BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[NanaKat]

Just set 84 large fowl eggs in one tray in th cabinet incubator/hatcher and 37 bantam eggs in a Hovabator.

And moved 42 eggs due June 2 to the hatcher a day early because a chick was hatching in the egg turner! The temp was right at 100 degrees.

Temperatures have been really wonky here this spring into summer...so I'm hatching all I can before our high heats affect the rooster fertility. Birds are continuing to go broody too.

 

[Poultry Master1]

Hello guys I am new to chickens. I have been wanting to have them for a few years but that wasn't an option until now. I will be able to order them in a couple weeks and have found a hatchery that has a small enough minimum order. I intend to use them mainly for eggs and friendliness would also be a nice plus. I'd like to keep my flock pretty small and I think this year I will start even smaller just to dip my toes in the water. I'm thinking maybe just 5-6 hens and MAYBE a rooster or two at the VERY MOST. I have plenty of space I currently live in the country so noise from them is not a concern. My question is this, in your experiences what is the most hardy egg layer that keeps producing well for a few years. Because I've done a lot of research to see which birds I should pick and for eggs laying and not only are the answers pretty different.(EXAMPLE) I recently read an article that said RI Reds lay about 200 a year and then another that said the average was 300 for RI Reds. Also they only mention the numbers for their first (best) year. I'd like to know which breeds if any are more consistent for several years opposed to doing excellent their first year then going way down the next. I know all breeds decline over time but as far as I can tell their is little information about how different breeds stack up in egg laying consistency over time. Is this because all breeds decline at about the same rate? thanks for your replies

 

[lpatelski]

Hello guys I am new to chickens. I have been wanting to have them for a few years but that wasn't an option until now. I will be able to order them in a couple weeks and have found a hatchery that has a small enough minimum order. I intend to use them mainly for eggs and friendliness would also be a nice plus. I'd like to keep my flock pretty small and I think this year I will start even smaller just to dip my toes in the water. I'm thinking maybe just 5-6 hens and MAYBE a rooster or two at the VERY MOST. I have plenty of space I currently live in the country so noise from them is not a concern. My question is this, in your experiences what is the most hardy egg layer that keeps producing well for a few years. Because I've done a lot of research to see which birds I should pick and for eggs laying and not only are the answers pretty different.(EXAMPLE) I recently read an article that said RI Reds lay about 200 a year and then another that said the average was 300 for RI Reds. Also they only mention the numbers for their first (best) year. I'd like to know which breeds if any are more consistent for several years opposed to doing excellent their first year then going way down the next. I know all breeds decline over time but as far as I can tell their is little information about how different breeds stack up in egg laying consistency over time. Is this because all breeds decline at about the same rate? thanks for your replies

My question is...how much do you like to eat eggs and do you have an outlet or friends to place the eggs you do not consume? I only have 6 laying hens. Four are RedStars(cinnamon queen) and two are "DarkStars". I used my Dark Cornish Rooster to produce two replacements. My husband and I eat eggs on a regular basis, five at a time. I cook with them. I make Angel food cake - whites only. Then I make hollandaise from the yolks. My group of hens lay between 4 and 6 eggs a day. I sell some on occasion. My husband takes some to work...One would think we would not have a glut of 28 dozen unwashed eggs sitting in our refrigerator! So how much do you love to eat eggs?

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

My question is...how much do you like to eat eggs and do you have an outlet or friends to place the eggs you do not consume? I only have 6 laying hens. Four are RedStars(cinnamon queen) and two are "DarkStars". I used my Dark Cornish Rooster to produce two replacements. My husband and I eat eggs on a regular basis, five at a time. I cook with them. I make Angel food cake - whites only. Then I make hollandaise from the yolks. My group of hens lay between 4 and 6 eggs a day. I sell some on occasion. My husband takes some to work...One would think we would not have a glut of 28 dozen unwashed eggs sitting in our refrigerator! So how much do you love to eat eggs?

I have to agree - unless you are actually in the business of selling eggs, you may find yourself overwhelmed in the spring, but then again, in the winter, may have none (depending on your hens) - you can freeze them, but in the end you still may have too many. I'm always awash in eggs and trying to give them away. Feeding them back to the birds helps use some but not all.

Also, 5-6 hens might be too few for some roosters (I have one who is with seven and he is wearing them out) - definitely not two. So you'll need to think flock dynamics there as well. (I'm a big fan of roosters as protectors, and I find they keep some of my meaner hens in line as well.)

- Ant Farm

 

[DesertChic]

My question is...how much do you like to eat eggs and do you have an outlet or friends to place the eggs you do not consume? I only have 6 laying hens. Four are RedStars(cinnamon queen) and two are "DarkStars". I used my Dark Cornish Rooster to produce two replacements. My husband and I eat eggs on a regular basis, five at a time. I cook with them. I make Angel food cake - whites only. Then I make hollandaise from the yolks. My group of hens lay between 4 and 6 eggs a day. I sell some on occasion. My husband takes some to work...One would think we would not have a glut of 28 dozen unwashed eggs sitting in our refrigerator! So how much do you love to eat eggs?

Oh my gosh! Why have I not thought of making Angel food cake and Hollandaise sauce? I think I'll be spending more time in the kitchen.

