12 bonus chicks in box- what breed?

[Michael OShay]

Thanks for the info. As you can tell I'm new to chickens. My husband is a bird Hunter so I'm guessing we'll butcher and eat them. Can not believe they are 12 males! Oh boy!

You're welcome.

 

[alohamoa]

Does every hatchery do this?? It seems excessive to add 12 cockerels to an order of 10 hens.... Also, around what age do they typically start crowing?

 

[Michael OShay]

Does every hatchery do this?? It seems excessive to add 12 cockerels to an order of 10 hens.... Also, around what age do they typically start crowing?

Not all, but it's a common practice with hatcheries to add male "packing peanuts" to the box as more chicks ship better than fewer chicks. Most cockerels start crowing from 4-5 months, but a few of them will take considerably longer and on rare occasions it can be nearly a year.

 

[donrae]

Your smaller order of 10 pullet chicks wouldn't have enough body mass to stay warm during shipping. The alternatives are to have a higher minimum number of chicks, add "packing peanuts" like Ideal does, or have extra shipping charges for heat packs, etc.

 

[alohamoa]

Learned a lot from this thread. Since this is an egg laying breed, will it be worth the time to raise them for meat? I have a quarter acre fenced in for my chickens so space isn't a problem. Should I keep the roosters separate from the egg layers and feed them broiler feed? Thanks again

 

[junebuggena]

They won't need a different feed, as they will be butchering size before the pullets are even ready to begin laying. But don't expect them to look or taste like grocery store chicken. Dual-purpose birds generally will have more leg and thigh meat, but won't have the large breast meat of a Cornish Cross.
Production Reds are a dual-purpose (good for both eggs and meat) type bird.

 

[Michael OShay]

They won't need a different feed, as they will be butchering size before the pullets are even ready to begin laying. But don't expect them to look or taste like grocery store chicken. Dual-purpose birds generally will have more leg and thigh meat, but won't have the large breast meat of a Cornish Cross.
Production Reds are a dual-purpose (good for both eggs and meat) type bird.

X2 on junebuggena's post.

 

[jamesphelps]

usually about the time they start to come into their own, they will be ready to cull. They will start to compete and that's a good sign to thin them out.