The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[KF0002]

So, about 4.5 months. Yes, they do sound cute! Ee-ee-eeeee-eee!

Now that my Moon Shadow has found his crow, he's growing up a bit. Today instead of ducking away from an OG hen, he pecked at her first! The flock dynamics, they be a changing. Fingers crossed he doesn't turn into a jerk!

OG hens can be jerks. He is just holding his own and letting them know there is a new boss in town.

 

[KF0002]

One of the pullets had her hackles raised to him earlier. Maybe she doesn't like him.

They do that trying to assert dominance in the pecking order, but the males always win in that regard in the end.

 

[KF0002]

Moved the oldest group of chicks to a wire bottomed brooder, and moved the 23 chicks from the house to the brooder building today.

From the oldest group, only one of the BC1 Crele project chicks is crele, a little non-crested single barred crele cockerel. The other chick from the Crele project is a hetero for crest, GDW pullet.

I am actually thinking in the spring I will mate a BC1 crele cockerel to a BC1 pullet that lays white eggs (full siblings), both non-crested of course, in one pen. This would produce F2s. Then in another pen mate a BC1 Crele project pullet that lays white eggs to a Brown Leghorn rooster to produce the BC2 cross to refine the line and remove remaining blue egg genes in the crele males. I can then mate a single barred BC2 crele male to a F2 crele pullet to produce the final F3 generation, which would produce double barred pure Crele Leghorn males, and single barred Crele Leghorn females, free from any blue egg genes. Wooo that’s a mouthful!

Anyway here is the oldest group in their new brooder.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Cuteness! Is there any advantage to having them on the wire cage bottom?

 

[KF0002]

Cuteness! Is there any advantage to having them on the wire cage bottom?

It keeps their brooder cleaner. And I can only keep them in the stock tanks until they get old enough to start flying out then they go into the wire bottomed brooders they can’t fly out of. The wire bottomed brooders keeps their manure from accumulating in the brooder and cuts down on the amount of pine shavings we go through, and keeps their water clean.

 

[KF0002]

This Buff x Incomplete BTR pullet has some cool looking markings. The pattern is the split wildtype pattern coming through the hetero dominant white. Her sister that is not hetero for dominant white has the pattern in her wings but more prominent because the black in her feather pattern shows through and isn’t blocked by white.

Here is the non hetero for dominant white sister. Dominant white covers black but not gold/red.

 

[KF0002]

And here are the youngest group of 23 chicks in the larger brooder. I am so glad to get them out of the house!

 

[Kung_pao]

Moved the oldest group of chicks to a wire bottomed brooder, and moved the 23 chicks from the house to the brooder building today.

From the oldest group, only one of the BC1 Crele project chicks is crele, a little non-crested single barred crele cockerel. The other chick from the Crele project is a hetero for crest, GDW pullet.

I am actually thinking in the spring I will mate a BC1 crele cockerel to a BC1 pullet that lays white eggs (full siblings), both non-crested of course, in one pen. This would produce F2s. Then in another pen mate a BC1 Crele project pullet that lays white eggs to a Brown Leghorn rooster to produce the BC2 cross to refine the line and remove remaining blue egg genes in the crele males. I can then mate a single barred BC2 crele male to a F2 crele pullet to produce the final F3 generation, which would produce double barred pure Crele Leghorn males, and single barred Crele Leghorn females, free from any blue egg genes. Wooo that’s a mouthful!

Anyway here is the oldest group in their new brooder.

View attachment 4270313View attachment 4270314

I see you use wing bands, would you mind telling us a little about them and how you like them compared to leg bands? Any problems with feathers growing under them? Do other birds pick at them? Any info would be nice, I’ve kind of wanted to start using them but didn’t know if they’re any good.

 

[KF0002]

I see you use wing bands, would you mind telling us a little about them and how you like them compared to leg bands? Any problems with feathers growing under them? Do other birds pick at them? Any info would be nice, I’ve kind of wanted to start using them but didn’t know if they’re any good.

From experience, birds are more likely to lose a leg band than lose a wing band. And in order to keep chicks leg banded, you have to keep upsizing leg bands as the birds grow and that is way too much of a chore. They can be leg banded temporarily with zip ties out of the incubator then wing banded at about 2-3 weeks. We have only had maybe 2-3 birds to ever lose a wing band over the years we have been using them. If applied correctly, the birds have no issues with feathers growing in to affect them.

 

[KF0002]

As far as chicks pecking at them. If the fresh band holes bleed (which is rare), they may pick at the blood. So if any blood is seen when you band, spray with blue kote and they wont bother them.