[CameronS]

Just wondering, what are these birds like for laying?
what are their characteristics?


Thanks
Cameron

[cmorrell]

You'll find some decent, if basic, info on the RBST website on them. I know a few people semi-locally keep them and I'm quite likely to be going for Scots Dumpies myself whenever I get around to building a run et al. They're also kept at Palacerigg Country Park (Cumbernauld) and at Culross Palace, which has been very useful for me to be able to observe them for a while.

The info on eggs I've picked up on so far is that they're decent layers, but not as frequent as modern hybrids and their eggs, while medium, have a lovely creamy flavour.

[CameronS]

i'm hopefully going to collect two 6-8month old birds today. I'm not going to breed from them as they are apparently "Long Leged" therefore not correct to breed from, but out of interest, how rare are they?

[cmorrell]

They're considered "at risk" at present... which means between 300 and 500 known about.

[CameronS]

Oh, well we now have two of them  , unfortunaltey i won't be breeding from them, as i have no Cockerel and they are both "long" legged

[doganjo]

Does the same breeding criteria not apply to all species - breed long legged to short legged and you get some long, some short and some correct length - then breed on from the correct length.  If they are an 'at risk' breed would some allowance perhaps be made for leg length?  Just asking - fairly novice on hen breeding.

[cmorrell]

Cameron: I'd been considering 4 Scots Grey for a while as the thought of having around 2% of the world's (known) population in my back garden appealed somewhat .. but I was studying them at Palacerigg Country Park and noticed how much they ran about, using a lot of space and I don't think my run will be large enough to let them do that .. the dumpies are a little more.......... Annie like 

Annie: I've been wondering the same, but I suspect there'll be regulations (enforced or simply by custom) which would consider such an ongoing variation to be a different breed if allowed to continue. After all, the dumpie was created by selectively breeding smaller, shorter legged, scots grey ... uhm, someone correct me if that's not quite right.

[doganjo]

the dumpies are a little more.......... Annie like  Grin

CALUM???   Is that an insult or a compliment (fat frump, or cuddly Mum?)

[cmorrell]

Cute, cuddly, lovely personality ... and like to have a rest and a natter instead of running around constantly 

[CameronS]

We were told that it was a basically a fatal gene that the short legged varaitly carry that causes them to be - dumpy, and that it is that deadly that one in 4 chicks carrying it, die in the egg, and that large breeders run some long legged ones with them to try and keep stocks healthy.

ours are going to be extremly free-range so have plenty of space, even if they don't need it  ,
scots Greys are next on my list, Next year maybe when i get my other huts

[doganjo]

Cute, cuddly, lovely personality ... and like to have a rest and a natter instead of running around constantly 

Why, thank you, Kind Sir!

I'll take that as a complement then?

You got out of that by the skin of your teeth, didn't you?

[doganjo]

We were told that it was a basically a fatal gene that the short legged varaitly carry that causes them to be - dumpy, and that it is that deadly that one in 4 chicks carrying it, die in the egg, and that large breeders run some long legged ones with them to try and keep stocks healthy.

That sounds like our apparently lethal bobtail gene in Brittanys - stats show that in a supposed litter of 8 from two bobtails, 2 will not implant having a double dose of the gene, 2 will have the normal full length tail gene, and the other four will have one of each gene so will be bobtails.  So we mate bob to bob to get 67% bobs.  If we mate bob to long we get 50/50 tails and bobs.  But sometimes Mother Nature throws a spanner in the works!  A friend in Norway had 8 pups from a bob to a long tail and got - 8 long tails!  Not a bob in sight!!!  And the people who don't want to take the chance, mate tailed to tailed and produce tailed dogs that they can dock of they have a gun licence

[clydesdaleclopper]

The Scots Greys definately are active - you should see the speed ours go at. I'm sure they must have bred the dumpies so that they were easier to catch

[Andrew]

We have two hens one long legged and one short legged both were hatched from the one batch of eggs bought on ebay and we had another two that were dead in the shell. They have the most fantastic personalities and in the summer the short legged one moved out of the chicken house and in with a family of pheasants which live in and around a fallen tree next to our field. She used to walk down in the morning with a hen pheasant and both would lay their eggs in our nestbox have breakfast and then leave. She has moved back in for Winter though.

[Birdie Wife]

Scots Dumpies are definitely my favourite breed  they are really hardy, keep themselves out of trouble, can be excellent broodies and lay a decent number of eggs. I got a pair of white Dumpies from a chap on Lewis and they are stunning  good choice!