BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Haida]

This thread is exactly what I've been looking for... though I'm not much for chickens (I only have 10 Barred Rocks and they're only 8 weeks old.. but I do plan on breeding them), my focus is really on turkeys. I'm at the beginning of combining several breeds into a 'utility turkey'... this thread has given me so many great ideas, thanks everyone!

 

[draye]

Where better for a 'chicken man' to find a 'chicken woman' ????

I have a single daughter (22) she likes most all animals, but her favorite is the rabbit.

 

[hellbender]

 

[sharkman]

Ron,
Time to start a new thread ChickenHarmony.com dating thread!! LOL
Rob

 

[hellbender]

Ron,
Time to start a new thread ChickenHarmony.com dating thread!! LOL
Rob

 

[hellbender]

Just bear with me another three days...I'll be gone forever and I'll leave this mess for Jason to clean up.





EDIT: Whewwww! I got a fairly serious butt-chewing over dinner for posting so many pics of Jason! He enjoyed dessert so much , he finally convulsed in laughter and said he might have to deal with some sort of 'internet bride'.

No shortage of gals interested in him but they all have "baggage". He has decided that he only wants one kid, regardless of gender and he wants it to belong to him. I can see his point but...he did have one pretty good gal coming around here for a while that he liked a lot and I know he liked her two young boys...I got a bit attached to them too. She could have passed the old WV marriage test too...she could have hefted an 80# bail of hay over each shoulder and carry them where ever they needed to go.

 

[southernmomma]

This thread is exactly what I've been looking for... though I'm not much for chickens (I only have 10 Barred Rocks and they're only 8 weeks old.. but I do plan on breeding them), my focus is really on turkeys. I'm at the beginning of combining several breeds into a 'utility turkey'... this thread has given me so many great ideas, thanks everyone!

What is it about turkey's that you prefer over chickens? Interesting~ I'm curious about them so do tell

M

 

[Turk Raphael]

subscribing

 

[Turk Raphael]

We used to have turkeys but have decided to deal only with chickens. We still have two bourbon red hens but as soon as they are through molt, they go into the freezer. We also have been keeping australorps for about 3 years but we are considering making changes there too.

 

[Haida]

What is it about turkey's that you prefer over chickens? Interesting~ I'm curious about them so do tell

M

I think it's because of my mother-in-law's chickens... my MIL has a flock of about 20 birds, and we moved in next door to her 3 years ago... and most of the time, my hubby and I feed them and collect eggs in the evening for her... but her chickens are so dull. Like, zero personality and not friendly at all. They'd follow you for food, but that was about it. Sure, they had their moments, but they were just boring, like zombies! Then shortly after we moved there, she got her first heritage poults in... and they were SOOO friendly and curious... they would snuggle in your hands/hair/clothing. I had never even seen a baby turkey before, and I was instantly hooked and kinda "took over" the turkeys. I would take them for field trips out into the back pasture, they would follow me wherever and come when I called them (seriously!! they're crazy!). As adults, they calmed down a little, but they're so dramatic... much like a soap opera, all day, every day (except for in winter). I think toms are just GORGEOUS... they remind me of giant bettas/Siamese fighting fish. My hen (in my avatar) would follow me like a little lost puppy and would greet me everyday and eat out of my hands (I lost her to blackhead though

), but her daughters are very calm and friendly as well. I started lurking on BYC around that time, and I've come to the conclusion that my MIL has the production line of RIR's and a few misc Easter Eggers... but she doesn't really know what she has. So I decided to give chickens a chance, and got my barred rocks. They're the complete opposite of her chickens!! I think they like to be picked up?! They don't mind it at all, and they're getting HUGE fast! I never really knew chickens could be like that. Animal dispositions are a huge thing for me... I don't want them to flip out everytime I enter the barn, much like my MIL's chickens, so I work with them everyday.

But anyways, the turkeys are just so interesting, they've captured me, I guess, lol. And I like turkey feathers, meat and the eggs are good, too (I think they have a beefy flavor and the texture is kind of fluffy? It's weird lol). This year, I've crossed my second generation of Spanish Blacks with Standard Bronzes. Both of which have characteristics that I like... the blacks are very hardy, calm and instinctual, and the bronzes are good eaters and grow very tall very fast. I am also incubating some Narragansett eggs (due to hatch in about a week, woo!) that I'm hoping will make my line more friendly. And I wouldn't mind an interesting looking bird.

My first batch of hybrids just hatched, and I'm monitoring their weights and stuff... we'll see what happens... I have my whole lifetime to make some weird bird, I guess, hahahaa.