Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[donrae]

Any breeder of beagles, in the circles I traveled in for decades, was brutally honest about their hounds. You could no more scam AHRA type folks than the man in the moon. There was always a small market for pet grade dogs. But, we made some great pups, it's just that not all were the whole package. A double winner on the bench and in the field is rarer then hen's teeth. You only get a couple of those dogs in a life time. I was fortunate and blessed to have had a couple. You never forget 'em.

Sorry, I was making a joke about eating them.............

 

[Fred's Hens]

Sorry, I was making a joke about eating them.............

I know.

But you really wouldn't want to know what happens in the field with a dog that doesn't stay straight.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Thanks Al. Thanks for taking the time to write that up.

 

[thedragonlady]

Breeder top 10.................. thats a tough one because so many folks breed for so many different reasons and outcomes for it to have a blanket......... this is the best way.......... kinda deal. so in all fairness we will start with an Ideology.

I raise my breed to bring it back from the brink, as in it's true heritage form is extremely rare to find even decent quality in the USA. Also to breed the best of that bird like it was 60 yrs ago in it's hey day.every breed has a story so we won't get into that portion.

In true OT form here is the deal, WARNING !!!!! if your faint of heart move onto the next post please.

Top ten tips for wanna be real poultry breeders.

1. Pick a breed, one breed and stick with it, choose your breed carefully and with many hrs of thought and be sure it's the bird for you. Don't choose several breeds and get overwhelmed, also don't get too many different color varieties of that one certain breed, KISS........... newby's need to..... Keep. It. . Simple....Stupid.

2. Base all of your choices and decisions on on breeding and the breed itself from information that is true/correct and from very trusted sources. Find several real live people you can speak to on the phone or in person, eye to eye, ear to ear. get information that has been gleaned from years upon years of hands on experience, the proper do's & dont's from the horses mouth. NONE !!!! of what I said can be found on internet forums, where information is researched and just copied and pasted to make someone look like they know what their doing, if you do meet someone online call and speak to then at length over a period of time to get a feel for any red flags.

3. Be prepared for the endeavor, don't half a33 the deal be & stay vigilant, if your a cheapskate and can't afford this operation don't do it, cause you will never recoup your cost, it's a hobby so spend and make limitations that are within your means. Have proper housing, for chicks, breeder pairs and trio's, seperate live adult birds, reserve breeder birds and the like. and you had better be darn good at incubation and throw away those cheap foam bators in the trash, YOU WANT TO BREED, YOU WANT TO GET GOOD AT BREEDING GOOD BIRDS BUY A DECENT CABINET BATOR !!!
By proper housing I don't mean some super fancy painted cutesy tootsey coops nor do I mean a bunch of ragedy pens made from reclaimed materials, ( otherwise reffered to as junk ).

4. Keep your emotions in check, don't bring them to the breeding pen's if your an emotional basket case, get in hatchery birds or go raise cucumbers or something. Be prepared to make tough decisions at the drop of a hat, and continue to march. Cull means to kill in my barns so when I reffer to cull it means what it means to a breeder KILL !!!!. as in not put them back into the system in any way shape or form, I don't care how you kill it but this is a must, don't sell them, don't give them away, don't put them on CL or ebay for free just kill them. the only exception being to give your Grandma-ma a few to help her weed her garden and keep as yard art and for fresh eggs for her famous baked treats. if you can't do this for your home mutt flock you won't be able to do it in a breeder barn, if you can't and be truthful.......... go raise cucumbers.

5. Do not name any breeder bird, adult/chick/juvenile ever at all, name your breeder line in 10 years but not your birds, with the exception of a small round tag on their leg that say's 346 or 872B leg bands are the only names allowed in a professional breeder barn, ask any real pro.

