Author Topic: Help me choose (warning - lots of pics)  (Read 4859 times)

Beth C

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Help me choose (warning - lots of pics)
« on: July 07, 2011, 04:56:04 PM »
I have several people that want birds, and I really need to get some off the feed bill, but I\'m having trouble deciding who to keep - when I look at them I only see their flaws. If these were your choices to breed from, who would be your top 3?

#45





#92





#71





#51





#43





#19





#16





#11





#8





#6






#9







#17








Too soon to tell much on the cockerels, so at this point this the cock I have to work with:



Mike Gilbert

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Help me choose (warning - lots of pics)
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2011, 05:44:51 PM »
Beth, the pullets look pretty young to judge them on type and size, and those are two very important criteria.   Are they all the same age?   Another thing to consider is egg size and color, and obviously you can\'t select for that yet either.   You can check for undercolor on the back, something we can\'t see in the photos.   It should be some shade of slate, not wheaten, white, or buffish if you want birds that will retain decent tail and wing color after their adult moults.     I would raise these up to maturity and then sort them out after they start laying.  Those that don\'t lay by at least seven or eight months are candidates to cull.  Once they reach maturity (point of lay) put them on a scale to see how they measure up to the Standard.   Select the heavier ones, all else being equal, as size can be an issue with wheatens and blue wheatens.  I know it is tempting to cull now to whittle the feed bill, but it\'s too easy to make mistakes at this stage you could regret later.   Don\'t worry too much about top color at this stage, as they will change when they get their adult feathers.  I will say number 17 looks promising.

Beth C

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Help me choose (warning - lots of pics)
« Reply #2 on: July 08, 2011, 10:18:01 AM »
Thanks! I\'m glad to hear you say that, because #17 was my top choice. I\'ve promised a few people birds and, just as you said, I\'m afraid of selling one I\'ll regret, but she\'s definitely staying. She is one of the older pullets, hatched in Feb. - there are about 15 total, the youngest aren\'t pictured.

I do need to get some birds off the feed bill, though - I have about 100 growing out between the 5 varieties. I\'m strongly considering selling off the blacks & lavenders and concentrating on buff & w/bw. I think I\'d rather do fewer varieties better.

Mike Gilbert

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Help me choose (warning - lots of pics)
« Reply #3 on: July 08, 2011, 05:53:00 PM »
I agree.   Easy to say, but tough to do.   But your flock will be better with fewer kinds to concentrate on.