July 2012

5 July

Last nests hatched out over the weekend, lower than expected hatch rate with a couple of clear eggs amongst them. I have a couple of pairs wanting to go to nest again and a few stray eggs laid in the hens flight cage - but however tempting it is (and believe me it is!) I'm bringing the season to a close (with young hatching in April, May and June it's been nice and neat!). Had some visitors at the wekend Steve and Phoebe, always lovely to see new people coming into the hobby and, from first impressions at least they have the makings of a good future partnership.

I've seperated off 16 or so young birds that i think will make the show team, a further 10 will be seperated at the weekend and as more cages become available with adults finishing rearing then i'll move more across from the flight cages. Pleased to say my clear birds have stepped up a couple of notches from previous years, with darks again looking strong and some lovely fawns bred too. Started spraying the singled off birds today (those with the flight cages on have regular access to baths) as i get them used to the preparation for showing, whilst there's still young in the nest (and particularly as i use cage front mounted nest pans for the second round young) I avoid putting show cages on them though (although again the flight cages have them hung on them).

Still young from 1 week to three weeks in 8 nests, although i'll take some more away at the weekend leaving 6 nests to go and then it's time to reflect on another really good season. For the first time in keeping Fifes and with the later bred birds I've started to introduce a millet spray to the floor of the cage when the youn are around 20 days, I try and clean the cages at around 16 days (before the young come out of the nest) anyway but i figure the millet spray will give the young fifes something else to pick up off the floor - too early to say if it's working but early impressions are favourable.

The quality of the young is pleasing, not all will make the show team, but they all have similar qualities, as i've said in previous entries i've got a framework of numbers i'm looking to keep - the selection process of those has started already, but won't conclude until early to mid October. I'll look at their pedigree and how they can take the stud forward, their overall quality, their poise and position and steadiness (again they seem very comfortable in the show cages) and the quality of their nest mates, as well as the overall fertility ratio of their parents to help make the decisions.

9 July

Winding down now in the birdroom, moved some chicks around over the weekend so just 6 nests on the go currently, 3 of those should be away by this weekend. Althougth it's been a relatively short season some of the hens that have hatched young in recent weeks don't seem to be that keen on feeding, they look fit but i'm sure the muggy weather, hot sun, rain and driving wind has all taken it's toll. Still one of the benefits of having a number of hens hatching at the same time and a number of colours is that shuffling young around is always an option.

I've moved more of this years young into the single cages from the flight cages where they've been moulting out, some still have a fair old way to go, but one or two of the very early bred birds are now well into the moult and starting to look very promising. It's not until you move the birds out of their flight cages that you get the opportunity to truely appreciate them, it's one of the reasons i hand training cages on the front of the flight cages as it enables me to catch a glimse of their true shape. I moved a couple of really nice young blue cocks over the weekend and an absolutely belting heavily variegated hen, her mother won it's class and was 2nd best heavily variegated at the Midland Show, and by all accounts the quality has come through in her daughter.

Looking at the numbers i should have a fair few clears in the show team this year and some variegateds too, although it's a long way off, and i've got to navigate a shed move too i'm looking forward to the first shows of the season.

16 July

Feathers feathers everywhere! Still four nests with young in, although two are out of the nest and starting to pick up for themselves so will be moved in the next day or two, leaving a nest of five and a nest of three still to come to complete another highly successful breeding season. Show training has stepped up a couple of levels and each weekend i'm looking at the young in the flight cages and singling off those with the potential to make the show team and next years breeding team.

Couple of lovely blues coming through, a couple of heavily variegated blue cock birds and a very sweet variegated blue hen, there's some really nice self greens and heavily variegateds too, most pleasing though is the step up the clears and varigateds have made, although they've been strong and challenging for a couple of years now this year there is real depth of quality. If what's in the nest comes out i'll have bred a dozen cinnamons and fawns this year, although 8 are fawn!, they have a lovely shape and great poise to them so i'm looking forward to a few of them making the show bench - cinny line is still work in progress, but is definately heading in the right direction.

23 July

Posted the above video last night, a couple of dark birds bred out of my self green buff hen that won best champion green at the North of England FFCC last year, still away to go but have some nice shape too them (looked great when they first came out the nest and are starting to come back again now).

