Silver Pencilled Plymouth Rock

[Egghead_Jr]

I have some silver pencilled wyandottes that I'm looking to learn to double breed. I have only a pair and they do need work which i was aware of.
So im not sure where to start exactly other than just hatching as many chicks as i can.
Positive suggestions would be greatly appreciated! thanks

This is an old post but I figure what the heck; I'll give it a shot for answer.

If by double breed you mean double mating then yes, the Silver Penciled Varieties can be benefited by running two lines in a flock. What double mating means is your selecting for one outcome with parent stock that will provide it in some breeding pens and selecting for another in other breeding pens. This means a person is breeding for Standard of Perfection Males in one breeding and in complete other breeding pen using parent stock that will give the best females. These pens/lines should never be crossed with another.

For instance with SPPR the best females are begot from a male with white lacing on chest but little to no lacing on throat. Dams should be silver base and well laced. This will produce birds of a high percentage of correct and quality laced females. In the other pen your selecting breeders that are dark. Females with wide lacing and males with correct plumage, no white even when young. This pen will produce your best males.

Double mating requires running two lines, a pullet and a cockerel line. Your keeping twice the number of breeders and keeping them separate. Good results can be had with SPPR using single mating. It's not crucial to double mate this variety. Barred birds have a greater need for double mating than SPPR. Though if you've the space it would improve your percentage of show quality birds.

Your starting with a pair. YOu'd be selecting for body type first and always. From there if you desire to use double mating you'd then separate the quality birds by what would produce best plumage in each sex. Create a male line and a female line that will never interbreed.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Trying to get a late summer hatch in this year but the birds won't cooperate. Of the three hens I'm wanting eggs from this hatch one I broke brood last weekend and am awaiting her to come back into lay. Left to camp this weekend to come back suspecting another hen I want eggs from is brooding. Yup, sure enough I had to cage her just now and hope it was soon enough it wont take two weeks for her to lay again.

 

[PEI chicken]

Egghead, I feel your frustration. I have a hatch of 19 eggs due this week. I'd like to incubate a few more but my breeding rooster injured his leg so the current eggs are probably not fertile. Hens are slowing down on laying eggs, so it's a bit iffy whether or not I'll get more spprs before the end of summer.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Looks like two of the three hens I want to hatch eggs from are back into lay. Hopefully I can start collecting eggs from them next week to finally get a fall hatch in.

The K I kept for next spring breeding looks good. Weighed him this morning when packing up for fair and he was 7 lbs 12-ish oz. at 19.5 weeks old. Of the few pullets hatched this spring there is nothing I'll be breeding. Sent the K and two pullets to fair anyway. Talked to my niece a bit ago and she said they got some trophy so my boy will be excited to see that when we go Friday. I'm curious if it was best pair again or maybe I got best cock (even though it was a cockerel). Other than the lacing my pullets were not noteworthy. I did see a beautiful Minorca when dropping the birds off I'm sure got best hen.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

My monster boy developed side sprigs at 22 weeks of age and got brassy 28 weeks of age. He was 9 1/4 lbs at that time and still growing. What to do with him? Two DQ's but so much potential!

Will create a bunch of F2 again this spring to see if I can get all his good without the DQ's. Have a place to breed him though. Here is what I picked up at Northeast Congress last week:

One has white in ear and 3 points-she's my backup. Other has excellent tail, fair comb, good yellow under wash legs. It's a start!

 

[CannedMonster]

I have two, hatchery quality, SPR pullets from Meyer Hatchery.
I really wanted this breed but Meyer will only let you order one at a time.
So I split my chick order in July 2018 so I could get two.
I find them to be really neat birds with interesting personalities.
“Silver” loves to climb and jump fences which is dangerous and drives me crazy.
I had two EE that would do it too and lost one to a roaming dog.
We finally rigged the fences so they can’t go over.

My other SPR, Ivy, is the funniest, cutest, most curious personality I have

No matter where I am in the yard this curious girl will find me to see what I’m doing.

Checking out my new garden shoes lol

I really like Plymouth Rocks.
I have Partridge Rocks also and they’re great layers and calm.
I’d eventually like to get more varieties.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I'm actually surprised at the quality of your hatchery birds. Usually hatchery birds have squirrel tail, are far too thin, dark legs, etc. Those are not bad at all. Heck I've hatched plenty that looked worse. Congrats.

 

[CannedMonster]

I'm actually surprised at the quality of your hatchery birds. Usually hatchery birds have squirrel tail, are far too thin, dark legs, etc. Those are not bad at all. Heck I've hatched plenty that looked worse. Congrats.

Thank you.
I’ve been very pleased with all the breeds I got from Meyer.
The Australorps, Speckled Sussex and EE are all beautiful like my Rocks.
I even had a guy here on BYC offer to buy my remaining EE lol.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Mosey2003 and I were thinking it was time for Plymouth Rock breeders of all varieties to have a common thread again. It's been three or more years since Fred's Hens closed his thread. All future posts should go here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/the-plymouth-rock-breeders-thread-part-deux.1296652/

 

[Hennypen]

I need to get cockerels weighed myself. I have I think 5 or 6 that I held over in my final cull; I will keep the best 2 or 3, depending how they get through my last scrutinization of them (is that a word? Must not be, it's red underlined!). I'm just not seeing the length of topline that I desire. A couple are good-sized males, hefty, and have good overall balance (I'm super keen on that, as well...), though that can be tough to know for sure until they're completely mature...I learned my lesson in that regard. I gave away a cockerel that I thought looked pretty unbalanced as a 6-month old (not a PR), and the woman sent me pictures of him the following spring...holy cannoli, that male matured out nicely and, in fact, was a nicer looking male than the one I saved over for breeding! I told her I really need to - literally - get my hands on that male so I could feel his bone structure. She was so kind, saying that she'd be more than happy to swap me for another one if I thought this male would help my breeding program. Some folks chastise me for giving away birds, but - this is a good example of why it works for me. Had I not GIFTED her that bird, I doubt she'd have been so kind as to have offered him back up to me.

The Columbian cross definitely helped, but not as much as I thought it would. The first generation cross was much larger; then, breeding back to SP to "clean out" the unwanted Columbian pattern, they went back down in size. I really do need to weigh them up and see what I have in the males. I will try to set up my photo box and get some pictures this next weekend. It's a time consuming prospect getting pics AND weights, but I'll try to take the time to do so.

Wynette - Do you still raise chickens?? What is your website?