Recent content by JohnLongIsland

thanks for those!

what a beautiful bird! That's what I'm talking about--crosses that, by happy accident, come out beautiful and productive. I'm trying to "de-snob" the subject. That, exactly like mutt dogs, these random crosses can come out doing everythign they need to do.

Hello Folks, Sorry I've been out of the loop for a while. I am working on a writing project, and was hoping to collect interesting photos of "barnyard mix" chickens. It would be great if I could find some first and second (and more) gen images, to illustrate the variability that can come...

I think this is what I meant to ask. Let's just say in an absolute worst case. It's the Apocalypse, and you have exactly 1 rooster and 1 hen. You make the first cross (the only cross you can make). In the next step, would it be more wise to cross the siblings, or to cross the parent to the...

I've read in a number of sources that inbreeding 2 siblings can be employed to try and stabilize some desirable trait, but that used extensively, offspring can start exhibiting unwanted characteristics (immune system health, physical health, etc). Three sources said that breeding a parent to an...

I'm amazed at how knowledgeable many of the folks on here are. I'm guessing many of you guys are self trained/hobbyists? I'm actually a chemist by training. Not a dummy--but a complete dummy with genetics! I've been reading and reading on the web about breeding, sex links... and it seems...

That sounds interesting. I love Welsummers. I've never had one, but a friend in the country has a couple. They really lay some beautiful eggs. I don't need location, but what kind of distance are you from Oshkosh?

I was texting a friend who wised up about 10 years ago and moved from Wisconsin to Hawaii :) I was telling him about building my coop, and trying to secure interesting genetics. And he made a funny comment about "well, move to Hawaii--we have thousands of them". I did some reading, and...

nice! Did you breed your own EE's, or acquire the mix? I would love to tinker with that--I saw some eggs at a farmer's market a couple years back that were deep olive green with dark speckles. They must have been a blue-layer mixed with a Welsummer? They looked very cool.

That sounds beautiful. The plan was to breed dependable layers with some big breeds (JG, brahma), just to bump up the size a bit. I would be very interested in a bantam JG cross, or a bantam crossed with another good layer of decent size (RIR, NHR, maran...). I'm in Oshkosh--maybe we could...

I would defiintely be interested. With the bantam roosters, how large do the resulting offspring get? I'm in Oshkosh, and probably won't be ready until spring either. I'm preparing my coop, brooder, and fiddling with an incubator as we speak. Have you crossed the bantams with the big birds...

Thank you for that information. I actually had no idea that paperwork was required. I was able to connect with some local breeders, after joining a Wisconsin chicken group and asking around. 1 farm is promising--over 200 birds, but in at least 10 breeds. The owners breed and hatch their own...

That's really what I'm looking for--some proven breeds--RIRs, Orps, some blue and green layers, because why not? And a heavy influence from dark brown layers. Some marans, some Welsummers (beautiful, speckled eggs). I also really love the colors on Sussex, and their is a local enthusiast who...

Hello Folks, I'm wrapping up my coop and seeking to build a very diverse backyard flock. As a kid I had chickens with my grandfather. A mix of Rhode Island and New Hampshires, Leghorns, standard American breeds. It was kind of a weird, but oddly beautiful thing. :-) I'm interested in...

I made it 4.5' and 3.5 in the back, so that by cutting an 8' sheet diagonally, you could get the front and back from one sheet. I'm really shocked at how expensive building materials are. Jeez, 1/2" exterior ply is pushing $40 a sheet! I miss growing up in the country. You could always find...