Hello Dirk I also kept very accurate records not pedigrees.my birds originated from just a few birds.so very quickly become closely bred 27 years no outcross .NO curley feathers or any other problems that other fanciers report when they bred there family very closely.the red hen you talk about being weak and leaving the kit early I definitely would not consider breeding from her just produce more problem rubbish again only my opinion.I know you are trying to get back on your feet with the birds but I don't believe the way forward is by breeding from lots of young from mediocre specimens with fualts or flying problems far better to breed as many as you can from good sound VIGOROUS stock using plenty of foster pairs .you can go all summer with 3 pairs of fosters to 1 stock pair .so if you can muster up 3 pair of proven stock and nine pair of fosters you can easily breed 2 kits of young birds in a summer I have done that with ease on several occasions.if your choice of stock is good the % of good yearlings the following year will be better than breeding 2 kits of young from second choice birds.play a game with yourself and pretend you only have enough nest boxes or food to feed 3 or 4 pair then make your stock selections these would-be the ones I would go with and use the rest as fosters .maybe pair the fosters how you fancy them and late in the breeding season let them rear 2 or3 of there own as an experiment.i certainly wouldn't spend a full summer breeding from Experiments.i have been to lofts in UK breeding from 12 14 pair and usually the results are the same very poor flying kits when asked why they bred from a certain pair often the answer would often be that they are such and such a family but not obtained from original person who developed the family very risky to me and probably a recipe for disaster.using fosters can be time consuming and accurat records need to be kept but it worked for me .my loft is 12 feet long .6 foot 6 high and 5 feet deep .8 nest boxes and 2 kit boxes for 21 birds and one for 30 birds that's all I had .never kept lots of birds .alot of fanciers have said to me how many good ones do you breed my answer was always 1 the very best of that years breeding that bird would probably be stocked at 2 years old and hopefully produce as good or a bit better than itself.choosing just 1 or 2 stock everyyear you can be very choosy and ensure they posse s the qualities that you desire.all these ideas are just my opinion but it worked for me .good luck and please reply if you like.
Hi Ian. Thank you, we received the results yesterday and I ended up 6th! Yes the reason I am still doing experimental matings is because all my birds are out of just 1 pair originally, if you look at the records I discuss, so I am testing which birds to bring in to make the family more sustainable over decades to come. Once i am happy they will not end up with webbed feet etc etc I will start concentrating it again. At this stage I really have only 1 stock male from my original "click" pair. Ideally I would like to have around 4/5 to keep as my main breeders and then only add more when better birds come out. I have many female which are good, the problem is to bring in outcrosses from the daugters to supplement the family
Are you in south africa
Hello Dirk I also kept very accurate records not pedigrees.my birds originated from just a few birds.so very quickly become closely bred 27 years no outcross .NO curley feathers or any other problems that other fanciers report when they bred there family very closely.the red hen you talk about being weak and leaving the kit early I definitely would not consider breeding from her just produce more problem rubbish again only my opinion.I know you are trying to get back on your feet with the birds but I don't believe the way forward is by breeding from lots of young from mediocre specimens with fualts or flying problems far better to breed as many as you can from good sound VIGOROUS stock using plenty of foster pairs .you can go all summer with 3 pairs of fosters to 1 stock pair .so if you can muster up 3 pair of proven stock and nine pair of fosters you can easily breed 2 kits of young birds in a summer I have done that with ease on several occasions.if your choice of stock is good the % of good yearlings the following year will be better than breeding 2 kits of young from second choice birds.play a game with yourself and pretend you only have enough nest boxes or food to feed 3 or 4 pair then make your stock selections these would-be the ones I would go with and use the rest as fosters .maybe pair the fosters how you fancy them and late in the breeding season let them rear 2 or3 of there own as an experiment.i certainly wouldn't spend a full summer breeding from
Experiments.i have been to lofts in UK breeding from 12 14 pair and usually the results are the same very poor flying kits when asked why they bred from a certain pair often the answer would often be that they are such and such a family but not obtained from original person who developed the family very risky to me and probably a recipe for disaster.using fosters can be time consuming and accurat records need to be kept but it worked for me .my loft is 12 feet long .6 foot 6 high and 5 feet deep .8 nest boxes and 2 kit boxes for 21 birds and one for 30 birds that's all I had .never kept lots of birds .alot of fanciers have said to me how many good ones do you breed my answer was always 1 the very best of that years breeding that bird would probably be stocked at 2 years old and hopefully produce as good or a bit better than itself.choosing just 1 or 2 stock everyyear you can be very choosy and ensure they posse s the qualities that you desire.all these ideas are just my opinion but it worked for me .good luck and please reply if you like.
Hi Ian. Thank you, we received the results yesterday and I ended up 6th! Yes the reason I am still doing experimental matings is because all my birds are out of just 1 pair originally, if you look at the records I discuss, so I am testing which birds to bring in to make the family more sustainable over decades to come. Once i am happy they will not end up with webbed feet etc etc I will start concentrating it again. At this stage I really have only 1 stock male from my original "click" pair. Ideally I would like to have around 4/5 to keep as my main breeders and then only add more when better birds come out. I have many female which are good, the problem is to bring in outcrosses from the daugters to supplement the family