May 18th Bantam Chicks

[Mike Gilbert]

Next to last hatch of season from May 18th.   Four wheaten/blue wheaten, six brown red, two buff, two white - all bantams.    Last batch is due off on May 25th.  Malcolm's, if you are reading, I should end up with about 25 brown red bantam chicks.  Not all will be properly colored of course.  Click on photo to enlarge it. 


                                                                                                                       

[The Malcolms]

Awesome!  Just put them in a box and ship them!  LOL. We can hardly wait. 

[Suki]

Wow, congratulations.  They look so pretty.  So I guess you will be getting, at least at my PO, a 6:30 am call.   Once I was got so excited, I got up 2 hours early, ready to go.  Talk about crash and burn.




-brownie

[John W Blehm]

I should end up with about 25 brown red bantam chicks.  Not all will be properly colored of course.

Just curious...why?   

[Mike Gilbert]

Because brown reds don't turn out all that uniformly for color - in any breed that I am aware of.   It is not like breeding blacks or whites, which is kind of boring in my opinion because they don't offer all that much of a challenge.    The standard requirements are rather rigorous for brown reds, as they are for many parti-colored birds. 

[John W Blehm]

I thought by not "properly" colored you had some outcross going on.  I bred both bantam and LF brown reds for years and although the bantams and LF chicks didn't have quite the same phenotype, they were very consistent.

[The Malcolms]

I have been meaning to ask...isn't the brown red pattern similar to birchen except gold instead of silver?  We keep and breed a few modern game bantams in birchen and silver blue.  We were told they could be bred together much like BBS.  The same breeder we got them from also breeds brown red and lemon blue.  We were told these were the same as birchen only gold instead of silver.  Does a color pattern "work the same" no matter what breed or is a brown red ameraucana color differently achieved than a brown red modern game bantam?

[Mike Gilbert]

Never bred Moderns, so I could not tell you.    John, you have always hatched a lot, done a lot of crossing, and cull early and often.   I'm betting your off colors went with the rest of the culls.   

[Suki]

Just curious...why?   

Because they weren't there. Nor were they there the next day or all that week.  Next was 4th of July so they closed.  Finally two weeks later I got a hold of them and they swore they were shipped.  Next set goes out next week.  That didn't work either. I was really getting mad now.  The Post office didn't understand it either.   Finally the Post Office and I came to the conclusion they, were being stolen because the hatchery did not put a $1.00 shipping confirmation on them.   Duh!   A month after they were supposed to come almost to the day, July 26th, 15 Barred Rocks appeared.  It was a very long July...lesson, always put confirmation on  the box otherwise...it's a crap shot..

[Suki]

blacks or whites, which is kind of boring in my opinion because they don't offer all that much of a challenge.   

I'm sorry to disagree Mike, but bleed through in the solids is a real challenge.  On your second shot, the guy in the middle is what colour btw?

[Mike Gilbert]

Sue, I have raised many solids.   Won a good number of ABC champions in both bantam and large fowl with them.   Have had best bantam chicken of entire show twice, both on black pullets.   Had reserve bantam of show on a buff cockerel.     Never had to raise too many to do it.   Not that much of a challenge.   Blacks and whites are a piece of cake compared to a color like silver or brown red.   Try it. 
I'm not sure which middle chick you are looking at, but if you mean the black one, that is a brown red.  There is also a buff near the center of the top pic. 

[Suki]

  Blacks and whites are a piece of cake compared to a color like silver or brown red.   Try it. 

Ok Mike.  But first, where did you get your stock?

if you mean the black one, that is a brown red. 

Yes that's the one, the charcoal fellow.

[Mike Gilbert]

Sue, the brown red large fowl were bred up from easter egger hatchery stock over a period of many years.   The only outside blood until about five or so years ago was bantam brown red crossed with large brown red.   Then I made the mistake of crossing in a black pullet.   That gave me green eggs, single combs, and really didn't do what I wanted it to, which was to increase the size.  This year I did not hatch a single off-color chick, but I know that some will turn out too black and some will have too much gold/orange, because that is just the way this color works.  I'm fussy.   I made several different lines of bantam brown reds using different outside blood over the years, but I think only one survives yet today.   

[John W Blehm]

Then I made the mistake of crossing in a black pullet.

If you have an extra cockerel that I could obtain I should have a couple nice black pullets that I would like to put together with him next year. 

[Russ Blair]

If you find yourself with too many just bring them to Fowl Fest Mike, I am sure I could fit them in somewhere😀. Especially if they are near the quality of the Blues I got from you 😀. Just let me know how much extra money I will need to bring and don't mention it to my wife and everyone will remain happy lol