Woes of selling potentially good Roos for my project

[Dottie the Chicken]

One of my bigger struggles is keeping the leg feathering. I have some blue hens that have quite a bit, but I haven't gotten that lucky yet with a decent roo that has them. I only have 1 so far! He is already breeding but I wish he were slightly larger.
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Nice red color on that second pic!

 

[rascal66]

Nice red color on that second pic!

Thank you! I found the easiest way to replicate this coloring is to have dark red birds with blue birds.. I usually end up with some kind of red leakage in the offspring

 

[troyer]

This is a small vent and mini discussion of my current chicken breeding project.

Recently I had sold a couple of great looking Roos that had some nice traits, but was maybe slightly too light for my liking. But after the sale, instant regret.....

It is a normal phenomenon. I have sold hundreds of roosters and it happens almost every time that I sell some that I get the same feeling that you expressed. You're not alone.

 

[troyer]

One of my bigger struggles is keeping the leg feathering. I have some blue hens that have quite a bit, but I haven't gotten that lucky yet with a decent roo that has them. I only have 1 so far! He is already breeding but I wish he were slightly larger.
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It's okay to use a slightly smaller rooster, just be sure to breed him to your biggest hens and then from that breeding you keep a large cockerel to continue. I really like breeding projects so this gets my interest.

 

[rascal66]

It is a normal phenomenon. I have sold hundreds of roosters and it happens almost every time that I sell some that I get the same feeling that you expressed. You're not alone.

Glad I'm not the only one!! So you have a bit of a breeding project yourself?

 

[rascal66]

It's okay to use a slightly smaller rooster, just be sure to breed him to your biggest hens and then from that breeding you keep a large cockerel to continue. I really like breeding projects so this gets my interest.

I'm all for this! However my flock is large, about 150+birds and I don't have any separate breeding pens to control anything... Just a bunch of roos with all the hens I've hatched (or purchased) with them. But I'll keep it in mind next time I do have a couple roos now that are a bit leaner than my main ones.

 

[troyer]

Glad I'm not the only one!! So you have a bit of a breeding project yourself?

My main breed is Cubalaya in various colors. My wife has an Olive Egger/Easter Egger project going right now. I hatch 200-400 chicks a year depending how quickly I want a project to progress and the amount of space I have.

 

[rascal66]

My main breed is Cubalaya in various colors. My wife has an Olive Egger/Easter Egger project going right now. I hatch 200-400 chicks a year depending how quickly I want a project to progress and the amount of space I have.

How interesting!! I think that's also roughly more or less what we hatch here too! I'm a sucker for easter eggers, so I'm curious about what she's after in the birds (or is it just egg color?) I remember a looong time ago when I just started learning about chicken breeds, the cubalaya peeked my interest a bit. They seem rare though? Good luck with your project

 

[rascal66]

I forgot to share one of the stars of my project.

I hatched this guy back in late 2020. He is so gorgeous, and one of my favorites. His colors are lovely (though a bit more red is preferred). He only lacks the feathered shanks and a mean scowl. Otherwise, He's tall and very breasty (thanks to my freedom rangers!!!)

A new young pullet I hatched last summer, and I'm quite happy with her size and her colors are a treat! Still not red enough, but pretty nonetheless.

 

[raingarden]

You did the right thing. The most common pitfall in selective breeding anything is trying to keep too many because of indecision. The animals end up being too crowded, they develop poorly and are sickly. If you stick with it, other birds like the ones you miss now will come along.