Silver Pencilled Plymouth Rock

[Egghead_Jr]

NPIP person called to cancel as he'd hit a deer on route to my house totalling the car. If the state gets him another car quick maybe Wednesday he can come by. Going to use that time when birds are confined to get a few weights. I know the dams are under standard but hope the F1 pullets I've deemed breeders make 6 lbs at 22 weeks. It's going to be a long winter chomping at the bit to hatch F2's.

Murphy's Law has nothing on me. Mark my words, I'll see improvement with standard weight and think it's setting into flock F2 batch then come F3's find it was heterosis causing the gain. I can see all now, few years of hopeful excitement dashed by the reality of mediocrity. LOL

This happens every year, I get ramped up due to culling and looking at potential breeders. Then all we have is waiting....some minor final decisions come late winter then wait for hatch...then wait for grow out... Ramped up anxiety of culling again only to wait and wait some more for results, good or bad. It's a cruel cycle.

 

[Storybook Farm]

I've been looking at my pullets and seeing cushions everywhere. These are my F1's. I'm hoping my cocks will help but I'm so new to breeding. Wishing AGAIN that I had a local mentor.

One good thing: I don't have to cull any hens, as they will go into my layer flock. This means that I can observe them (and their egg production) through the next year or two. Possibly one or more will change for the better as they mature? And, if all other traits are equal then I might swap out a great layer for a slightly prettier (but not as productive) hen. Is that good thinking?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Longevity and production are always good things to look at. As far as cushions go if you start looking for it you will see them everywhere. It's the way our minds work and Plymouth Rocks do have some cushion. Come breeding you'll have tagged the pullets with least excess in that feature and straight(er) back lines. As Wynette said, a male with long back. Long and wide will help that area.

This is where small breeding groups help. Being at the beginning of building a flock there are very few worth breeding and to use more dams usually only amounts to more mouths to feed. Hatching ALL eggs from two or three of your best will do more to moving the flock where you want it to be than using many birds to hatch more eggs. It is a numbers game but if you use birds with a fault to get say six laying for 100 chicks on the ground apposed to the best three for 50 chicks on the ground typically you've only gained in feed bill. There is always chances of finding a diamond in the ruff but your high probability of moving forward is to only use the birds least showing the trait you're working on.

I'm all for the need to put down 100 to 200 chicks to be a serious breeder. For me, my flock doesn't have the numbers of quality as yet to provide that many eggs. Of the three dams used I could cut that to two to keep for future breeding. Of F1's see only three so far but one of those (my first two photo pg. 1) is likely not going to be used this spring; again only two breeders. Her tail has the least tent of the potential breeders. Width and size being my main focus is telling me not to use her. Certainly keeping her and may be used in the future. But there ya go, my reality is I've only four to five breeders and this spring will only use two of those. F1 to F2 is a brother to sisters mating. I call them F1 because they are a cross of two lines, if at all related it's very distant past.

 

[Storybook Farm]

Very helpful, Garrett. I am going to be banding my pullets this week, and beginning to take notes on them using a checklist that I developed from the SOP.

Because I have three coops that I can devote to silver penciled rocks, my plan is to have a pullet line, a cock line, and (for lack of a better term) an "other" line. I have two small young cockerels born late in the spring who are not yet big enough to discern their qualities, and I plan to grow them up until I can figure out whether or not to use them. They are from a completely different bloodline. So, they maybe head up my third family.

Keep those cards and letters coming! You really are helping me. Thanks.

 

[Wynette]

