Bee, you've got a couple of Jwhips White Rocks, second hand from KathyinMo, but I am sure Kathy had XW birds.
So, what is your take on their size, density, feathering, laying, etc??
The only thing I could find fault in was the late maturing, though with this winter being so harsh I can't really gauge them on that. Their size is perfect and nigh uniform, so is their shape, though the one has a tad more cushion and a wider tail than the other and she is just a tiny bit bigger. The feathering is wide and tight, though not quite as tight as these hatchery birds. I'll be able to better judge feathering after that first full molt, as well as judge molting type and recovery.
The laying is better now...at first I was concerned that the WRs were not going to be consistent, daily layers but they have proven me wrong and now they have very large, perfectly shaped eggs every day. They are also laying in the nest and not in the bush, which pleased me....they were so wild and bush bound while growing up last year that I thought they had gone native on me, but true to WR form, they have matured into elegant ladies, calm, steady and hard working with good instincts for coop living while also retaining their wariness on range. I can't say enough about how pleased I am with their hardiness and worth ethic already.
They are not as heavy boned or as dense as these hatchery rocks but I put that down to their youth and I think they will grow into their size and stature as they go along. They will be one year old near the end of this month.
I'll try to get some better pics of their form and try to place other birds or something so you can get an idea of their size compared to. They are camera shy, so it's hard to keep them still for the right angles of shots.
I currently have a clutch of 20 viable,developing eggs in my nest incubator and the majority of those are from these two WR pullets~I've got 11 days to go on that hatch and will be excited at what they turn out. This tells me that of all three breeds contributing eggs to this project, theirs have beat out the others for viable, fertilized, large eggs with the shell quality to make the grade into the incubator.
The last clutch had two chicks that didn't make it out of the shell due to my error but one was a WR chick and it was simply HUGE. The other was a Del and, though it was large, the WR had it beat hands down. I expect these WR/mutt Cochin cross chicks will be some big birds.
All I really need for these two excellent pullets is one or two good roosters of the same breed and lines. I'm expanding the coop this next month and hope to also build some breeding situations as well. I know it's a small start...but it's a start in the right direction. I see big potential in these two girls. They are ready for real breeding to a quality bird.