6. Educate yourself on feed and care that is particular for your breed in all stages of development. you care for breeders differently at certain times than mutt birds and they need special attention when nessesary. Keep your pen's clean, keep your birds clean, keep them free of parasites and preditors, and do it to the extreme. if not you think you cried when your favorite hen Daisey died, just think the waterfall of tears that comes with losing a full barn or several pens of really valuable stock, when a coon strikes your operation killing indescriminately.

7. Start with the best you can get, not the best you can afford, the best that is out there bar none, don't start with crap cause your going to just be breeding crap after crap. if you can't afford good stock try those cuccumbres. It's not cheap, breeding truley good stuff never is, if it were everybody would have great birds and the hatcheries would be no more LOL. What you will tolerate in your flocks is what you'll get, breed the best to the best.

8. Know your Genetics very well and study often, and know what your looking for and how to Identify the particular traits. Know your SOP frontwards and backwards, know that what your seeing is what it actually is and not something your unaware of. know what a good bird looks like, and you darn sure better know what a crappy bird does also. Know how to get there, how to correct defaults quickly by proper pairings so your not spending years undoing one single bad mistake. Talk to the pro's you respect often for advice and instructions and how to stay on track.

9. Don't be afraid of corrective critisism from othe pro's who are wanting to help, go to at least a few real ABA or APA santioned events and see your breed, see what they are realy supposed to look like, bring some of your birds in your truck and have them evaluated by a real pro and stay engaged and intrested. if your hurt by the fact that your on the wrong track and several folks are telling you so and shooting good advice from the hip. go raise cuccumbers.

10. Stay the course it's a very hard and rewarding field and it's not easy. work work and then go do more work, it's always an ongoing program. be strong be true to yourself and your breed and most of all be proud of what your doing, you will get knocked down to your knees many times, get up, get back and keep driving on. when the day comes and it should in a few long hard years, where you can stand back and say to yourself as other have said to you about your birds, that MAN !!!! shoot fire !!! I made it Iam here. the birds are the best I can get them. you will have a smile bigger than Gommer Pile. if you feel that day will never come because of one reason or another, you can always rely on the cuccumber bidness.

So there is my take on it................ glean from it anything you can use, everything else regarding breeding specifics are details............... these are the top 10 you need just to get started, the rest will come.

Love that Al, and you can cook too!

 

[ldutch123]

Just wanted to be clear.  Layer feed is essentially just feed with the higher calcium ground into it.  I like the Hubbard 17% layer mash I buy, freshly ground, at our local mill. 
But, when one has a mixed flock of layers and younger birds, who shouldn't have the high calcium, gathering around a shared feeder,  just feeding everyone a Grower or All Flock makes things simple.  The Grower we get here is 18% and everyone does just fine on it.  

Thanks Fred! I switched them from crumble to pellets and I think the chicks may still be too young so I'm mixing it with a crumble. But I like the idea to not feed any extra calcium if it isn't needed.

 

[al6517]

Quote:


LOL sure heheheee LOL I am the whole package, you goated me into that one.

 

[fowlman01]

Al? Walt? Fred? Anyone breeding the finest chickens they can out there?

I'll get to it...maybe you have time to play on the computer, but I don't........lol

I was never this busy when I was working.

w.

 

[oshun55555]

Very very good read Al, and culls taste like chicken

 

[Beekissed]

Wow, Al!!!!! Thanks for the great post!!!!!! If I quote you I will definitely put in the line about growing cucumbers.....

Fred, I loved that pic....that hen had the cleanest lines and nicest topline I've ever seen on a hen. Do you and Al have any pics of your best birds you'd like to share or is that showing too much of your trade secrets?

I'm just a mutt breeder, so I'm not into the whole pureblood, show thing but I do respect hard work and commitment to excellence in a working breed of chicken. Not too much into the ornamental breeds with tails longer than a horse's, though...just don't see any purpose for the animal unless it's to look upon.

 

[Beekissed]

Said you don't mind hijacking
Which came first the chicken or the egg?













The egg dinosaurs laid them.

We don't mind hijacking if it's about something half way intelligent....this didn't make it. Save it for grade school?