Messages

496

Breeding / Re: Splash wheaten variety APA recognition

« on: September 26, 2015, 01:30:57 PM »

We have a couple of Splash Wheaten cockerals available at this time.  These are about 16 weeks old.  I can send some pictures if requested.   

497

National Meet 2015, Fayetteville, AR / Who is bringing Bantams for sale at National

« on: September 26, 2015, 01:28:44 PM »

          It would be great to have someone bring back bantams breeders from the show. 
Please let us know if you have stock available and I will try to connect potential bantam breeders in our area.

I would like to find some good buff bantams, Anyone?

498

Housing, Health & Hatching / Re: Over 2 decades of experience

« on: September 26, 2015, 09:32:38 AM »

Paul,  I can only imagine the amount of work that goes into hand threshing.  The threshing floors in biblical/olden times were very important places for the community.  Probably took the whole community to bring the crop in for the season.  We have a farmer about 45 mins north of us that grows grain on about 1500 acres, mostly rented land.  He grows corn, wheat, millo, oats and soybeans.  Its much cheaper/better to buy directly from the farmer.  I asked about the hull-less oats, he said that they were only grown in Canada. Glad to hear you are able to grow them that far south.  We used to see these oats named "Triple cleaned" oats for horses in our area, and we fed them in the fall for conditioning.  Oats are higher in protein than most other grains except for beans/peas and they were quite expensive too.  We are able to use the hulled oats for some birds but some will not eat them unless they are soaked/sprouted.  We grew some spelt one year as a cover crop in the garden.  It produced a good crop, took a long winter to summer to crop and was way too rough for the birds too eat.  I can imagine how hard it must be to hull and thresh this for human or animal consumption.  But it is reported to have less gluten than the wheat we use so much now. 

499

Housing, Health & Hatching / Re: Over 2 decades of experience

« on: September 22, 2015, 08:22:47 AM »

Thanks Paul for that info.  We have access to a red millet grown by a farmer just north of our home.  I have used it and the birds seem to like it.  But I like the wheat and oats for the birds as they are all priced similarly and the protein levels in these grains are higher.  They also sprout easier which is great for winter treats when the green grass is no longer available.  So how many/percentage of feed grains are you growing at this time?  Any specific ones that seem to be more efficient for the small scale farm/poultry grower.  I do not have equipment to grow grains in any significant amounts here on our small place. 
     For winter I do have a few patches of honey suckle that stays green most of the winter and I can pull some of this for the pens.  The birds like the green stock almost as much as some of the other treats.  I bag our summer lawn trimmings and they go after this fast.  I have thought about trying to pack some of this into barrels for later in the winter.  But probably wouldn't be able to store enough bulk to keep the grass good for very long.  I wish I lived close to a dairy farm that kept corn silage.  I remember seeing the farmers open up the trench and seeing the steam rise out of the silage in the cold weather.  I bet they would love to get into a bucket of this in the winter time and I would imagine that the resulting egg production would be great too.  (Though I would bet you couldn't find any non-GMO corn on dairy farms today.  And we are eating all that residual Round-up every time we eat any thing that includes or is fed corn or corn sweetener products.)

500

Breeding / Re: Splash wheaten variety APA recognition

« on: September 21, 2015, 02:01:29 PM »

Sarah,  They are a very beautiful color and most everyone that has Blue Wheatens hatches these each year.  So having the number of breeders working with them should not be a problem.  I do not know how many of these are members of the APA/ABA now that the APA has decided to change their rules.  I wonder how long it might take for the ABA to follow in the same steps. 

I do not have the most current APA standard so can't be sure, but the ABA standard lists the Splash Wheaten color as inactive.  Its says you can order a copy of the color description from the ABA secretary for a reasonable fee.  This might be a good next step if you want to champion the cause.  Or maybe the Club could front this cost?
The color description for the Splash Wheaten female should be fairly simple.  The male description might be more difficult to figure out.  The ABA secretary might be able to preview the male description and verify that it does not simply refer to another color pattern, IE Red Pyle with splash attributes. 
 

501

Housing, Health & Hatching / Re: Over 2 decades of experience

« on: September 16, 2015, 09:59:00 AM »

Great detailed narrative Paul and Angela!   This information gives me some new ideas especially for feed supplements.  Also I ran across your article in an old edition of "Exhibition Poultry" about growing your own Non-GMO feed grains.  It was good to read some of this info too with specific grain varieties etc.
 
Thanks again for putting all of this together.

502

Ameraucana Marketplace / Buff Bantam Cockerals

« on: September 14, 2015, 08:57:46 AM »

One of our local breeders ordered a box of buff chicks and ended up with 2 pullets in the lot.  So they have Lots of young males available for anyone looking.  There are about 3/4 grown and look quite nice.  Jerry Segler used to say that he could use a Buff male with whites (sex link gold/silver) and have great buff females in a generation.  And you can cross the Buff with Wheatens to strengthen the buff genetics.  It takes a generation or two to get clear buff color again, but it does work to improve the vitality of the family quite well. 

