Sumatra Thread!

[Then I Will]

I didn't really get any feedback on my Sumatra SOP list and so I feel that for the most part the original providers in this thread have left it.
Anyway, I check my three cockerels over from day to day, watching for the best one to breed from. I noticed this brown feather on my big boy-- there are actually three brown feathers under there....
I'm not sure what to think of it. Should I wait until after the first molt? Or can one tell the quality of a bird before the first molt?

 

[TattooedChicks]

I didn't really get any feedback on my Sumatra SOP list and so I feel that for the most part the original providers in this thread have left it.
Anyway, I check my three cockerels over from day to day, watching for the best one to breed from. I noticed this brown feather on my big boy-- there are actually three brown feathers under there....
I'm not sure what to think of it. Should I wait until after the first molt? Or can one tell the quality of a bird before the first molt?

I don't know much about the SOP, but I thought your list looked solid.

As for the brown feathers, I'd wait till molt, incase they are just damaged or sun bleached.

 

[TattooedChicks]

So bendy and flexible!

 

[AllenK RGV]

View attachment 1101905
Well the ugly baby has been named by my spouse. He was out with me and tried to speak the chicken noises he was hearing back to the brood. She seemed to perk up greatly to the ki-ki-ki's and came running.

'Kiki' it is then!

And she's becoming quite the hunter, snatched a cicada clean out of the air!

We have somethig called "Giant Cicadas"down here they would make quite the meal feel free to google them as they are the western hemisphere's loudest insects! Would love it were my gals to take them all on.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Everything I had read was to wait until the first molt as well. Seems the brown tail feather was a common theme earlier in this thread.

 

[TattooedChicks]

This girl is too pretty. Make it stop before I order another dozen!

 

[Then I Will]

Ah.... it looks like you've been bitten by the Sumatra bug.
Welcome to the club.

 

[TattooedChicks]

Ah.... it looks like you've been bitten by the Sumatra bug.
Welcome to the club.

It doesn't help that she still comes to me for power naps and give the sweetest cuddles. She acts like she has manners too, very patient and waits for cues or other chickens to move off first when it comes to snacks or lap-time. I need a bigger yard.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I didn't really get any feedback on my Sumatra SOP list and so I feel that for the most part the original providers in this thread have left it.

Yes somewhere in the mid 300'-400's People got into a big spat over breeding, and someones free ranger's producing color variations that was accused of disseminating inaccurate information. Also chicken keeping philosophies and rational's turned really ugly between the really informative guys and had to be cleaned up by a moderator. Its a shame because they were the ones shipping off show quality(SQ) eggs. I would have enjoyed hearing their continued input.

Regarding your SOP post I enjoyed reading it so thank you for posting it. I have decided I'm going to just breed mine for what survives the natural environment here. I hear these guys at night might just decide to roost in trees and skip the coop. After that I want pleasant dispositions any aggression will be an auto cull. I settled on this breed thinking it will make the neighbors jealous and believing that garbage info that they are poor layers. I'm convinced they will be pretty regardless after seeing everyone's pictures.

As far as making parts of the coop dig proof I hope I get a hurricane or tropical storm soon because my ground alternates between concrete and soft mud it feels so odd sinking into the ground after a decent rain so I am holding off on moving them outdoors. We are in week 6 now. I would love to put them out but they are my babies and aren't big enough for my auto-waterer yet. I could put bricks around it to fix that.

 

[AllenK RGV]

OK update on my brood....Currently we are preparing for Hurricaine Harvey just a TS now but fortunately it will allow me to bury hardware cloth into the ground for their coop. My straight run from MPC got me 7 roos to 3 hens according to their feathering, but since
I don't want eggs that is perfectly fine. I'm just now starting to see a bit of the green sheen in their feathering but it is so slight it cannot be photographed. I am still so happy I have not lost a single soul from my order. I was horribly traumatized this morning on my way to the store as I just witnessed 2 dogs run over on my way to the store to get my coffee and breakfast tacos. I know the people behind me were annoyed as I covered my face in horror witnessing this act. That is just who I am.