatJ]

The breeders ive seen to has been breeding for years and have never had fertility issues

My understanding is that fertility is no problem with small breeding groups, but it is for big hatcheries (hundreds of hens and a relatively small number of roosters.) It means they need to keep a larger number of roosters with the same number of hens to ensure fertile eggs.

But I think the real reason hatchery flocks have some single comb birds is because removing the ones that carry the single comb gene is too much bother. They would have to test-mate every single breeding bird one year, cull all the ones that carry single comb, and only breed from the ones that are pure for rose comb. It's easier for them to just breed from birds that show a rose comb, and not care if it carries the not-rose gene; they will still get large numbers of chicks with rose combs.

 

[springvalley123]

My understanding is that fertility is no problem with small breeding groups, but it is for big hatcheries (hundreds of hens and a relatively small number of roosters.) It means they need to keep a larger number of roosters with the same number of hens to ensure fertile eggs.

But I think the real reason hatchery flocks have some single comb birds is because removing the ones that carry the single comb gene is too much bother. They would have to test-mate every single breeding bird one year, cull all the ones that carry single comb, and only breed from the ones that are pure for rose comb. It's easier for them to just breed from birds that show a rose comb, and not care if it carries the not-rose gene; they will still get large numbers of chicks with rose combs.

Sounds like mapping the chicken genome to find the single comb locus would be easier...