BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[DesertChic]

Last night was Day 10 candling night. I'm now down to 18 eggs as my Barred Rock's egg fizzled. I'm okay with it since I'm also slated to receive 15 Austra White cockerel chicks from Cackel Hatchery on Friday. I told my husband...who seems to have forgotten that I ordered them...and I could see the panic begin to set in as he did the math. This will be the largest number of chicks we'll have around here at one time. Should be quite the adventure.

 

[AnthNDacula]

Sorry. I mis-spoke. I'm waiting on the White Dorkings to move my project forward, but they will all be grown out to select future breeders from. I'm also ordering Silver Gray Dorking cockerels from a hatchery to practice caponizing on. From what I understand most hatchery cockerels go into a grinder anyway, so nothing much is being waisted... to the contrary I'm giving them a life. As far as choice of breed goes, Dorkings are what I intend to work with and collecting data on the Silver Gray Dorking capons should help me with my future work on the Dorkings in general. Not to mention they will provide the product for my test marketing next Christmas.

 

[dfr1973]

I candled last night also - much MUCH better than last month. This time, 41 out of 42 are developing.

Oh, I can now join in on the goat topic. I picked up my 3rd goat and first buck today. Two Nigerian Dwarves and one Nigerian/Boer (the doe's doeling).

 

[cyborg]

Last night was Day 10 candling night. I'm now down to 18 eggs as my Barred Rock's egg fizzled. I'm okay with it since I'm also slated to receive 15 Austra White cockerel chicks from Cackel Hatchery on Friday. I told my husband...who seems to have forgotten that I ordered them...and I could see the panic begin to set in as he did the math. This will be the largest number of chicks we'll have around here at one time. Should be quite the adventure.

Over the last week I've picked up 35 newbies, 15 California Whites, 15 golden sex links, and 5 partridge cochins. I am going to corner the egg market in the north county come fall!
Put them all in one "chick proof" 10 x 15 pen with a heat lamp, and they are doing fine, also put in a partridge cochin "nanny" to teach them the finer points of life.
Naturally, no matter how "chick proof" the pen, I did find one wandering the backyard, looking for a way back in!

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Last night was Day 10 candling night. I'm now down to 18 eggs as my Barred Rock's egg fizzled. I'm okay with it since I'm also slated to receive 15 Austra White cockerel chicks from Cackel Hatchery on Friday. I told my husband...who seems to have forgotten that I ordered them...and I could see the panic begin to set in as he did the math. This will be the largest number of chicks we'll have around here at one time. Should be quite the adventure.

Yeah, my numbers are lower, but I'm still sometimes waking in a cold sweat about the chicks that are coming at the end of the month. I am pleased that they are coming, but I'll be adding up to 8 home-hatched CLs to them, and that's 28 chicks, and I think brooding is wearing a little thin (looking forward to eventually having broody hens). And I will have just recovered form having the current group in the brooders when the new ones come. The current ones are getting big now (2 and 4 weeks, respectively, for the Aloha NNs, and the CLs) - the 4 weeks old are ready to go outside, and don't have as much room as I'd like (can't be helped). I'm working on the grow out tractors - hope to move them out in the next week or so (they are not quite fully feathered, but it's quite warm here and they don't need heat any more).

- Ant Farm

 

[Mini Meat]

How 'bout Carrie, as in Carrie Nation??

I like that, definitely fits the theme.

But... I don't think my good friend would appreciate a turkey bearing her name.

I think I'll just name her Speak Easy, Easy for short.

My first observation on the turkeys is how slow and deliberate they move compared to chickens.
They are in quarantine in a large stock trailer but it is not secure for over night so I have been crating them in large dog crates. It is so easy to get them in the crates. I just move slow and herd them right in. That was a nice surprise.

 

[angry rooster]

So my capon project just took a major step forward.  My caponizing table came yesterday from China via Poco Pollo in Oklahoma.  She was kind enough to import it for me, and I'll be getting a large set of operating tools thru her as well.  Now if I can just get my White Dorking chicks... my fingers are crossed.

The Chinese clearly have a handle on the art of caponizing, and with this table the operation only takes a few seconds... with some experience I'm sure. The table quickly restrains the chick and then drops it into a box at your feet before the chick knows what's happened. You don't have to tie feet and wings or hang weights.  It's much simpler looking than all the descriptions I've read.   I'll include a link to the video below.    

I'm going to try and make one and I will let you know how much it costs me for the stainless steel and time to tig it all together
Plus if I order it now I might get it sometime next year the fairy has been down a lot lately and we are almost out of bacon....

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

I'm going to try and make one and I will let you know how much it costs me for the stainless steel and time to tig it all together
Plus if I order it now I might get it sometime next year the fairy has been down a lot lately and we are almost out of bacon....

I can see that it's really important to be as self sufficient as possible when you depend on having your supplies shipped in.

 

[holm25]

A black Cochin is pipped!! And an Aussie cross has pipped too!!

 

[bluejean55girl]

A black Cochin is pipped!! And an Aussie cross has pipped too!!