Tiger Blues

H

Hen-Gen

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TIGER BLUES
We all get to an age, or a creakiness, where we have to adjust. So after months of deliberation I’ve decided to just keep these ie Blue Barred. The reasons for this are:-
1) I like the colour
2) When mated to a black cockerel they give both blue and black pullets for sale.
3) The chicks are sexable at hatching
4) They’re unusual and so I doubt anyone else has them.
5) Whenever I need to breed more of them I just buy in some Barred Rock hatching eggs to give me a suitable unrelated cockerel.
 
And what are they HG? One of your crosses? Very handsome birds, as they are available in my 2 favourite colours for chicken! They look a nice size and a nice 'build', although yours seems to only have one foot!

Being sex linked is a great boon, I think its possibly the greatest advantage you can have if you are a backyard breeder hoping to sell. You said it took months of deliberation, what were your other choices?
 
Beautiful bird, Hen-Gen. And very sturdy looking.

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MrsBiscuit said:
And what are they HG? One of your crosses? Very handsome birds, as they are available in my 2 favourite colours for chicken! They look a nice size and a nice 'build', although yours seems to only have one foot!

Being sex linked is a great boon, I think its possibly the greatest advantage you can have if you are a backyard breeder hoping to sell. You said it took months of deliberation, what were your other choices?
Click to expand...
Yes, one of my crosses. Four breeds in this one so genetically vigorous. Amazing how that photo makes it look footless! There were other choices including buying in new birds but having had this unbroken female line for 25 years I couldn’t bear to part with them. Choices left to me were continuing with Dominiques and some recent project involving crossing them with Mottled Orps and then Houdans to give big, crested mottled fowl. Hatched the Orps this year. Anyway these Tiger Blues have recently been introduced to a young Black Jersey Giant cockerel for next Springs pullets for sale.
Although this one has a single comb the other six hens of this colour all have rose combs which is my preference. Had to be the single combed one that sat on the perch! All this years for sale birds have gone apart from three Splash Pullets which are with me until January.

On an unrelated theme went to town with a mate today to have his best dog checked over by the vet because he was a bit reluctant in his sheep herding duties of late. Found he had significant heart issues so had him put down. Very sad.
 
That is sad, particularly for a working dog. We were round at a friends house recently and a month ago they had had their German Shepherd put down, at the good age of 12 because of age/illness. She was the latest in a long line of GSDs, and they had paid a lot of money and jumped through a lot of hoops to bring her from the USA to Portugal. They had photos of her on repeat on a digital photo frame, interspersed with their daughter's GSD. It was poignant, especially as they aren't going to get another one. On a much happier note we have also been introduced to a 4 month old Serra da Estrela, the local sheep/goat guarding dog (I don't think they are so good at herding), which belongs to a neighbour. A giant teddy of a dog, and still far from fully grown. If I ever have a dog, that is the breed I'll go for. Another neighbour has had 2 of them, and they have a good temperament if you are part of the flock. I see One Man & His Dog is on Countryfile on Sunday, lots of youngsters and girls/women.

I think I know why I like your tigers so much, its the JG in there.
 
MrsBiscuit said:
I think I know why I like your tigers so much, its the JG in there.
Click to expand...
Yep. In the mix is a tiny proportion of Light Sussex from way back, a similar proportion of Columbian Wyandotte to bring in the rose comb and bigger dollops of Blue JG for the colour and Barred Rock for the barring.
 
I think I've read somewhere that working sheep dogs can be very hard to "retire" to pet status, because their training and instincts can lead them to chase sheep, and they can become a danger to flocks. Can't remember where I read that though, and don't know if it's accurate.
 
That’s a new one on me LadyA but sounds very plausible.
Our whole relationship with animals is no doubt something that has been extensively studied. What is certain is that we can form very close relationships with them especially dogs. Unfortunately as a result of us being long lived grief at their deaths is part and parcel of that.
 
Bizarrely I arrived home about 30 mins ago to find my next door neighbour in the middle of the road, on the phone, her GSD has gone missing. My OH is out helping to search for her.
 
No. The whole family plus us were out looking at various times. The vet and the dog pound have been alerted. The trouble is that there are miles and miles of track, woods and olive/cherry terraces and disused/ruined buildings walkable from us and she could be anywhere, especially as much of it is not easily accessible down in a valley bottom. The only hint of good news is that both me and the wife of the owner think we heard her bark (the next hamlet has 4 dogs which roam, but the GSD has a distinctive bark, which she uses to good effect as a guard dog) in roughly the same area. I have been out in the rain this morning, and will go out again shortly. We don't get much traffic, so an accident is entirely possible but not particularly likely. Years ago our other neighbour lost his dog for 10 days after a thunderstorm and he turned up safe and sound, we are keeping fingers crossed.
 
Hurrah! She has been found, down in a valley below the cemetary, about a mile away. Bit of a cut on her face, but otherwise seemingly well, although she has been taken to the vet for a quick check over.
 
We have a friend who is a shepherd and has raised and trained many Border Collies as sheepdogs and he always maintains that you know when they have had enough of herding, as one day they just refuse to go out. That may be just a Border Collie trait, and I suspect many just go on forever being busy
 
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