My Attempt at a Dual Purpose Heritage Flock

[peepdaddy]

Congratulations on the good hatch. My last hatch was my worst yet. I got 17 chicks out of 36 eggs. The majority of the non-hatches were fully developed. A few pipped but died. The others just died. I won't incubate again until I have a reliable incubator. However, the good news is I did get 17 new chicks!

 

[Tre3hugger]

Congratulations on the good hatch. My last hatch was my worst yet. I got 17 chicks out of 36 eggs. The majority of the non-hatches were fully developed. A few pipped but died. The others just died. I won't incubate again until I have a reliable incubator. However, the good news is I did get 17 new chicks!

Thanks. At least 17 chicks are better than none! I highly recommend the Nurture Right 360 incubator. IMO, can't be beat for the price.

 

[peepdaddy]

Thanks. At least 17 chicks are better than none! I highly recommend the Nurture Right 360 incubator. IMO, can't be beat for the price.

THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTION! I've seen several comments praising the Nurture Right 360. Due to this I did a bit of research and that's the one I intend to purchase.

 

[B and K Homestead]

It looks like the sexlink roosters are a significant amount smaller than the NHs. I am also very curious how the sexlink roosters growth compares to the pure Delaware growth rate. Being 1/2 NH, it has to be faster, but how much faster. If you could get sex link roosters to grow as fast as the pure NH hens, that would still be impressive!

 

[Tre3hugger]

It looks like the sexlink roosters are a significant amount smaller than the NHs. I am also very curious how the sexlink roosters growth compares to the pure Delaware growth rate. Being 1/2 NH, it has to be faster, but how much faster. If you could get sex link roosters to grow as fast as the pure NH hens, that would still be impressive!

That is the goal! I will keep selecting the largest delawares until I make that happen. For now, I may breed back a sex link boy over some NH hens. That cross would be all meat birds, at 3/4 NH and 1/4 Delaware. Just trying to add some numbers to the heritage flocks before I start major experimentation, as this is literally my first year breeding these birds

 

[B and K Homestead]

It is really hard to get good photos and they don’t really show the difference in body mass very well, but here are mine: Delaware’s 8 weeks and NHs 9 weeks old.

 

[peepdaddy]

It is really hard to get good photos and they don’t really show the difference in body mass very well, but here are mine: Delaware’s 8 weeks and NHs 9 weeks old.View attachment 3133498

I sympathize with the difficulty getting good pictures. I don't make pets of my birds so generally they just ignore me when I'm in the chicken yard. However, when I have a phone or camera in hand they go wild! These pictures are much better than any I'm able to get.

 

[Tre3hugger]

Finally got some weights today! 7 week weigh in numbers.

The red sex link meatie males are weighing in at a respectable average of 3.1lbs at 7 weeks.

The New Hampshire females are averaging slightly larger at 3.3lbs

And my one NH cockerel toppin the scales at 4.2lbs at 7 weeks!

Very happy with these weights

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I think your project is well ahead of my own. Much congratulations on your progress.

Also, voicing my agreement with @B and K Homestead , @peepdaddy and the like re: pictures. I take pictures to share on facebook with friends and family of my animals most days, and have maybe a dozen good photos in as many months.

 

[Tre3hugger]

It looks like the sexlink roosters are a significant amount smaller than the NHs. I am also very curious how the sexlink roosters growth compares to the pure Delaware growth rate. Being 1/2 NH, it has to be faster, but how much faster. If you could get sex link roosters to grow as fast as the pure NH hens, that would still be impressive!

Got some wieghts today on some SL males and NH hens. The NH hens avg 3.3 lbs and the SL boys avg 3.1lbs. Gettin pretty close!