Blue Wheaten cockerel...with issues

[Susan Mouw]

Out of 250-300 chicks that were hatched out here on Sand Castles Farm, I had narrowed the wheaten/blue wheaten cockerels down to two - one wheaten and one blue wheaten.  The blue wheaten, in overall type and appearance, may be the best thing I've bred here, but he has two serious, disqualifying faults. He has duck foot on one foot and he has some porcelain white spots on his ear lobes.

Given that I do not have unlimited space and facilities - for either breeding pens or grow out space - and really maxed out both this past spring, should I just cull him or try him over a couple of my Paul Smith pullets who have neither of these problems and then cull like crazy for anything showing either of these issues.

I don't know the genetics of either of these two problems, so just don't know in which direction to go.

What would you do?

[Don]

Susan,   IMO I would use him if he has all of the other attributes that you need in your matings.   Definitely keep his offspring toe punched and be aware during culling youngsters.  In searching the duckfoot it seems like most agree that its a recessive gene.  Strange that you did not have any females show it at all?  It might not be very prolific in the line.  You might want to try him in a cross to another line to compare offspring too.

The enamel is a problem with several of the Wheaten lines.  Just be aware that its there, choose your best females that do not have any evidence of the problem.  And track it to the end. 

I can't tell in the picture much else about his type.  But he seems to have lots of others things going for him.  How is the lacing in the breast?  Look like he has some stripping in the hackle which is very normal in the wheatens.  But his color muff and beard look from what I can see in the picture.  Do you have females with a very nice comb?

[Susan Mouw]

Don

I may have it in some of the pullets, too - I just haven't gone through that pen yet.  I was actually going to do that today, but the rain has already started by the time I got back form the grocery and feed store, so I guess it will be next week before I can sort them out.  I know there are one or two that have the white spots and I'll sell them as EEs.

This bird has nice lacing and no leakage on his chest. The comb is a little large, but I expect that here and I can breed that back down to some extent. He does still have some black in his hackles, but that is a battle I've been fighting since I first started with the wheaten and blue wheatens and he has the least of all the cockerels hatched this year - including the wheaten one I had singled out as a keeper. Definitely a step in the right direction for my breeding program!

Here is an older picture of him - taken last month - that shows the lacing and chest area better.

[Paul]

  He looks good.  I'd be very cautious about using him since he has two big no-no's, a duck foot and a positive white in his ear lobes.  If I did use him it would be on a very limited scale, and no chicks would be sent out.  They would be grown out to see what occurred.

  The breed as a whole has worked on the black in the hackles.  As it decreases-red in the breast increases.  You may want to try getting another cockerel, rather than using him.  You might check with Royce in Washington, or Barbara in Tennessee.  We do not have any as nearly all were sent out at a day old.

[Susan Mouw]

I have decided to cull him. I have two wheaten cockerels that I'm growing out that came out of the chicks you sent me, Paul, so I will have a nice breeding cockerel and a spare, if needed.

I did want a blue wheaten, too - but I think this one is just too much of a challenge.  Next year!