Old and Rare Breeds

[catdaddyfro]

I could trap nest, if I would. If I worked at home, I would trapnest. No question.

Yes on a hot southern spring day, trap nesting could surely go awry real quickly esp. if someone is not there to remove hens from nest every so many hours.
Not telling you anything George just elaborating for others

in the different ways of the world.
Jeff

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Raising chickens is surely climate dependent.
It's critical not to activate them if you're not going to be able to check them.

 

[gjensen]

Yes on a hot southern spring day, trap nesting could surely go awry real quickly esp. if someone is not there to remove hens from nest every so many hours.
Not telling you anything George just elaborating for others

in the different ways of the world.
Jeff

Yes, that could get ugly. I could come home to a mess. A bunch of half baked hens.

I also noticed how I wrote that. I think that I meant that to be " I would, if I could". Talk about getting the cart before the horse. I should review and spell check.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Geo,

The old timers use to say that if you want to progeny test a pair then you should hatch 20 chicks from that pair. The thinking was that most anything they'd throw would come out in those 20. I have always felt this a good general rule to live by when breeding chickens.

I tend to want the twenty, too, building off the notion of "one in ten" is, or maybe should be, worth saving. I figure 20 gives me 10-ish cockerles and 10-ish pullets.

I have found that I save about 9% of my hatchlings as breeders.

 

[gjensen]

I tend to want the twenty, too, building off the notion of "one in ten" is, or maybe should be, worth saving. I figure 20 gives me 10-ish cockerles and 10-ish pullets.

I have found that I save about 9% of my hatchlings as breeders.

I have read from 10-30. 20 makes sense. I think I will be thinking along the lines of 16, but not that easy to control it precisely. I get a little stupid about numbers, and I like my math to work. Everything is in 4s, 8s,12s etc. Everything is built (or half done) for this or that, and a rotation. The system has to work or it turns into chaos.

 

[OSUman]

If you really wanted to do that, you could set up several 4x4 pens for each of the hens, if you keep like 4 hens for each cock bird and then rotate the cock bird through a pen a day.

Yes, that could get ugly. I could come home to a mess. A bunch of half baked hens.

I also noticed how I wrote that. I think that I meant that to be " I would, if I could". Talk about getting the cart before the horse. I should review and spell check.

 

[DTchickens]

If you really wanted to do that, you could set up several 4x4 pens for each of the hens, if you keep like 4 hens for each cock bird and then rotate the cock bird through a pen a day.

'tis the method I use. Works well for me.

God bless,
Daniel.

 

[gjensen]

If you really wanted to do that, you could set up several 4x4 pens for each of the hens, if you keep like 4 hens for each cock bird and then rotate the cock bird through a pen a day.

I set a row of 5x5s for that reason. Might do another. Depends on how much salvage I get off of one of the projects that I am wrapping up.

 

[Gallusfarm]

I tend to want the twenty, too, building off the notion of "one in ten" is, or maybe should be, worth saving. I figure 20 gives me 10-ish cockerles and 10-ish pullets.

I have found that I save about 9% of my hatchlings as breeders.

this is very useful information. Once you realize which pairing(s) produce the chicks you are looking for, what's next? Say you keep 3/20 chicks and you still have the 2 parents. What do you do next year?

 

[NanaKat]

I have 5 pens set up and am shooting for 50 chicks for each pen with 1:5 ratio and 40 chicks from 1:4 ratio. When I reach the selected number, the pen is reset with a new rooster and the selected hens. I'm currently on round two in two pens with eggs in the incubators. Hatched chicks are 6 weeks down to 3 day old. The breeds are 4 pens do Wyandottes and 1 pen of Cochins.

Culling begins when chicks are 8 weeks old for deviations from the standard. (ie. combs, leg color). Culled Cockerels will become freezer camp and pullets will be egg layer replacements. Those remaining will be raised up to 7 months before the next cull. Type first and color second.
Third cull is at 10 months and another at 14 months. Besides the birds retained for breeding I kept some birds last year for 18 months because they showed promise and that resulted in a great rooster that is now in reserve for breeding.