Buffs and Lavenders

[Guest]

So I\'m down sizing my flock and trying to come up with the 2012 breeding (my first hatch is always New Years Day   ) arrangements. so a couple questions.  
1.  When selecting buffs is the club going for lighter or darker feathering?  Just wondering for later on.
2. I have a few roos and I am trying to figure out who will be this years breeder.  I only have room for one lav/split lave breeder pen this year since I have a couple other projects going on.  All hens have huge muffs.  
 
Lav roo #1 has outstanding muffs and beard but his coloring seems \"blotchy\".



lav roo #2 muffs and beard less impressive, nice comb and nearly solid coloration.



Split lav- same muff as lav roo #2, has 2 gold feathers coming in on the back of his neck. Comb stands a little higher than the other two.

[John]

Just my opinions...
I\'ve been told my LF buffs are darker than what others have, but I try to breed for the most even color of buff and don\'t select for light or dark.
The same goes for lavender.  I have a couple young LF that are much darker than most, but I only look for the most even shade of lavender.
I would use cockerel #2 as the main breeder.

[Mike Gilbert]

I concur with John.   Your first cockerel has bad coloring, and with the split bird, you don\'t want gold.  Lavenders should be based on silver, not gold, to get the best coloring.  Muffs and beards are relatively easy to improve compared with coloring and bad combs.

[Guest]

I already had number 2 pegged as the breeder but just wanted to make sure.  I love the first guys muffs but yeah his color is pretty bad.  Thanks so much.  I can\'t wait to see what I get out of  the 4 ladies I picked for him.  Two of the ladies have the best solid color I have ever seen....hoping to bring them up to the poultry show in Syracuse this fall.  I also have a split lav hen that lays a very nice blue egg and an original Shaffer hen left.

[Jean]

Karen,

On the buffs, like John said, keep the most even colored ones.  If you have plenty to choose from, check the undercoat on each and make sure it is buff also.  You want the quills of the feathers to be buff too all the way down to the ends.

On the lavs, it\'s a toss up for me.  I like the body and the tightness of the feathers on #1, but I like the color of #2.  #2 looks a little \"orpy\" to me.  He also has loose feathers.

I would personally pick #1.....\"type first, then color\".

Can you use both of them and see what you get?

[OldChurchEggery]

I realize your post is about which lavender bird to choose, but what are the light, creamy colored birds in the background of the first photo of rooster #2? Are those part of your Lavender Wheaten project? I\'ve enjoyed reading about your quest and now that I have a log-in I can finally ask questions.

[Beth C]

I have a question on the buff color as well. I have some that have fairly even body color, but all of the cockerels are darker around the wing bow, some more so than others. I\'ve seen this on pictures of birds that went grand champion, so guessing it\'s normal, but should I be striving for the color closest to the body color? Also, how accurately can juvenile buff plumage be evaluated? Do I need to wait until after the first molt like the wheatens, or are there things I can cull for now? Don\'t want to give up on something too soon, don\'t want to feed one that\'s not going to get any better, either.

[Guest]

I realize your post is about which lavender bird to choose, but what are the light, creamy colored birds in the background of the first photo of rooster #2? Are those part of your Lavender Wheaten project? I\'ve enjoyed reading about your quest and now that I have a log-in I can finally ask questions.

Those are my buffs.  I\'ll toss up a couple new lavender wheaten pictures for those you are interested.