 

[DesertChic]

Hello guys I am new to chickens. I have been wanting to have them for a few years but that wasn't an option until now. I will be able to order them in a couple weeks and have found a hatchery that has a small enough minimum order. I intend to use them mainly for eggs and friendliness would also be a nice plus. I'd like to keep my flock pretty small and I think this year I will start even smaller just to dip my toes in the water. I'm thinking maybe just 5-6 hens and MAYBE a rooster or two at the VERY MOST. I have plenty of space I currently live in the country so noise from them is not a concern. My question is this, in your experiences what is the most hardy egg layer that keeps producing well for a few years. Because I've done a lot of research to see which birds I should pick and for eggs laying and not only are the answers pretty different.(EXAMPLE) I recently read an article that said RI Reds lay about 200 a year and then another that said the average was 300 for RI Reds. Also they only mention the numbers for their first (best) year. I'd like to know which breeds if any are more consistent for several years opposed to doing excellent their first year then going way down the next. I know all breeds decline over time but as far as I can tell their is little information about how different breeds stack up in egg laying consistency over time. Is this because all breeds decline at about the same rate? thanks for your replies

I agree with what you've been told about the rooster...for 5-6 hens you don't want more than one. Trust me, those poor girls will hate having more than one around and will look horrible in no time due to being mounted too frequently.

As far as good egg laying breeds are concerned, there are A LOT of good ones to choose from, and you'll find that we all have our favorites. The variation you're seeing in laying ability comes from personal experiences. My preferred breed for both eggs and meat are my Naked Neck Turkens (NNs). Not only am I still getting 200+ large to jumbo eggs on average now in their second laying year, but they're exceptionally hardy, healthy, friendly and entertaining birds. Mind lay every color egg, including blue and green, and I have been working to maintain two strains...one that's better for consistent egg laying and one that's better for meat production.

My suggestion is to just pick a breed that interests you, or even a mixture of breeds that interest you to get your feet wet. Learn first-hand which ones are giving you what you want and which aren't, and move on from there. Many people like mixed flocks for lots of eye candy, while others prefer to focus on a single breed. My personal experience: I started with a mix of hatchery birds and got used to keeping chickens before I started moving towards my focus breeds of NNs and now Silver Grey Dorkings. Keep it fun!

 

[BantyChooks]

My personal experience: I started with a mix of hatchery birds and got used to keeping chickens before I started moving towards my focus breeds of NNs and now Silver Grey Dorkings. Keep it fun!

This is exactly what I'm doing. Was really helpful, as I learned how to keep chickens alive with breeds that weren't expensive and/or hard to find.

 

[Gorman Farm]

Wow it's been extremely hot here In the upper 90's with little to no rain, I feel like I have moved to the desert. I have lost about half the pasture and our lawn has giant patches of brown despite me trying to get some water on it. The storms keep missing us, we need the rain so badly. I have managed to keep the apple, guava, and banana trees alive by watering daily. One of my older hens (I think she is 6 yrs) is having a lot of trouble with the heat I fear I am probably going to lose her, she is a sweet EE girl. I have been adding SAV-A-chick to their water every other day for the last week, and putting out lots of wet veggies in the run in the heat of the afternoon. The hay bill has been astronomical for the sheep, I have been watering three small areas in the pasture so they have some fresh grass but this is crazy, this is supposed to be rainy season in Florida.
Yesterday we were driving past one of the farms and saw two dead cows in the pasture down the road, probably from the heat and poor pasture conditions. So sad.
It is so dry that when I get in the pool I constantly get dive bombed by wasps looking for a drink. I am allergic so this has been an issue with using the pool. Someone said they hate dryer sheets so I tied several up around the pool they did not work the wasps landed within inches of them...ugh

 

[itsasmallfarm]

not sure if i count on this, but right now we have two bresse chickens (a male and female) and plan on breeding them for meat, eggs and to sell the chicks to others. but i never could get into breeding for perfection of appearance. (even though i have only raised chickens for about 8-9 months now)

 

[DesertChic]

Wow it's been extremely hot here In the upper 90's with little to no rain, I feel like I have moved to the desert. I have lost about half the pasture and our lawn has giant patches of brown despite me trying to get some water on it. The storms keep missing us, we need the rain so badly. I have managed to keep the apple, guava, and banana trees alive by watering daily. One of my older hens (I think she is 6 yrs) is having a lot of trouble with the heat I fear I am probably going to lose her, she is a sweet EE girl. I have been adding SAV-A-chick to their water every other day for the last week, and putting out lots of wet veggies in the run in the heat of the afternoon. The hay bill has been astronomical for the sheep, I have been watering three small areas in the pasture so they have some fresh grass but this is crazy, this is supposed to be rainy season in Florida.
Yesterday we were driving past one of the farms and saw two dead cows in the pasture down the road, probably from the heat and poor pasture conditions. So sad.
It is so dry that when I get in the pool I constantly get dive bombed by wasps looking for a drink. I am allergic so this has been an issue with using the pool. Someone said they hate dryer sheets so I tied several up around the pool they did not work the wasps landed within inches of them...ugh

Sounds a lot like where I live here in southern AZ, except the temps at my house have been over 100* and we're due for a heat wave next week, which means I'll be battling 110*. My chickens have faired okay so far, but I get heat stroke trying to keep them cool.