Marcia, there is some problem with my website URL. I need to get it figured out! I wouldn't be ready to sell hatching eggs or stock just yet...I bred in Columbian to my flock and I'm not yet back to SPR phenotype. A good friend of mine (Scott Brazinski) breeds Columbians with excellent size, and we both felt the color wouldn't take me too far off my course/goals for the silver penciled. It's been helpful, but my birds are still lacking the size I was hoping for. It's such a tough variety to work with, there are so many issues. You need to decide what your priority is going to be each season and choose for that. A word of caution: Don't try to "fix" more than one thing per season. I did that - twice - and ended up making something else worse! Baby steps. Firm up your advancement. Put as many chicks on the ground as you possibly can. YES, it's expensive raising them up to where you can make good choices. I put probably 150 on the ground this year and seems like every week I was picking up 10 bags of chick feed, just for the SPR. UGH! I'll be keeping less than 5% of those. The harder you cull, the faster you'll move forward.
Another word of caution, and I mean this in the very nicest way. Take some time to decide what you REALLY are interested in breeding. Having more than 3 breeds/varieties is a really, really tough thing to do. I have 3 (exhibition) breeds and I work full time. I really can't work on more than two each year. It's intensive in time, taking notes on what I see each hatch, comparing notes, looking back at pedigree so as to discern traits that are replicating, making the time to watch them move and interract with each other...all this stuff is important in moving forward. And all this stuff takes time...LOTS of time...and the more breeds and varieties you have, the more time it takes. Those who are the most successful in breeding poultry have ONE breed, ONE or two varieties. I would honestly absolutely love to get down to one breed to give it the time needed to move them forward to the best of my ability, and for years now, I've been trying to figure out how to do that, so I definitely get how hard it is when you have more than one poultry love. No judging here, just commenting.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Colombian outcross is an interesting project. I'm surprised you didn't see more gain.

 

[Storybook Farm]

Wynette: glad to know I wasn't out to lunch with your website; I hope you get it straightened out soon!

Multiple breeds: I hear you. I really do, and also I thank you for the GREAT advice. The problem is that I don't yet have a fav, KWIM? I tried to get some of Scott's rocks for two years (loving the Colombian pattern and Rocks in general) but we had mishap after mishap in getting me any birds.

SO: Decided to try Light Sussexes as an alternative to Colombian Rocks. If I had to choose one breed today, it would be them for sure. I may get there yet... but... I also am drawn to the Black Copper Marans and the Ameraucanas... especially the blue wheaten color of the latter.

This is my first year of serious breeding: I put 70 SPRs on the ground and chose two cocks and am right now sorting pullets. I'm hoping for two main lines of these, as I've written above. All my other breeds are babies. My plan is to try working on all four since I have a LOT of time. I am retired, and can spend all day most days with my birds. But, it may prove too much, for sure. One hope I have is that, breeding small families and toe punching/leg banding/wing banding I can actually keep the records I'll need to in order to improve my breeds.

I am right now working out a check chart where I can sit and observe the SPR pullets and look, for instance, at all their head types, giving them a 1-10, for instance. Then at all legs, wings, combs, penciling, etc. I also want to follow growth rates in next year's hatches and egg production in this year's pullets. So, yes, lots to do. I am thinking I may have chosen a tough breed to work on in the SPRs... If so, I can drop them and concentrate on the other three... and then two... and then one, if that's where the adventure takes me.

Meantime, folks like you and Garrett are so great to mentor from afar. Thank you so much!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Oh, I'm far from a mentor. More like a novice support buddy.

Took weights this morning. Not very inspiring. My hope was to make 7 lbs hens in F2 or F3 generation. Don't believe it will happen. Probably lucky if I get 6.75. It will be an improvement to dam line (5.75-6) but certain will never make standard weight of 7-7.5 hens.

 

[Storybook Farm]

Awwww. Okay; buddies then.

What are you doing to increase size? My largest cockerel in this year's spring hatches weighed in at about 6 lbs. He's something like 6 months old (had rolling hatches and didn't toe punch; live and learn). Like you, not near standard. But, I'm breeding him and the other one that's 5.5 lbs.

Next year, I'm going to weigh starting in Week 9. How do you weigh, btw? I find it awkward at best, so I put it off...

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Get tare weight of empty cardboard box. Put a bird in, fold/overlap top, then put it on the scale. I do it first thing morning before letting birds out, no chasing them down and choose the birds I'm interested in. When young like 6-10 weeks usually I can get them to stand on the scale long enough for weight without containing them. I get those weights to sell off the smallest pullets and tag young cockerels to butcher later for grill. Lightest birds at 6 weeks will still be lightest at 12-14 weeks.

I use a cheap kitchen scale that weighs to 10 lbs.

Edit to add-

I think it's important to actually weigh birds. Just to make space when growing you can sell/grill all the lightests birds and when grown pullets the feathers can be very deceiving to actual size. Visually this year's pullets look to be bigger than the dams due to the dams still coming out of molt. When I picked them up it was "yeah, they are a bit lighter" but the scale doesn't lie. They'll only be 1/4-1/2 lbs gain on dams when hens.