Recent content by dheltzel

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I get the frustration with feed stores. Oh, the stories we could swap. But this is not the time or place for a "gripe fest" (anyway FaceBook seems to have cornered the market on those). I don't do much with Peafowl anymore, but I have lots of geese now (so many geese). Always happy to get...

Google lies all the time! Your cross creates "Black Sexlinks". To make "Red Sexlinks", you need to use a hen that has the Silver gene. These often appear white and the Rhode Island White is most often used commercially as the female side of a red sexlink hybrid.

I am not well versed in the interactions with melanizers. Legbars are not my principle interest with regard to gold/silver. I make extensive use of that gene in my Welbars (Crele Welsummers) where I always use a heterozygous cockerel in the breeding pen so that about half the pullet chicks...

Vaccinated almost 340 chicks on Tuesday! That is a record number. I don't vaccinate the ducklings, goslings, quail, and I had 19 from a friend that came by to get her chicks vaccinated, but still, that gives me about 300 babies in brooders to tend. I want to say this place is "a zoo", but well...

I've never seen any "studies" about the correct thing to do with an upside down egg. It happens to me sometimes and if it is early in the cycle (first candling at a week or so), I generally switch them to air cell up. But if they are closer to hatching, I leave them. Either way, I have not...

High production is the interplay of many genes. It can often be that emphasizing one trait has an unintended, but direct, effect on another trait. A perfect example is breeding Marans for dark egg color. I don't care much about egg production on that line, so I only select the darkest eggs, late...

Where are you located? I am in SE PA, near Philly. I am hatching lots of silkied cochin chicks this spring. Not sure if I will have enough to ship safely, unless combined with other chicks. If you are nearby, a trip to get chicks would be ideal. I try not to ship eggs, the USPS seems intent on...

This has a better pic of one of the cockerels.

Seems this is a very old message thread,but I wanted to offer an update. Here is my flock of Isabel Crele Welsummers. They are currently laying some brown and some dark green eggs. I also have a pen of F1's that are a backcross to a gold partridge welbar (Gold Crele Welsummer). Got the first...

It seems like very little actual genetic facts are known about feather "quality" in general. Hookless (silkied) is a single gene recessive, but even frizzle apparently has modifiers that are somewhat documented, but generally not well understood. I have seen "shredding" a lot more in large fowl...

I use 17 days as the incubation period for coturnix, so I would move them the hatcher on the 14th day. My quail tend to hatch at the end of 17 days, so 18 could be more accurate, but it doesn't hurt to move them to the hatcher a day early.

The Welbars generally lay lighter colored eggs than the Copper Marans, but when they are just starting to lay, it is very hard to tell them apart. 2 of these are Welbars, and I forgot to note which ones! I think every year the Welbar pullet eggs get a bit darker because I select only the darkest...

I have used this company to test for blue egg color when building a flock of Opal Legbars that are homozygous for blue eggs. Pretty happy with them, but the testing is pricy. I also helped them develop their test for lavender. I sent them samples of all my lavender breeds and was surprised to...

Many of the best looking silkies are overly inbred to produce the most chicks to sell. I'm not saying every breeder of silkies is bad, but certain breeds attract the less than competent breeders. I have only had silkied cochins for less than a year, but have not seen any weakness in them like I...