How are the Mt Healthy birds?

[KyBlue]

Quote:
Last summer, one of the owners at Mt. Healthy appeared on the Chicken Whisperer radio show. He said that Mt. Healthy was one of a very few hatcheries that still vent sex most of their breeds. He also said that if they switched to feather sexing, they would have to purchase breeders from outside hatchers and mixing breeding lines was not an option. He went on to say that they did not want to lose any of their quality breeding lines because they had worked on them for many years.

 

[ghulst]

Quote:
If your talking about commercial breeds such as the sex links, production types, and broilers than yes they are feather sexed. But the majority of them are not, at least from the hatcheries here in Ohio. I would say almost all of the heavy breeds are vent sexed.... such as the RIR, Austrolorp, Orpintons, Rocks, ect.

Their breeding stock isn't coming from one source either... there isn't a giant hatchery out there that just distributes breeding stock. That is somewhat true for broilers and commercial layers.... but not for the standard heavies like I mentioned before. Many hatcheries very greatly in quality in the heavy breeds.... I must admit Mt. Healthy is one of the better ones out there.

However the broilers and commercial layers all pretty much the same....

Check with Mt Healthy and I am almost sure that all the heavy breeds that you mentioned are feather sexed. Just check the color of the eggs. Ideal sells most of the breeding stock.

 

[clacasse88]

Quote:
Oh no. I wanted to order some EEs. What color eggs did they lay? I want the colored eggs & that's why I wanted to order them.

 

[OSUman]

My friend got some EEs from them and they lay green eggs.

 

[sms1225]

My EE's just layed brown eggs, they are still just laying brown eggs(almost 2 years old), no color. To say the least I was very disappointed. You might want to call Mt Healthy and ask them if they will guarantee that they will lay colored eggs. Just a thought. But like I said b4 I think their chicks are nice healthy stock

 

[ninejw]

I have EE, spec sussex, BO, SLW and Australorps , and cornish x from Mt. Healthy. They all were extremely healthy except for the X's I didnt loose any as chicks. I think too that I have only 1 out of 4 easter eggers that is laying green eggs

but they are all pretty birds.

 

[ninejw]

Oh and I got 6 SLW that were supposed to be all females but ended up 5 with 1 roo in there which actually made me very happy b/c now I can breed them!