Texas

[ShadowsFIAL]

it depends.. how does he compare to the breed standard?
How much are others charging around your area?

You don't want to be too cheap because that encourages people with really poor quality dogs with health issues to come to you for your stud. However you also don't want to charge an arm and a leg for stud fee if you have a poor quality dog with genetic issues (bad hips and so on).

lol.. i know it sounds snobbish.. but it's one of the things you will have to deal with. if you don't have a string of championships a mile long some people will call you a backyard breeder.. others state you must have a commercial kennel set up .. and others think you must attend all their shows and events to even be looked at as a serious breeder once you have managed to invade their circle of friends.

Personally I have no problem with a person with a nice quality dog having a litter of pups. Many people can not afford to spend 2K on a puppy (especially with this economy).. and others hate to go to the pound to pick up a dog that they have no idea of it's background or if it will eventually have health issues or temperament issues.

When you stop to think about it.. all those "serious" breeders HAD to start somewhere.. most of the breeds we have today are because some guy sat down and decided he wanted to create a "mutt" to fill a certain void. And many of the best breeders started out with a few "ok" dogs.. only to make them into "great" dogs with selective and careful breeding practices.


btw.. I started out charging 350 for my doberman's stud fee.. as time went by and I perfected my lines the price went up from there.. by the time I "retired" from breeding them I was at 1500 stud fee for my main stud and turned down the DuPont family (from DuPont chemical fame) when they came to me wanting a puppy because they only wanted a show piece that was to live out in a kennel and be ignored instead of being a loved family companion. .

Aside form his white coat, his pink nose, and his ear that is just not as stiff as the other, he seems to fit the standard well. He is on the large side, but any people are looking for large shepherds now, and white is growing in popularity where I live. His line has had great hips, and when he turns two, we really want to get his hips certified. That is why I am also looking for a shepherd for myself, we want a female that will strengthen his qualities that are slightly lacking. Again, don't want to be a poor backyard breeder, and we both were looking for family dogs when we get a dog, Weiss' akc was just a bonus to us. We feel if the dog makes a great family dog, and is smart, and healthy, it should be able to pass it's lines on to make other families happy with good quality healthy pets. Which is why honestly, if I get my german, she probably won't come near the AKC minimum 7 litter mark.

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
I can't tell from the pics.. doe she have the "banana" or "roach" back?.. or is his topline nice and straight?

Most of the "show" lines have the banana back (Nomi has a slight one).. the working lines tend to be heavier boned and have a straighter back... and back in the 70's (I think it was the 70's) they started with the really LOW hindquarters that i still say has caused more issues with shepherds than they needed.

I prefer the heavier working german lines and czech lines over the really thin boned american lines.. so does my husband. Blitz was a perfect example of the heavier working bloodlines... I still miss that big ol doofy boy...

 

[yinepu]

Funny thing is, he had an all black nose when he was little, it just lightened up as he got older. These are pics of him a day or two after we got him. He was three months old. it was funny, half the time his ears would both flop the same way. He was such a cute baby.

Quote: Sounds like you have a plan!

I prefer the bigger shepherds.. I was never a fan of the tiny ones that were popular several years ago.. I had to wonder if someone slipped some corgi blood in there somewhere!

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

Sounds like you have a plan!

I prefer the bigger shepherds.. I was never a fan of the tiny ones that were popular several years ago.. I had to wonder if someone slipped some corgi blood in there somewhere!

I know! I want a big dog, not a lil one, if I get a shephered, i want a guardian! Someone who can protect me, my family, and our other pets. The problem is right now trying to locate a german shephered pup in my budget. Weiss really misses playing with our roommates dog, but since they complain about him constantly, we decided he had to be separated(that and I got tired of taking care of their dog because if Weiss was out there they seemed to forget she needed water and food). So now Weiss tries to play with the donkeys, so I know he is a lonely boy until we get there and play with him in the yard. I have seen a few but things have kept happening with the car lately and my puppy money keeps disappearing. = 3= it will happen eventually tho. =) I want to try and find another one that is around 12 weeks like Weiss was since he got lots of litter socialization time, and the pup will actually be big enough to play with him safely.

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

I can't tell from the pics.. doe she have the "banana" or "roach" back?.. or is his topline nice and straight?

Most of the "show" lines have the banana back (Nomi has a slight one).. the working lines tend to be heavier boned and have a straighter back... and back in the 70's (I think it was the 70's) they started with the really LOW hindquarters that i still say has caused more issues with shepherds than they needed.

I prefer the heavier working german lines and czech lines over the really thin boned american lines.. so does my husband. Blitz was a perfect example of the heavier working bloodlines... I still miss that big ol doofy boy...

Oh god no! I can't STAND the sloped back. Weiss has a nice straight topline. I will try and get some more pictures of him tonight. All the hip problems in those show shepherds... it is like a horror show. He is a working line german. I think only two or three generations back he is from an import too, but I can't remember.What was Blitz like? =)

 

[jnntefend]

How'dy all folks!

UPCOMING SHOW

Lone Star Serama Showdown at the
Fancy Feathers Show
Hays County Civic Center, San Marcos, TX
April 13, 2013

For more information, please visit http://www.fancyfeatherstx.org

FILE DOWNLOADS BELOW :
SERAMA SHOW RULES/CATALOG
FANCY FEATHERS ENTRY FORM
SERAMA TABLE-TOP ENTRY FORM (Word document)
SERAMA TABLE-TOP ENTRY FORM (PDF)
Wooohoo! I have some seramas. They have never showed before, but it might be fun to take them, just to meet folks!

 

[jnntefend]

I thought about getting some cornish chickens for meat. How old/big are they?

I'm waiting for my phone to email the pics to me, but at a month old, they are already blocky and big, and have started clucking more than peeping. the cornish crosses are great for first time meat birds and sensitive folk (like me), because there's less emotion behind the slaughter when you know they would not live long, anyway.

 

[ShadowsFIAL]

I'm waiting for my phone to email the pics to me, but at a month old, they are already blocky and big, and have started clucking more than peeping. the cornish crosses are great for first time meat birds and sensitive folk (like me), because there's less emotion behind the slaughter when you know they would not live long, anyway.

That is true. I am trying to figure out some birds to add to my flock for my raw feeding diet I want to do for weiss, might talk to DH about getting some.

 

[Cockle-Dood]

I'm waiting for my phone to email the pics to me, but at a month old, they are already blocky and big, and have started clucking more than peeping. the cornish crosses are great for first time meat birds and sensitive folk (like me), because there's less emotion behind the slaughter when you know they would not live long, anyway.

Where did you get yours from? once my brooders clear out i was gonna start looking for a crop a meaties....and a deep freeze too i suppose lol!

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
Blitz was marked a lot like Nomi.. almost solid black.. with just a hint of color in his eyebrows and jawline.. he was built like a tank too.. solid.. wide.. lol..would have made a perfect battering ram but still VERY agile, extremely smart and FAST. He came from working german and czech lines with his grandparents being imports. We got lucky when we found him.. then couldn't get in touch with his breeders after he had passed (died from poisoning.. horse nettles . then misdiagnosed by the vet)