just a curiosity who else keeps charts on their flocks?
For my 4 flocks I have different charts keeping track of different things
For the duel purpose flock, I chart pretty much what breeds they are comprised of, their assigned number, what generation they are, and lastly for the ones that we process what their final weight was and the age, that way we can see what breeds are getting larger faster, and we have a better idea of who to cull from the breeding stock
for my bantams im a bit less picky but its basically the same thing, i breed them to feed my raw fed dog, and they also sell pretty well live, i do bannies because of their fast maturation rate, i like to know the critters full potential before I cull them, and when i process them their final weight is roughly 1 lb minus feathers, head, intestine *i leave everything else inside* the rough part is i love em and some time i have to make hard decisions... i do try to sell em first, but when i need to process 135 a year just for the dog alone, and that kinda is WHY im breeding them lol oh well, it works so far
I'm just starting out with cochins, its a small flock of 3 with my hen only 3 or so months, and i kept back 2 roosters for her when i got 12 in for the dog from someone they had good personalities color and conformation, but they will be used for broodies i hope to get something like 12 working brooders eventually, then maybe i wont need the incubator anymore... im going to cross them to my jap bannie as she is super broody and just hatched out 3 but i lost one due to a rabbit.. yeah idk either, found the poor lil guy with a mangled leg, missing a foot and an injury in the side likely from being bitten, mom is keeping the other 2 close now and i removed the neighbor rabbit who kept breaking into her run.... but they are a bit more cut and dry, ill breed em late in the year and keep them inside till spring so ill be able to tell "sooner" so next year who i can use, but the jap has a daughter i sold and she currently is mothering 7 babies she hatched so it seems a strong instinct for them...
my last group is my colored layers and i monitor everything i can about them, from what egg they hatched out of to what they lay themselves, i monitor their offspring and what color eggs they have started laying, how many were hens/roosters, and if they are broody, also with their date of hatch, number, lineage, etc...
but idk i have a notebook that i record for the hatches, they all get banded as soon as they hatch, so hatch day is hectic for me as sometimes ill leave and none have pipped come back an hr later and heres 5 new chicks lol, so i need to keep a close eye on em so i dont get confused and record the wrong info and throw myself off. I start off with colored rubber bands, then they get their hatch number when they are big enough, about a weeks or 2, then they get their final number which will have their generation, doh, and personal number, so like right now their numbers look like F24.28.13-7 the duel purpose flock gets something similar but with a C in front of the F for "Coop" we call those guys coop chickens, and mine barn chickens lol... but eventually they all end up on the computer with their assigned numbers and current status weather thats layer/breeder/brooder/cull/sell etc....
I find the charting to be much of the fun... idk i guess im an odd ball like that.... anyone else out there share in my oddity or am i a new breed? lol
For my 4 flocks I have different charts keeping track of different things
For the duel purpose flock, I chart pretty much what breeds they are comprised of, their assigned number, what generation they are, and lastly for the ones that we process what their final weight was and the age, that way we can see what breeds are getting larger faster, and we have a better idea of who to cull from the breeding stock
for my bantams im a bit less picky but its basically the same thing, i breed them to feed my raw fed dog, and they also sell pretty well live, i do bannies because of their fast maturation rate, i like to know the critters full potential before I cull them, and when i process them their final weight is roughly 1 lb minus feathers, head, intestine *i leave everything else inside* the rough part is i love em and some time i have to make hard decisions... i do try to sell em first, but when i need to process 135 a year just for the dog alone, and that kinda is WHY im breeding them lol oh well, it works so far
I'm just starting out with cochins, its a small flock of 3 with my hen only 3 or so months, and i kept back 2 roosters for her when i got 12 in for the dog from someone they had good personalities color and conformation, but they will be used for broodies i hope to get something like 12 working brooders eventually, then maybe i wont need the incubator anymore... im going to cross them to my jap bannie as she is super broody and just hatched out 3 but i lost one due to a rabbit.. yeah idk either, found the poor lil guy with a mangled leg, missing a foot and an injury in the side likely from being bitten, mom is keeping the other 2 close now and i removed the neighbor rabbit who kept breaking into her run.... but they are a bit more cut and dry, ill breed em late in the year and keep them inside till spring so ill be able to tell "sooner" so next year who i can use, but the jap has a daughter i sold and she currently is mothering 7 babies she hatched so it seems a strong instinct for them...
my last group is my colored layers and i monitor everything i can about them, from what egg they hatched out of to what they lay themselves, i monitor their offspring and what color eggs they have started laying, how many were hens/roosters, and if they are broody, also with their date of hatch, number, lineage, etc...
but idk i have a notebook that i record for the hatches, they all get banded as soon as they hatch, so hatch day is hectic for me as sometimes ill leave and none have pipped come back an hr later and heres 5 new chicks lol, so i need to keep a close eye on em so i dont get confused and record the wrong info and throw myself off. I start off with colored rubber bands, then they get their hatch number when they are big enough, about a weeks or 2, then they get their final number which will have their generation, doh, and personal number, so like right now their numbers look like F24.28.13-7 the duel purpose flock gets something similar but with a C in front of the F for "Coop" we call those guys coop chickens, and mine barn chickens lol... but eventually they all end up on the computer with their assigned numbers and current status weather thats layer/breeder/brooder/cull/sell etc....
I find the charting to be much of the fun... idk i guess im an odd ball like that.... anyone else out there share in my oddity or am i a new breed? lol