503

Breeding / Re: Silver coloration

« on: September 09, 2015, 11:09:09 AM »

There are a lot of traits that are not visible in both sexes; shafting, leakage and egg color are examples.  It always helps to know the lineage of the opposite sex.   So if you find a female that has less shafting, use her, her daughters if they have less shafting and one of her sons. That way you know the lineage of the male even though he will not show the trait.   It is a Very Slow process, but one that we all might be able to progress over time.  Check out the Silver Duckwing OE or Silver Leghorns at the next show to see how refined the color can become.

 

504

Breeding / Re: Silver coloration

« on: September 09, 2015, 07:53:15 AM »

My opinion as best I can see from this picture; This is juvenile feathering which will still change quite a bit but it does give you a good indication of color placement.  The cream/salmon color is in the right place, and this might darken some as the bird matures. (ABA silver standard: light salmon) Seems unusual there is white bib on the top front of the neck, unless this is camera glare?  Does the cream color continue to the muffs?  It does seem odd that the bird has a few dark feathers on top of the head and solid white on the neck.  Again this might change over time IMO. (ABA standard calls for Head, Male: silvery white, Female: silvery grey)

 Yes, the shafting is visible as the white shaft in the dark feathers.  This will likely remain as the bird grows out.  But it is evident in almost all bantams that I have seen.  It will be a slow process to reduce this flaw, gradually over time.  I get the impression that the Silver LF have made more progress in this regard.  Maybe some of those breeders can add their experience with this issue?

505

Breeding / Re: Information on the Chocolate Variety - Q&A

« on: September 01, 2015, 09:17:27 PM »

Jean, I was curious about the genetics.  Sounds like they are very different that any of the other varieties.  I did look up some pictures and they are quite nice.  But I was curious about the male and female genes.  So did some looking and tried to understand how this works.   Take a look at the crosses below and see if this makes sense?   All males that carry the gene are splits?   Feel free to correct this before I confuse more than just me!

Choc to Choc = 100% chocolate, I presume 50% male and female (Split males, right?)

Choc. M. to Black F.  = 50% Black Splits and 50% Choc females

Black M. to Choc F.  = 50% Black Splits and 50% Black females

Black split male to Choc female = 25% Choc males, 25% Black split males
       25% Choc and 25% Black females

Black split male to Black female  = 25% Black split males, 25% Black males
       25% Choc females and 25% Black females

506

Breeding / Re: Brown Reds

« on: September 01, 2015, 08:59:19 PM »

DeWayne,  I would love some.  I have seen this variety only once, at the National last fall.  However, my wife does not need any more reasons to divorce me.  So I must use what little bit of better judgement I have left.  But having some in the area at Susan's and hopefully some others would be really nice.  I could at least visit them once in a while or at least see them at shows.  I do know one other gentleman just north of us that has been trying to get a start of this variety for many years, and no one had eggs or stock available.  So its really nice that they are beginning to be more spread around.  Its the goal of all of us to see this breed in all its varieties to be more available.  If you have more eggs than you need in the spring, I will ask him to contact you.    But really, thanks for the offer.  I really do think they are very beautiful.  And sounds like they have a lot going for them.

507

Breeding / Re: Brown Reds

« on: August 30, 2015, 11:27:29 PM »

Great numbers of females to males for winter hatches.  I hope you can send some eggs down to this part of the country.  It would be great to have some of these in numbers at the our shows.  We would have all kinds of folks wanting to raise AMs.    Nice birds! and thanks for the pictures. 

508

Past Meets / Re: South Eastern District & South Carolina State Meets - Dec 5, 2015

« on: August 30, 2015, 10:58:17 PM »

We have had few meets requested in the SE district for this fall.  And several meets have been canceled by the state Agriculture folks over concerns for potential Illness this fall.  With that in mind we have consulted with the Sandlapper club and they have agreed to host the SE District meet.  We hope you can bring out your best hopefuls for this Double Show the first weekend in December.   

509

Ameraucana Marketplace / Re: Silver and Lavender Bantams

« on: August 25, 2015, 08:09:10 PM »

Wait.   Susan if there is a trip to the west coast involved I will take them for sure!

510

Exhibiting & Promoting / Re: Top line and Tail Sets

« on: August 25, 2015, 08:07:30 PM »

Nice Post Susan,  I does make it much easier to see how the profiles of various birds compare to the standard language.  I will note that IMO the head should be well above the tail.  There is one profile where the chicken appears to be leaning down for a moment.  But most look pretty much on target. 

The wing carriage is another thing that I always have trouble determining too.  So many years trying to get the Plymouth Rock bantams to lift their wings is ingrained.   Now I have to remember that AMs are allowed a bit lower wing carriage.