The Old Folks Home

[vehve]

@hennible , thanks. They've been suffering from what I would assume was cocci, especially the roo, but we got past that a few months ago and they've started gaining weight now. The roo could be a bit more upright in my opinion. But I have absolutely no idea how they're supposed to look, I'm just thinking with my general idea of a rooster, I haven't looked at any breed standard. My favorite part of him is the saddle, even though the feathers are brown, in the sun they get this white shimmer, sort of in a same way as a BCM shines green. Before he started to get a bit manlier, the slightly older girls kept him in check and plucked all of his longer tailfeathers, so it will be interesting to see them when he grows them back. Our alpha pullet still keeps him in line though, if he tries to mate someone near her, she'll send him off packing.

 

[ronott1]

To get back to chicken themes, anyone have any experience with Speckled Sussexes? What do you think of these guys?







So far they've been pretty boring and passive, but the roo has reached sexual maturity now, and both of them have become more active. The pullet is seeking the company of the other pullets, instead of just hanging out with her brother. Still no eggs from her at 25 weeks, but I think they're starting to look a bit better. Not so scruffy anymore.

His tail is down but that might just be the way he is standing. the shape and size look good and the comb is very nice.

Get a copy of the Standard for Finland and see what it says. If yo are going be breeding to standard it might be a good idea to find a poultry judge to take a look at them. They are great and helping with standards.

I really like them!

 

[chickadoodles]

Quote: They look very nice.

 

[vehve]

Ron, those are the only ones I've got and they're siblings, not my favorite way to get started with a breed. Plus, from an egg production perspective, these seem to be super slow maturers, so some other breed would make more sense from a productivity point of view. Both of them seem to keep their tail a bit down, plus like I said, the roo is missing all of his long tailfeathers. He hung on to one for a while, but that was pulled out too after a few weeks.

I don't think we have a standard in Finland, so I'd go with the British standard in that case. Thanks for your input.

*Edit* Any thoughts on the posture? Both seem a bit too crouched in my opinion.

 

[ronott1]

Ron, those are the only ones I've got and they're siblings, not my favorite way to get started with a breed. Plus, from an egg production perspective, these seem to be super slow maturers, so some other breed would make more sense from a productivity point of view. Both of them seem to keep their tail a bit down, plus like I said, the roo is missing all of his long tailfeathers. He hung on to one for a while, but that was pulled out too after a few weeks.

I don't think we have a standard in Finland, so I'd go with the British standard in that case. Thanks for your input.

*Edit* Any thoughts on the posture? Both seem a bit too crouched in my opinion.

Check the standard but they look like the way Dorkings stand. The thing to look at is the leg position from front to back and that the knees are not moved inward.

The best looking hens do not lay many eggs. From a production point of view, a hen can either lay eggs or keep pretty feathers. Show Quality hens wind up not being good layers because breeding pairs are picked for looks. For production, look for breeds that were kept for production. You should be able to get Rhoedbars and Biefelders where you are.

A clue would be to look at the flock now and if the hens look a bit washed out, then they are productive.

 

[vehve]

Well, I'll have all winter to think about what we want to breed in spring. Breeding mutts might be interesting too, mainly to see what kind of birds you get with different combinations. Is there any place online to find the standards? One thing I'd still want to try is to incubate a couple of hybrids out of store bought eggs. That should make decent layers too. The Sussexes do seem like decent table birds though, so that's something to consider too. I do usually prefer utility over looks in most things, at least when it comes to dogs. Same thing might apply to chickens with me too, I haven't really thought about it yet as we've only been doing this since spring.

 

[hennible]

Ron, those are the only ones I've got and they're siblings, not my favorite way to get started with a breed. Plus, from an egg production perspective, these seem to be super slow maturers, so some other breed would make more sense from a productivity point of view. Both of them seem to keep their tail a bit down, plus like I said, the roo is missing all of his long tailfeathers. He hung on to one for a while, but that was pulled out too after a few weeks.

I don't think we have a standard in Finland, so I'd go with the British standard in that case. Thanks for your input.

*Edit* Any thoughts on the posture? Both seem a bit too crouched in my opinion.

Posture is a bit droopy... Probably still getting over cocci. Maybe it's the breed.
I like buff Orpington's, dual-purpose good layers cold hardy... And very handsome. Mine are doing quite well but we're still waiting on the first eggs.

Pics a bit old their bigger now.

 

[vehve]

The better half likes the BO's too, but for some reason I'm not a fan. The color just isn't for me. I like the multicolored breeds, and the jet black is pretty cool too.

*Edit* I missed the one in the middle of your picture at first, it looks pretty cool. Sort of like a buff raven.

 

[hennible]

I have an Americana rooster and some Easter eggers they are awesome. Good personalities, beautiful birds, colorful eggs, consistent layers and big enough to eat...
Yeah buff isn't as exciting as a multicoloured flock... But I like it better than white.

 

[vehve]

I like our Olive Egger too, she's pretty cool. If only she'd resume laying... The Alho's have beautiful color, and our BCM is a hoot when she's not broody. She comes to talk to us, and keeps order in the flock.