Just two nests still remaining with 10 chicks taken away over the weekend, one of the nests is the green buff hens, two self greens look to be a yellow and a buff and a fawn that i'd fostered they look in great shape. Other nest is a combination of three into 1!, there's another fawn (I've bred a hatful this year) a heavily variegated, a variegated white and two darks, they're all a similar age but you wouldn't think it to look at them. Not sure if the two darks will make it, they're very very small - have jumped out of the nest (must be around 21 days now but don't look like it), the other three look a bit better developed although two have been plucked by the hen.

Most of the first round are well into the moult now and the second round just starting to break, one or two i really like the look of, nice variegated white hen who could do well, almost every young bird has that lovely v shape in the neck, which is where i want them to be, plenty of width across the shoulders but nice and short too. Fair to say i'm pleased so far with this years crop and looking forward to pulling a show and breeding team from them (i have close to 50 so far in the "potential show team" with more to review!). I'm pleased with the young i've bred out of the dark buff hen i brought in from Gordon Murdie, I put a good yellow cock from each of my lines across it so i'll have an outcross with 50% my blood in it for both lines next year just to keep things fresh.

Looking ahead to next years breeding plans, i've bred a nice variegated buff cock that will go in the A-Line, a three parts dark buff cock that will go in there too, still another couple of buffs to find but not looked that hard just yet. At this stage it's more about putting a marker down on birds - but i won't make a final decision until after they've all moulted out. I think having got three hens (related to my stud) in from Gerald last year and the buff hen from Gordon that, unless there's a specific bird i need and haven't got one in the shed, that i won't be making any acquisitions to the stud this year. My cinnamons have come on well, i've plenty to choose from so they'll move that line forward (with plans developing to run three straight pairs next year, with a view to breeing some carriers for the 2014 season to keep the shape and colour - particularly as a fawn cock bird is the anchor of the stud) and i've got a solid foundation of blues now in the dark line, 4 blue cocks in the mix for next year (and a variegated in the lighter line) that should set me up across the colours.

Been a while since the update on the DVD, pleased to say that filming has really come on, I've spent a fair amount of time editing things together and have some really nice (home shot) footage - over the next couple of weeks (when the birds are in rags!) i'm going to do some work on the talkovers then i'll publish what i've done to DVD and play it on a couple of different players and TVs to see how it looks. If from there i feel its going to be all systems go i'll publish full details on pre-ordering on the site (thanks to all of those who've taken the time to email words of encouragement on the DVD, it's appreciated).........

30 July

Well against all expectations they've made it (so far at least!) haven't moved them yet (which will be the big test) but so far so good with the 5, been plucked, pulled and pestered by their mother - but until i was certain they were all feeding themselves couldn't risk taking them away. So over the next few days they'll come away and that will bring the curtain down on another successful breeding season.

The young are changing shape by the day (or sometimes hour it seems) birds i really liked a week or so ago don't look anything now as they go further into their moult, the process of selection (however tempting it is now) will have to wait another 6 weeks or so at least, but i'm starting to firm up on what i'm looking for to retain. As with previous years i've had plenty of orders for surplus stock this year, and as with previous years as i select those birds that i plan to retain so i'll match together surplus birds that are to be let go. Its always difficult as no matter how hard you try theres always a surplus of one sex (and it never seems to be hens!) or one feather type. It's going to be a real challenge this year with my dark line, I ran with 5 dark buff hens in it last year, i plan to retain 2 of those and pull a further 4 in from this years crop, so far there's about 8 i really like with still more to come, similar position with the dark yellow hens. Still you cant keep them all!

Managing the stud is getting a little like a full time job - i have well over 100 Fifes (including last years flighted) in the shed currently and i'm grateful for the flight cages and 3 foot doubles i can utilise to keep the over year and those young not yet in the show team in. Of course one of the big risks of having so many birds is that you miss the potential of birds in the flight cages - to try and avoid this i hang training cages on them and keep pulling them out to have a look.

Concious of the workload i've scaled back my original plans for next year - i'd pencilled in another 6 hens and 4 cocks on this years numbers but i've come to my senses and decided to trim right back to fewer than i've run with this year - at least thats the theory for now anyway!.