White faced black Spanish enthusiasts, come hither!

[Gallusfarm]

I just acquired two pairs from Mike Miller.
Had two other hens from Suzette Wellington at Old-Dominion Dominiques. Excited about breeding these two lines. Here's a picture I took yesterday.

They look nice! Mike Miller has some of the best. Great seeing lots of nice Spanish out there. Hope everyone hatches a lot of chicks this year!

 

[Gallusfarm]

I have a roo from a Spanish Minorca cross. I was going to "rehome" him for free, but he's looking so awesome that I am not sure I will part with him! (though I don't know where I'll put him!!!)

anderson, please post pics!


Certainly the face is going to be lost, but the key is breeding back to the Spanish for several generations in hopes of getting the face back, all the while selecting for larger size. We are doing this cross this year using a Minorca hen. Here she is compared to my old Spanish hen and cock bird.

 

[Gallusfarm]

So just weighed the birds, and sadly my guesstimate was way off. Cock is only 6.5, and the hens only 4.5. Rather discouraging, but we'll see what happens with the chicks at the end of the year I guess.

This isn't discouraging, as the other poster said, you are above average! I wanted to ask, do you keep your Spanish int he city, I see that you are in SF? One of the notable qualities of the Spanish is that they bear confinement really well. Wondering how that is working out for you.

 

[Gallusfarm]

Quote:

Hi Gallus,


Look at the faces on those birds, so few wrinkles and long backs, that's great, may have to buy some stock from you next year if my wife allows me to get a second breeding pen going Or perhaps some eggs or chicks later in the year?

I still have to put them on a scale, but will post the results as soon as I do, but they feel pretty good, the cock around 7-8 lbs, and the hens at 6 or over. So I'm planning to hatch 40 chicks out of that pen this year, and keep somewhere between 0-5 as they mature, but we'll see how it goes.

What I meant by leggier was literally a longer shank and tibia, so that the birds carriage is higher off the ground. I keep reading turn-of-the-century periodicals, where the authors lament about the 'abomination of short legs on the distinguished Spanish', which apparently was one of the type characteristics that were given up by 'fadist' breeders in lieu of the over-development of the white lobes. So I think I'm going to be taking the measuring tape to my chicks as they grow, and specifically keeping vigil on the variance of leg length, and keep the birds with the longest legs (unless they're defective in other type characteristics of course.)

Thanks and I would love to swap eggs sometime. The long leg selection that you have planned sounds good. The chicks are interesting int hat they stand really tall even when they are very young. I think below is a great illustration. These are magnificent.

 

[jeffyssd]

I am in need of a Spanish bantam rooster to go with a hen if anyone has one for sale in NC or SC. Thanks

 

[WesInSF]

Hey Gallus,

I would very much enjoy an egg swap! Just finishing up a nice first hatch (16 out of 24 when I left work this morning so far), and have collected 6 eggs for the 2nd hatch so far. So we could swap now if you wanted, or we can wait until I'm gearing up collection for the 3rd hatch, probably around the 29th of May, PM me your preference and we can hash out details.


As far as keeping the rooster in urban area, we're actually just south of SF in Daly City, so more of a suburban setting, but either way, the keys for me have been A) to keep all my immediate neighbors happy with fresh eggs from the assorted breed layers I keep around as extra incubators, and B) I have built a crate-within-a-crate rooster box with different density foam baffles for my rooster to overnight in, and it's quite effective. When the 5am crowing comes, you literally have to be standing next to the box to hear him. So I go about my morning routine, and just before I leave for work at 7:45, I put him in with the hens. The response has been very positive, even from my most noise-sensative neighbor. So if next Spring I wish to have two breeding pens, I'm just going to have to have 2 rooster boxes.

In general, they indeed seem to be handling confinement fairly well, as their pen is 10' x 14' by 7' high, and I have gotten up the courage to free-range them in the evenings when I'm doing other yard work. I just try and make sure I've gotten all the eggs I'm going to get for the day.

Hear from you soon,

Wes

Oh, and PS....that illustration you posted is indeed one of two 'old-school' illustrations that I am basing my want of longer-legged birds on, love it.

 

[Bo Garrett]

I do not yet have blue Spanish but am thinking of creating them by breeding to a blue Andalusian which should also increase their size even though Spanish are supposed to be bigger than andalusians. That Minorca in my avatar is actually my first hen I ever had but both her babies and her babies babies have significantly surpassed her in size.i actually have babies hatched out from a Minorca Spanish cross.

Spanish typically produce some white sports and when these are bred back to the blacks will produce blue spanish. I have two white cockerels and a pullet that I will breed back to blacks this year to do that very thing. The white faced white spanish are not very striking but I would think the blues would be. If your spanish are small then breeding them to an adalusian would increase the size then you would have to work at getting the white face back.

Blessings,

Bo

 

[anderson8505]

I have a roo from a Spanish Minorca cross. I was going to "rehome" him for free, but he's looking so awesome that I am not sure I will part with him! (though I don't know where I'll put him!!!)

Here is that Minorca-Spanish cross, January hatch.

 

[WesInSF]

Wow, how much does he weigh currently?

 

[BGMatt]

Spanish typically produce some white sports and when these are bred back to the blacks will produce blue spanish. I have two white cockerels and a pullet that I will breed back to blacks this year to do that very thing. The white faced white spanish are not very striking but I would think the blues would be. If your spanish are small then breeding them to an adalusian would increase the size then you would have to work at getting the white face back.

Blessings,

Bo

Bo, How many generations do you think it'd take to get the white face back? I don't have either breed right now, but I remember back when I did have Minocras (and have heard from other breeders as well) that it is a fight to keep white out of their face as is. (Perhaps it was just the strain I was working with?)