The Heritage Rhode Island Red Site

[daxigait]

I agree with Fred on the two he pointed out. I'd still wait until they're 7-8 months old before culling any of them from the breeding program. Just my 2c...
From what I can see in the pics, that's not a bad looking cockerel. What is it that makes you want to replace him?

The offer of a better one.

 

[daxigait]

His tail looks kinda messed up to me. It doesn't look "full" at all but he could just be getting picked on. Also, it appears he is holding his wing down too. 

There were thirteen cockerels in a pen built for eighteen birds. They had fuller tails, but when I was on vacation and it was so hot they shed feathers everywhere. I am not sure if it was a growing molt or fighting, but all of them were missing the colored tail feathers with lots of small ones visible underneath growing in now.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Allow me one more view point on IDing your birds, then I'll just get off the subject.

The purpose of IDing the chicks right through to maturity is to know the pedigree and to observe the birds by some method. Eggs have a penciled code for both the sire and the dam. I punch all the chicks on day two or three in the brooder. The toe punch codes tells me the dam and the sire. This is essential for pedigree breeding and is a big step up from either flock breeding or small pen breeding. Most folks can tell you who the sire is, but haven't a specific answer as to who the dam was and again, this is MY personal prejudice, but I cannot over stress the importance of the dam. The secret is in the dam with most of the breeds I have worked with through the years. There's a famous book by that title that I recommend to all those serious about breeding for breed improvement.

Once the brooder grouping is moved out, I like the colorful little zip ties to ID chicks for many purposes. The color can represent the brooder batch. I can add a second color on the left or on the right to ID something I need to "see" without gathering up the chick to read the punch. I can add a third color if I tag a chick for a particular reason such as size or fast feathering.

At 9 weeks, those all get cut off and replaced with small numbered bandettes and with a new zip tie, pulled very loosely. Now remember, if you're only raising out 10 or 12 birds a year? This is pretty needless fussiness. This suggests one has 50 to 250 chicks to keep records on. Chicks can grow out just fine without any bands at all. You won't have to worry about them getting hung up on something. If they're toe punched, that's all that's needed. The bands on juveniles is for evaluation or other breeder record keeping purposes, something a backyarder doesn't really need to do.

I have personally had too much bad experience with spiral bands. I won't get into all the horrors, but suffice to say, folks can do whatever they wish or find workable, as you feed them, they're yours, but I completely ditched the use of the things after a horrible, one year experimentation with them. Awful things. Anyhow.....

When I finally gather up the "finalists" for conditioning for a show stretch, I clean them up. New show bands will go on just before packing them up for the show. If I wished to invest in crimp on metal bands with the tool, I would do so. Those bands are on for good and they're much good to be said for them. The ABA sells bands to their members and folks rave about them. I've not ordered any yet, but might do so next year, as they are year specific.

A Google search for The Secrets in the Dam doesn't pull up a book about breeding chickens, but Mr. Bob Blosl wrote an article about it on this site...

http://bloslspoutlryfarm.tripod.com/id50.html

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

There were thirteen cockerels in a pen built for eighteen birds. They had fuller tails, but when I was on vacation and it was so hot they shed feathers everywhere. I am not sure if it was a growing molt or fighting, but all of them were missing the colored tail feathers with lots of small ones visible underneath growing in now.

I figured it was molt when I saw the pics. Most of my cockerels have puny tails, and nearly all of my pullets have no tails. Primary and secondary wing feathers are few and far between, so they can't even fold their wings properly. Like yours, there are some new feathers coming in, but it'll be awhile before they become full.

The offer of a better one.

I see. Better is always better... but sometimes... better is the best!

 

[waddles99]

Gotta have some experience, I think, in raising out these young K's to perhaps understand their grow out appearances. The tails are sometimes slow to furnish. Given the age of the cockerels shown, waiting to see is the best advice to give. Same with the wings. The weather is too hot and the birds are too young to judge at this point. It's easy to see lots of "faults" at this age, but I assure you, most them are outgrown with time and their final feather moult at 7-9 months. If you judge these males too harshly, too quickly, you'll kill or sell off a bird you really shouldn't have.

Good point. I always assumed that they were pretty finished after their last juvenile molt @ around 12-14 weeks. As you pointed out, I don't raise cockerels(as I am sure you are aware I can't keep a cock bird atm) so I have only raised pullets. I have mostly RIRs and Ameraucana and the Ameraucana pullets do get scraggly in the tail at that age. I have 3 pullets I am growing out around 8 months and they look awful. I have always heard you need to be raising them up almost to a year to really evaluate them thoroughly, but never understood how people with 200-300 birds can possibly do that.

There were thirteen cockerels in a pen built for eighteen birds. They had fuller tails, but when I was on vacation and it was so hot they shed feathers everywhere. I am not sure if it was a growing molt or fighting, but all of them were missing the colored tail feathers with lots of small ones visible underneath growing in now.

Yes, as mentioned above my Ameraucana are molting like crazy, I don't know if it is the heat or stress of being at shows, but their cages look like a hawk attack happened. He looks like he has the foundations of a good tail. I was just unsure if anything more was going to grow in. I can't wait to see how he looks in a couple months.

 

[Fred's Hens]

A Google search for The Secrets in the Dam doesn't pull up a book about breeding chickens, but Mr. Bob Blosl wrote an article about it on this site...

http://bloslspoutlryfarm.tripod.com/id50.html

The book is actually entitled, The Call Of The Hen. Walter Hogan

The subject has long been referred to as the secret's in the dam by fanciers. Sorry. I referred to the concept and the expression we use when talking among ourselves.

https://archive.org/details/callhenscience00hogarich

.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

Video taken with my cell phone, so please excuse the not-so-sharp images or the dull colors...

The book is actually entitled, The Call Of The Hen. Walter Hogan

The subject has long been referred to as the secret's in the dam by fanciers. Sorry. I referred to the concept and the expression we use when talking among ourselves.

https://archive.org/details/callhenscience00hogarich

.

No apologies necessary. One day I may be allowed to enter the circle, and then I'll know code names like that, too...

 

[cmom]

Quote:
Great book. I have it, read it and use it as a reference.
https://www.amazon.com/Call-Hen-Walter-Hogan/dp/1140393928

 

[cmom]

Video taken with my cell phone, so please excuse the not-so-sharp images or the dull colors...

Quote: I love your lap chickens.

 

[waddles99]

Is anyone else here on the RIR club Facebook page? I just joined. My name is Secluded Valley Farm.