Tony Chavarria
Site Publisher
827 posts
Nov 18, 2006
7:46 PM
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On another thread when the following attributes were applied to a specific young bird, it is thought by some-that these could be an indication that this bird could turn out to be a "stiff one":
1- A special squeeker that has demonstrated a degree of intelligence.
2- Trapped 1st day without coaching.
3- Sits on the top row with the bullys.
4- It tested its flying ability first off without hesitation
5- It is curious about...all the things around it.
6- It has that look already that tells everyone who sees him that he is good.
7- You can see that he is trying to figure things out.
8- Has no fear of me.
Somehow this seems counter-intuitive to me. Perhaps it has more to do with the family we breed and the lenght of time we have worked with them? hmmmmm...
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FLY ON! Tony Chavarria
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George Ruiz
122 posts
Nov 18, 2006
8:41 PM
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my description of a stiff is always made after studying a bird after several flys and after a certain time .
If a bird dont roll by the time its 6 months old he will not go forward in my program.
I will never attempt to I.D. a stiff bird on the perch as it would not be fair to the bird .
george
Last Edited by on Nov 18, 2006 9:08 PM
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BR Rollers
45 posts
Nov 18, 2006
8:56 PM
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I agree George. Not often but you can get one that will just fly and don't develope the roll. I have also seen what I call "stiff flying days" as well. For several reasons birds will just not what to roll. Maybe weather, a feed change, molt, changing of flying times or routine and of course the " I don't know why" thing to...lol
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
810 posts
Nov 18, 2006
10:28 PM
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Time and time again and year after year the boldest looking birds, the good looking ones with a bright eye and alert intelligence have proven to be stiffs that were eventually culled. The "run of the mill" normal looking ones to a bit dumb looking are the ones that put on the show and produce the same in the breeding loft. At least that is the way it works over here.
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fhtfire
648 posts
Nov 18, 2006
10:43 PM
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The fact of the matter is this...Everyone has birds with different character and attributes or things that make them stand out. If you have a bird in my loft like Nick is talking about...it usually is a pretty good spinner. The birds that look kind of dumb like you said Brian.....are crap in my loft....The look is different from Loft to Loft and I think that this is one of the things that you can't judge without seeing the bird in person. I have always thought that the Bright eyed..intelligent bird is the bird that we like. To be honest...I could not pick out a stiff....I have had very few stiff and they look no different then my A-team birds...the only bird that I can really see...is a roll-down bird or a bird that lacks control. I honestly think that you can't tell what a stiff is...unless you fly the bird...I mean..I have had birds that are rolling like gang busters and then stiffin up for no reason...and they still look pretty good on the perch. I think it is HOG WASH if someone thinks they can come into somebody elses loft and say that this is a stiff by looking at it on the perch...but I do believe that you can come into my loft and look at a certain bird and say"that is a loony freak'n bird and it is going to be a lawn dart" That is my thought and I am sticking to it...Birds are different from loft to loft....some you feed to roll, some like to roll, some are bigger, some are smaller, some have grizzles that are hot, lavenders that are hot, lest not forget that Blues are stiffer then Reds...Bull shit flag on that one..oh yeah lets not forget to breed the lights to darks...Yeah right...or how about a Deep bird to a shallow bird for the perfect bird...or two deeps for deep birds...Wrong again...some of these may be true in certain lofts...but if they are true in a couple lofts...does not make them law...So...just do what works for you.....anybody who has this magic eye...is more then welcome to come to my house and sort my birds for me....shit...they do not even have to fly out there birds either....Lets not forget the crazy eyed roll down...Well..Tony...Remember that crazy eyed bird in the photo I sent you...you said ...roll down...well...she flew for 16 months before a hawk took her and she was stable as stable could be...NEVER bumped...just goes to show you...nothing in this hobby is a constant...to be honest...if I showed the photo to many fanciers on this site..they would say....time bomb!
rock and ROLL
Last Edited by on Nov 18, 2006 10:46 PM
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J_Star
672 posts
Nov 19, 2006
6:31 PM
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Well, I don’t where I stand on this. I have a blue grizzle cock that is mostly white with blue bar and bluish nick. I liked his character and performance. He will come and eat from my hand without any fear. I pulled him out of the kit when he was almost snatched out while he was spinning by a cooper. I stocked him this year with a red mottle w/f/t muffed hen. His youngsters are the best so far out of the rest of the breeders. A bit hot with depth and control and same like character. He still comes and eats from hand.
Two of this year youngsters from other pairs have also shown the same characters and special friendliness to me. They are not fully tested in the air just yet because my birds are on lock down for the winter. Both are very small in size about 6 oz. One is black self with one white flight feather but for some reason it gives me the feeling that it doesn’t have allot of feathers and also it gives me the impression it has a short tail. I consider it a dingy looking but it is beautiful in my eyes. The other is a blue check w/f just like his father but half the size. Both show great intelligence and hyper. They stand their place in the chain when it comes to feed and perch. They don’t fear me even when I reach for them to grab them. I will find out their worth next spring.
Cliff, correct me if I am wrong but I believe that Clay has a hen from Danny H that looks dingy or ugly, very small in size but it is the deepest bird and has the best work rate. I know Danny’s family produce such birds every once in a great while and I think I might have produced one of them for myself. Time will tell.
Jay
Last Edited by on Nov 19, 2006 6:45 PM
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chandlerTX
30 posts
Nov 20, 2006
3:22 PM
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Are all stiff birds bad, or would a few stiff birds be good to help the kit stay tight. I am not saying to breed from a stiff, but I was told a few stiffs in a kit could be a good thing. Chad
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motherlodelofts
956 posts
Nov 20, 2006
4:23 PM
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Chad, normaly stiff birds will lead the kit and effect the whole team, they normaly will keep the team flying on one wing which is counter productive for the team to work.............................................................As for the bird described , gimme that "and" full of roll, generaly they'll be stiffs though................................................
Such birds would be the last picked if I "had" to choose one off the perch though, but the first if it is also a great solid qaulity spinner.
Scott
Last Edited by on Nov 20, 2006 4:26 PM
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