8th-annual-byc-new-years-day-2017-hatch-a-long

[teaton]

I just candled the 24 eggs on bator, today is day 3 and got 18 left 3 infertile and 3 with thin crack. Hopefully ill be setting another dozen on Monday.

Im setting monday too!! Hoping for Valentines babies

you should join the groundhog day hatch along with me!! What are you hatching?

 

[eldonrgv]

Im setting monday too!! Hoping for Valentines babies

you should join the groundhog day hatch along with me!! What are you hatching?

I'll be hatching more of my meat birds. Dark Cornish/Madison Cornish/White Plymouth Rocks. Need to get more meaty birds to choose from for next crossing this year.

 

[teaton]

I'll be hatching more of my meat birds. Dark Cornish/Madison Cornish/White Plymouth Rocks. Need to get more meaty birds to choose from for next crossing this year.

Mmmnnn sounds like good dinner!!!

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Don't beat yourself up. It shouldn't have happened.

Agree wholeheartedly. What's wrong are people who have the mindset to take advantage of any situation that they might benefit!

In November I just read a thread of local folks discussing a problem about people in our closest city and surrounding area using the obituaries to take advantage to break into estates as soon as someone dies and it's left vacant for a day or two...before the families can even deal with anything. Obituaries here don't contain much information anymore. Only the cards given at the funeral list information.

It's incredible sad and disgusting that people feel entitled to steal and cause damage and hardships for others.

 

[eldonrgv]

In my thread Meet My Meat Birds I've been asked about the term I used of "double breast" of what it means, so here is the explanation I gave since I've used that term here as well.

The term double breast I got it from another member in one of my meat bird threads. I was referring my meat project birds as "meaty" and that I was crossing the Madisons with a Buff Orphington and my Dark Cornish with White Plymouth Rocks and then was gonna cross both offsprings, he told me that the Madisons had all the material genetics needed to cross with my Cornish to get a large carcass with the "double breast" of my Cornish in their offspring. The genetics of the madisons being large birds, good layers, plus fast growing. After that I removed the BO and left my 2 DC males with my flock. I noticed a week ago before my coop slaughter that there was a difference among my chicks in growth and that not all showed the double breast in their chests. I concluded that the ones without the chest line were of my BO and the others of my DC who has the big breast. The red chick in one of the picks is 4wk old and doesn't have the chest line he is of BO/Madisons and has buff leakage on its wings. The barred with white chest is WPR/Cornish the dark with golden brownish chest dark green feet is Madison/Cornish and the two 3wk olds are also Cornish/Madisons. This are just conclusions I came up with, that's why I brought my large DC male two big Madisons and one WPR home, its been over a month the BO left the flock so its now just Cornish males in my dads flock. I have 18 eggs on the bator and putting another 12 on Monday so I can compare and verify my theory. I have them free ranging right now but ill weigh them tonight once they're in the coop. Ill also take pics of the other chicks with the "double breast feature" term that I ended up using but don't know if it's a term really used but sounds "professional" among us hatcher but I guess "meaty" be better that way there's no confusion and have members think that I'm re-inventing the wheel by using "double breast".....

.

Here is a comparison of two of my 4wk survivors. One with DB line and the other without DB line.

Buff Orphington Male x Madison Female

Dark Cornish Male x Madison Female

 

[Wickedchicken6]

In my thread Meet My Meat Birds I've been asked about the term I used of "double breast" of what it means, so here is the explanation I gave since I've used that term here as well.

The term double breast I got it from another member in one of my meat bird threads. I was referring my meat project birds as "meaty" and that I was crossing the Madisons with a Buff Orphington and my Dark Cornish with White Plymouth Rocks and then was gonna cross both offsprings, he told me that the Madisons had all the material genetics needed to cross with my Cornish to get a large carcass with the "double breast" of my Cornish in their offspring. The genetics of the madisons being large birds, good layers, plus fast growing. After that I removed the BO and left my 2 DC males with my flock. I noticed a week ago before my coop slaughter that there was a difference among my chicks in growth and that not all showed the double breast in their chests. I concluded that the ones without the chest line were of my BO and the others of my DC who has the big breast. The red chick in one of the picks is 4wk old and doesn't have the chest line he is of BO/Madisons and has buff leakage on its wings. The barred with white chest is WPR/Cornish the dark with golden brownish chest dark green feet is Madison/Cornish and the two 3wk olds are also Cornish/Madisons. This are just conclusions I came up with, that's why I brought my large DC male two big Madisons and one WPR home, its been over a month the BO left the flock so its now just Cornish males in my dads flock. I have 18 eggs on the bator and putting another 12 on Monday so I can compare and verify my theory. I have them free ranging right now but ill weigh them tonight once they're in the coop. Ill also take pics of the other chicks with the "double breast feature" term that I ended up using but don't know if it's a term really used but sounds "professional" among us hatcher but I guess "meaty" be better that way there's no confusion and have members think that I'm re-inventing the wheel by using "double breast".....

.

Here is a comparison of two of my 4wk survivors. One with DB line and the other without DB line.

Buff Orphington Male x Madison Female



Dark Cornish Male x Madison Female

Quite a difference!
Do you think that there will be any further development on the Orphington cross where it could show more meatiness at a slightly older age?

 

[eldonrgv]

Quite a difference! 
Do you think that there will be any further development on the Orphington cross where it could show more meatiness at a slightly older age?

Its possible, he (appears to be a male) is growing fast as the DC cross, out of the 8 survivors he is the only BO cross. At first I thought the reds I have were probably BO/Madisons but my dad told me he added a couple of RIR females to his flock that he took care for a cpl of weeks for a friend of his and thatb probably some of their eggs he gave me to incubate were RIR's x with the Cornish since the BO was no longer in the flock. I got 1 male and 2 females of 3wks. My dad is probably right because they appear Cornish with feathers tight to their body and even have pea comb like the Cornish but then again no double breast line because RIR are not hybrid for dual purpose like the Madisons. Here is a pic of him I took earlier today.

Its hard when you are not managing your flock and knowing what you have, my dad added the BO and those RIR without me knowing, that's why I brought this birds home so I can know what I got. My old man didnt know what I was trying to do, for him is the more the merrier. Ill try to get a couple of the RIR cross pics of the females. They don't stand still and pics come out all fuzzy.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Its possible, he (appears to be a male) is growing fast as the DC cross, out of the 8 survivors he is the only BO cross. At first I thought the reds I have were probably BO/Madisons but my dad told me he added a couple of RIR females to his flock that he took care for a cpl of weeks for a friend of his and thatb probably some of their eggs he gave me to incubate were RIR's x with the Cornish since the BO was no longer in the flock. I got 1 male and 2 females of 3wks. My dad is probably right because they appear Cornish with feathers tight to their body and even have pea comb like the Cornish but then again no double breast line because RIR are not hybrid for dual purpose like the Madisons. Here is a pic of him I took earlier today.




Its hard when you are not managing your flock and knowing what you have, my dad added the BO and those RIR without me knowing, that's why I brought this birds home so I can know what I got. My old man didnt know what I was trying to do, for him is the more the merrier. Ill try to get a couple of the RIR cross pics of the females. They don't stand still and pics come out all fuzzy.

That very sweet that your Dad is managing your flock for you. It sounds like he's having fun...lol!
Sometimes family don't understand...my side is still asking and wondering what the heck I'm doing.

But like you I'm forging ahead regardless...lol.
Whether this cross is an Orp or RIR cross...it gives a good comparison basis on how they develop and grow out under the exact same conditions. It's good information to have if you'll be selling the hybrid meat chicks. This will probably be the only time you'll have a separate cross for comparison. I'm a person who likes to know the particulars of what I'm buying, and I like all the facts and figures. This experiment will be a good selling point for your chicks when you can show pics and hard data of performance. And you'll see for yourself if you're not selling chicks...which is nice too!

 

[eldonrgv]

That very sweet that your Dad is managing your flock for you. It sounds like he's having fun...lol!
Sometimes family don't understand...my side is still asking and wondering what the heck I'm doing. But like you I'm forging ahead regardless...lol.
Whether this cross is an Orp or RIR cross...it gives a good comparison basis on how they develop and grow out under the exact same conditions. It's good information to have if you'll be selling the hybrid meat chicks. This will probably be the only time you'll have a separate cross for comparison. I'm a person who likes to know the particulars of what I'm buying, and I like all the facts and figures. This experiment will be a good selling point for your chicks when you can show pics and hard data of performance. And you'll see for yourself if you're not selling chicks...which is nice too!

Lol....you are right, this will be the LAST TIME ill have this crosses to compare with!!! Thanks to my dad. I wanted all to be DC crosses and my old man added the RIR's and BO to the mix and didn't know about it until the damage was done. On the plus side is what you said of having them for comparison info. Next hatches will be legit on DC crosses with my Madisons and White Plymouth Rock under my management and not my old man. Ill update later today the weigh of my survivors and pics of my RIR cross pulleys.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Lol....you are right, this will be the LAST TIME ill have this crosses to compare with!!! Thanks to my dad.

I wanted all to be DC crosses and my old man added the RIR's and BO to the mix and didn't know about it until the damage was done.

On the plus side is what you said of having them for comparison info. Next hatches will be legit on DC crosses with my Madisons and White Plymouth Rock under my management and not my old man. Ill update later today the weigh of my survivors and pics of my RIR cross pulleys.

They're not my birds and I'm sure I would have been as frustrated as you...but I see it more as a positive rather than a negative. When someone asks why you're breeding this hybrid, you'll have all the facts and data to show them at your finger tips. Plus you'll have hard data for cost analogies for yourself.

I raise Katahdin sheep and for years I heard about how much better other breeds were; wool breeds such as Suffolk and Hampshire and shedding breeds such as Dorper. When BSE hit in the early 2000s, we purchased a purebred Suffolk ram to cross with the majority of the flock. It was a cross but I still saw for myself how they performed...and experienced the pros and cons of not only a wool breed but a paternal breed. There wasn't enough pros for me to consider changing breeds or to incorporate a wool cross into the flock full time. (I also had limited space)

When that whole breed conversation/debating came into play I had my own hard data/experiences that I could provide to those who had questions/or were skeptical of the breed. It gave me a much greater confidence in what I was doing and experience to stand behind when asked for advice from potential breeders. I've sat on the Canadian board since 2000 and have been asked many questions over the years, especially when we were showing. I've always been grateful for having that extra experience to draw from.